Attorneys for Snoop Dogg (Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr) and Master P (Percy Miller) have filed a suit against Walmart and Post Consumer Brands, alleging the two ‘worked’ together to prevent Snoop Cereal ‘from reaching consumers’.
The hip-hop rappers created Broadus Foods in 2022, shortly thereafter launching the breakfast cereal. In February 2023, it partnered with ‘breakfast juggernaut’ Post to launch a new line under the Snoop Cereal brand, with some of the profits going to support vulnerable families and communities.
However, according to the lawsuit filed in Minnesota’s Dakota Country District Court, where Post is headquartered, ‘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.’
In a statement, Los Angeles attorney Benjamin Crump (who is representing the hip hop stars) said, “This case shines a light on the steep challenges faced by minority-owned businesses in securing fair opportunities in the marketplace.
“Snoop Dog and Master P founded Broadus Foods with the vision of creating a family-owned company that promotes diversity in the food industry and provides opportunities for minority-owned products. Broadus Foods aimed to inspire economic empowerment among minorities and contribute to charitable causes addressing hunger and homelessness.”
Add diversity to grocery stores
Noting a shared passion, the two approached Post for support.
“Partnering with Post Consumer Brands made sense with our common mission to build economic empowerment and to add diversity to grocery stores with Black-owned breakfast food,” said Master P at the time.
“We want to make sure kids and kids at heart can have a champion’s breakfast.”
At first, Post made an offer to purchase the cereal brand – this was declined as a sale would ‘destroy the whole purpose of leaving the company to their families’ – but then agreed to a profit-sharing partnership with Broadus Foods, providing its sales and other supply-chain support.
According to the suit, Post agreed to ‘treat Snoop Cereal as one of its own brands’ and distribute it ‘to the major retailers, including Walmart, Target, Kroger and Amazon. Because the largest seller of Post’s cereals is Walmart, Snoop Cereal should have been placed on Walmart’s shelves right next to the dozens of other Post branded cereals.’
“Post Consumer Brands was excited to partner with Broadus Foods and we made substantial investments in the business,” said a company spokesperson.
“We were equally disappointed that consumer demand did not meet expectations.”
According to Crump, the substandard sales were allegedly the result of Post ‘preventing it from reaching consumers through deceptive practices.’
The complaint reads, ‘Post was not on board with their goals and dreams and had no intention of treating Snoop Cereal equally as its own brands.’
Despite ‘immediate success’ when rolled out onto Walmart shelves in July 2023, customers soon complained of being unable to locate the cereal.
The lawsuit notes, ‘Many Walmart stores showed online and in the Walmart employee’s instore application that Snoop Cereal was sold out or out of stock.
‘However, upon further investigation by store employees, each of these stores had several boxes of Snoop Cereal in their stockrooms that were coded to not be put out on the store shelves.
‘Unlike the other Post branded boxes of cereal around them, these Snoop Cereal boxes had been in the stockrooms for months without ever being made available to customers.’
It further claims Post worked with Walmart to ‘ensure that none of the boxes of Snoop Cereal would ever appear on the store shelves.’
'Equal rights for everybody'
A further spoke in the wheel was pricing the cereal at more than $10 a box, which conflicts with the goal of Broadus Foods to offer affordable food.
Crump added the partnership agreement required Snoop Dogg and Master P to buy back any unsold cereal.
‘Post ensured that Snoop Cereal would not be available to consumers or that it would incur exorbitant costs that would eliminate any profit to Broadus Foods,’ said the suit.
Post Consumer Brands has yet to respond to the suit. A Walmart spokesperson said the retailer “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.”
Master P posted a video after the filing, saying, “We are building a family brand. Dr Martin Luther King showed us how to dream, fought racism and guess what? We’re doing the same in corporate America for equal rights for everybody.”
Broadus Foods is seeking a jury trial, damages exceeding $50,000 and ‘further relief determined by the Court.’
