This is not the beef we expected to see in 2024. We always assume there is going to be a feud between a couple of artists here and there because it’s a part of the culture. But there is no way we could’ve guessed that Snoop Dogg and Master P would be in a full-on legal dispute with Walmart and Post Foods.
Here’s the story: In 2022, the hip-hop moguls started the brand Broadus Foods as a way for them to not only make money but also create opportunities for minority-owned businesses and food products. One of the brand’s biggest products is Snoop Cereal.
As a result, Master P and Snoop wanted to get into business with Post Consumer Brands, a large food manufacturer that has been in the food industry since 1895. They own several other cereal brands and products such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Honey Bunches of Oats, Chips Ahoy!, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Oreo O’s, and many others.
According to NBC News, the plan was to get Snoop Cereal in supermarkets where Post Consumer Brands sell their other products.
Even though Post Consumer Brands wanted to buy the brand entirely, Master P and Snoop rejected it because of their goal to create opportunities for minority-owned businesses. Instead, they signed a contract in December 2022 that would give Post Consumer Brands the right to take over production of Snoop Cereal such as sales, packaging, distribution, manufacturing, etc
While the MCs thought they signed a good deal that would help grow the cereal brand, it turns out that what they got was the exact opposite.
More from NBC News on the lawsuit:
As part of the agreement, it says, Broadus Foods and Post would split profits, and Postagreed 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 products is Walmart, Snoop Cereal should have been placed on Walmart’s shelves right next to the dozens of other Post branded” cereals, the suit continues. “Unbeknownst to Broadus Foods, Post was not on board with their goals and dreams and had no intention of treating Snoop Cereal equally as its own brand.”
“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 suit says.
Ben Crump, the legal representation for the cereal duo, argues that even though Snoop Cereal initially sold well, their product was later taken off shelves and put in stockrooms, specifically in Walmart stores across the country, according to NBC News.
Master P and Snoop only learned about this after customers complained about their frustrating experiences trying to buy the product. In many cases, consumers would go to Walmart looking for the brand, but be told that it was sold out. But in actuality, there would be hundreds of boxes in the stockrooms.
While the owners of Broadus Foods want money in this lawsuit, it’s not their entire goal as they simply want some sort of legal justice for the way their cereal brand was allegedly wronged.
According to NBC News, the lawsuit is seeking $50,000 in damages.