“I see you wanna play with a player from the hood”.
Snoop Dogg and Master P have filed a lawsuit against Walmart and Post Consumer Brands, claiming the companies sabotaged their product, Snoop Cereal.
In court documents filed on Tuesday, February 6, the celebrity‘s parent company, Broadus Foods, claimed the retail giant and food manufacturer acted to hide his cereal brand from consumers.
Billboard reports the lawsuit claims the two companies engaged in “diabolical actions” and “underhanded dealing”.
The music star, real name Calvin Boradus, and Master P, (Percy Miller), founded the parent company in 2022. They wanted to add “diversity into the grocery stores industry” by creating “opportunities for minority-owned food products and brands”.
They launched two brands, Snoop Cereal and Momma Snoop, which is based around oatmeal and male syrup items. Initially, the cereal brand was called Snoop Loopz but it was then discontinued and re-branded. It came following a trademark infringement by Kellogg’s, who owns Froot Loops.
The new lawsuit claims Post “ensured that Snoop Cereal would not be available to consumers” or would “incur exorbitant costs that would eliminate any profit”. Documents claim this happened in secret after the celebrities refused to sell their company to Post.
Attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents Braodus Foods, claims the manufacturer tried to “choke” them out of the market, or prevent the cereal from being made or sold through rival manufacturers.
He also alleges Walmart worked with Post to “ensure that none of the boxes of Snoop Cereal would ever appear on the store shelves”.
The lawsuit describes one reported incident where the cereal was out of stock in Walmart stores, but boxes were found in stockrooms “coded to not be put on the store shelves”.
Speaking to Billboard, a Walmart spokesperson said the company “values our relationships with our suppliers” and has a “strong history of supporting entrepreneurs”.
“Many factors affect the sales of any given product, including consumer demand, seasonality, and price to name a few. We will respond as appropriate with the Court once we are served with the complaint,” they added.
In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for Post Consumer Brands said they were “excited to partner with Broadus Foods” and “made substantial investments in the business”.
“We were equally disappointed that consumer demand did not meet expectations,” they said.
