In a new lawsuit, Snoop Dogg and Master P accused Walmart and Post Consumer Brands of intentionally sabotaging their cereal, Snoop Cereal.
In court documents filed Tuesday (via NPR) in Minnesota, the rappers say the cereal was listed as “out of stock” on Walmart’s website, but that store employees found several boxes of it in storerooms. The boxes were “coded to not be put out on store shelves” and had been in the storerooms for “months without ever being made available to customers.”
Snoop and Master P say they came up with the idea to launch a cereal in 2022, hoping to “create a family-owned company that would add diversity to the food industry while inspiring and creating opportunities for minority-owned food products and brands.” The pair started Broadus Foods and approached Post to work out an agreement with the brand.
Instead, Post offered to buy the company, something the two refused. The pair further allege that Post then “pretended to be on board with Snoop Dogg and Master P’s goals and dreams and agreed on a Partnership and Promotion Agreement” that would result in splitting profits.
“Essentially, because Snoop Dogg and Master P refused to sell Snoop Cereal in totality, Post entered a false arrangement where they could choke Broadus Foods out of the market, thereby preventing Snoop Cereal from being sold or produced by any competitor,” the documents read.
Snoop and Master P also insisted that if Walmart and Post would treat two “popular businessmen” this way, “they definitely will do it to the mom-and-pop and minority-owned companies who do not have the ability to defend themselves.”
“Walmart values our relationships with our suppliers, and we have 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,” a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement provided to TheWrap.
In a statement provided to TheWrap, a spokesperson for Post said, “Post Consumer Brands was excited to partner with Broadus Foods, and we made substantial investments in the business. We were equally disappointed that consumer demand did not meet expectations.”
