Snoop Dogg has accused Walmart of sabotaging his cereal brand.
The rap star and Master P have launched a lawsuit against the supermarket chain, accusing Walmart and Post Consumer Brands, a food manufacturing company, of hiding boxes of Snoop Cereal.
The lawsuit — which was filed on Feb. 6 — claims that Post agreed to “treat Snoop Cereal as one of its own brands” and that it would 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 stated. “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.”
The rap stars have accused Post of entering into a “false arrangement.”
“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 continued.
Snoop and Master P claim that their product has proven to be popular with consumers in the U.S.
However, the rap duo also believe that Snoop Cereal suffered from a lack of visibility in Walmart stores.
“Walmart and Post agree on the exact aisle, shelf, and position each box will reside on that store floor,” the lawsuit explains. “This joint venture results in each store being told exactly where they are to put each cereal brand down to the nearest millimeter.”
On the other hand, Walmart noted that it has a “strong history of supporting entrepreneurs.”
“Many factors affect the sales of any given product,” the retail giant stated.
