Snoop Dogg and Grasp P are taking authorized motion in opposition to Walmart and Submit Meals, arguing that the businesses prevented their cereal model from reaching customers.
In a Tuesday, February 6, grievance obtained by Us Weekly, the rappers claimed that Submit Meals, which has a portfolio of in style cereal manufacturers together with Honey Bunches of Oats and Bran Flakes, “agreed to treat Snoop Cereal as one of its own brands and produce and distribute the cereal to the major retailers” after initially providing to purchase the model outright.
Snoop, 52, and Grasp P, 53, who began Broadus Meals in 2022 with the purpose of “creating opportunities for minority-owned food products and brands,” launched Snoop Cereal at Walmart in July 2023.
The product is available in three flavors — fruity hoopz with marshmallows, frosted drizzlers and cinnamon toasteez — with a tagline that reads, “bussin [and] yummy for the tummy,” on the model’s official web site.
Regardless of Snoop and Grasp P’s declare that their cereal grew to become an “immediate success,” prospects quickly complained that they have been unable to seek out the merchandise in shops.
“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,” the swimsuit alleges. “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.”
Snoop and Grasp P additional claimed that Submit Meals “worked with Walmart to ensure that none of the boxes of Snoop Cereal would ever appear on the store shelves,” which resulted in a lack of income for Broadus meals.
“The only reason Snoop Cereal would not sell was because Post and Walmart intentionally kept it from reaching the market,” the submitting reads.
A Walmart spokesperson instructed Us in a press release: “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.”
In the meantime, Submit Manufacturers instructed Us in a press release: “Post Consumer Brands was excited to partner with Broadus Foods and we made substantial investments in the business. We were equally disappointed that consumer demand did not meet expectations.”
Snoop and Grasp P are in search of a jury trial and damages exceeding $50,000. Each musicians are being represented by Ben Crump.
“This case shines a light on the steep challenges faced by minority-owned businesses in securing fair opportunities in the marketplace,” Crump mentioned in a statement shared via X on Wednesday, February 7. “The actions by Post Foods and Walmart demonstrate cynical disregard and exploitation of minority entrepreneurs in the business world. If this is how celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Master P are treated by corporate America, just imagine how lesser known Black entrepreneurs and small business owners are treated by powerful corporations.”
In a Wednesday information convention asserting the lawsuit, Grasp P instructed reporters that the authorized motion is about minority-owned firms “getting a fair share.”
He added, per NPR, “Change is coming … and it’s going to start with [me and Snoop.]”