Oreo is teaming up with K-pop supergroup BTS for a bit of marketing dynamite that capitalizes on consumers’ growing interest in global flavors.
Mondelez, Oreo’s parent company, said Tuesday that BTS-themed Oreos will go on sale June 1 online and June 8 in stores. The cookies, which feature purple wafers in a nod to the band’s signature color, will be sold in more than 80 markets around the world, making the partnership the brand's biggest to date.
The band also designed 13 embossments for the wafers, including the names of the seven members and an outline of the light stick that fans hold at BTS concerts.
The white-and-tan creme center of the sandwich cookies was formulated to taste like hotteok, a warm, brown sugar-stuffed pancake that’s a popular Korean street food.
“For Oreo to be the first snacking brand we’ve collaborated with globally is a huge honor. We ate them as kids, we eat them in the studio and now Oreo is helping us share a taste of home with the world,” BTS said in a statement.
BTS Oreos will be sold for a limited time. Chicago-based Mondelez wouldn’t say how many packages it’s making.
Martin Renaud, Mondelez’ chief marketing and sales officer, said the BTS cookies strike a balance of staying true to Korean culture and food while remaining consistent with Oreo’s brand and flavoring.
“You want to be authentic, you want to be differentiated and live an experience. But when you are Oreo, you need to be pleasing a large group of people,” Renaud told The Associated Press. “You cannot come up with something that will be liked only by 20% of the population because it would alienate some of our customers.”
Renaud said Oreo spent around two years developing the BTS cookie, eventually narrowing the possible flavors to three before settling on hotteok.
“I think Korean food is an incredible cuisine. I’m French, maybe I should not say that, but I believe it,” Renaud joked.
BTS Oreos arrive at a time when consumers are increasingly eager to sample new and authentic global cuisines and flavors. Datassential, a food and beverage consulting company, said U.S. restaurants featuring global flavors — Asian and South American, specifically -- have been gaining market share since 2019. In Europe, West African restaurants are growing in popularity, the company said.
Social media is spurring the international taste trend. There are more than 11,700 TikTok videos under the hashtag “hotteok,” for example. Seeking out global foods or learning to make them is a low-risk and low-cost way to enjoy other cultures, said Russell Zwanka, the director of the food marketing program at Western Michigan University.
“You can experience the world without spending $2,000 on a ticket,” Zwanka said.
Delivery services and speciality grocery stores like the Asian supermarket chain H Mart have also made it easier for consumers to sample international foods, he said.
“People have a much more proactive stance on trying to find flavors they can attribute to certain regions of the world,” Zwanka said. “I think that’s beautiful. It’s way the world should be.”
In recent years, Oreo has partnered with Coca-Cola, singer and actress Selena Gomez, and the K-pop girl band Blackpink, among others. The brand also offers limited-time flavors in specific markets, like cherry sakura in Japan and red bean paste in China.
BTS is also no stranger to food collaborations. The band partnered with McDonalds in 2021 for a global meal promotion in 50 countries. BTS also worked with the Korean food companies Paldo and Hy to develop Arih, a line of noodles and drinks sold at Walmart.
Renaud said partnerships and playful, interesting flavors help Oreo expand its appeal beyond families.
“We want to be making sure we also keep our older children and Gen Zs and keep the brand up to date,” he said.
Renaud said Oreo is already working on its next collaborations, which may or may not be as big as the BTS partnership.
“We’re not obsessed to be more, more, more, more, markets. I think if we can, yes, let’s go for it,” he said. “But the key point is we need to be really resonating with the local culture.”
