Snoop Dogg is the master of marketing his name to just about anything, so when he and fellow rapper/mogul Master P teamed up to launch Snoop Cereal, it seemed like a winning formula.
Unfortunately for them, things haven't gone according to plan. Snoop and Master P have filed a lawsuit against Walmart and Post Consumer Brands alleging that the two parties have sabotaged their cereal's business thanks to “underhanded dealing” and “diabolical actions.”
The suit, filed by lawyer Ben Crump, claims that when Snoop Cereal launched in July 2023 it sold out immediately. However, after agreeing to a profit-sharing agreement in which Post would make and distribute the cereals, they found the cereal was either not available or priced unaffordably. (Snoop Cereals were being sold for $10 a box, which contradicted Broadus Foods' insistence that their products be made affordable.)
"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," the lawsuit states. "Many Walmart stores showed online and in the Walmart employee's in-store 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."
"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," Crump added. "Broadus Foods aimed to inspire economic empowerment among minorities and contribute to charitable causes addressing hunger and homelessness."
In their own statement, Walmart has denied the suit's allegations, saying, “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.”