By Walt Hickey Hydrox The packaged cookie business is a $9 billion category, and more than $4 billion of that is Oreo alone, owned by CPG colossus Mondelēz, with not only the flagship Oreo and the crucial Double Stuf line but also an armada of different flavors and iterations of the cookie that dominate shelf space in the grocery store. That domination, competitor Hydrox argues, is sufficient to warrant antitrust litigation, as the rival to Oreo contends that the tough cookie intimidates retailers into hiding, misplacing or moving Hydrox to exile in the cookie aisle. It’s not the first time Hydrox’s allegations of hegemony have hit the courts, as in 2018 they sought $800 million from an official complaint with the FTC. Calling Hydrox the David to Oreo’s Goliath is somehow charitable, as Hydrox sales as recently as 2017 were roughly $500,000, so a triumph here would be more like David’s gut bacteria successfully slaying Goliath with a hurled mote of dust.
Ticket to Ride is an awesome game. I have several different versions of it at home, and I have many fond memories of playing it with my kids.