Dunkaroos facts for kids
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| Product type | Cookie snack |
|---|---|
| Owner | General Mills |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1990 (first run) 2020 (second run) |
| Discontinued | 2012 (original) |
| Markets | United States (1990-2012, 2020-) Canada (1990-2018) Australia (2019-) |
| Website | http://www.dunkaroos.com |
Dunkaroos are a popular snack food that first came out in 1990. They are made by Betty Crocker. Each package has a small amount of cookies and frosting. The idea is to dip, or "dunk," the cookies into the frosting before you eat them.
A single package usually has about ten small cookies and a little bit of frosting. The cookies come in different fun shapes. Some shapes include a circle with a "D" on it, feet, or even a hot air balloon.
Contents
The Dunkaroos Mascot
The name "Dunkaroos" comes from two words: "dunk" and "kangaroos." This is because the snack's mascot is a cartoon kangaroo.
The first mascot was named Sydney. He was a fun character who wore a hat, vest, and tie. He even spoke with an Australian accent! Later, in 1996, a contest was held to find a new mascot. The winner was Duncan, who was known as the "dunkin' daredevil."
The History of Dunkaroos
Dunkaroos were stopped being sold in the United States in 2012. However, they continued to be available in Canada. In 2016, the company General Mills started a campaign called "Smugglaroos." This encouraged Canadians to bring the snack to Americans who missed them.
Dunkaroos were sold in Canada until January 2018. Then, in December 2019, Nestlé brought them back in Australia with a chocolate-hazelnut flavor. These cookies were shaped like a kangaroo. Nestlé only sells them in Australia because they do not have the rights to sell Dunkaroos everywhere.
The Big Return in 2020
On February 3, 2020, a BuzzFeed article announced exciting news. General Mills shared that Dunkaroos would be coming back! The official Twitter account for Dunkaroos also confirmed this. They said the snack would be re-released in the summer of 2020.
In May 2020, the new Dunkaroos started appearing in 7-Eleven stores in the United States. A few months later, they arrived at other big stores like Walmart, Target, and Kroger. The new packages were a bit bigger than the old ones.
New Dunkaroos Products
After their return, Dunkaroos expanded into other fun products:
- On July 22, 2020, special merchandise was released. Each order came with a pack of the snack.
- On November 23, 2020, limited edition Dunkaroos cookie dough came out. It included frosting, too!
- Around January 2021, General Mills released a Dunkaroos cereal.
- Also in January 2021, Dunkaroos yogurt was released. It was part of Yoplait's Go-Gurt product line.
- Around March 2021, limited edition Dunkaroos frosting became available. It was similar to Betty Crocker's Rainbow Chip frosting.
Different Flavors and Varieties
Today, Dunkaroos come in several tasty combinations:
- Rainbow sprinkle frosting with vanilla cookies.
- Vanilla frosting with chocolate cookies.
- Chocolate frosting with graham cookies.
- Strawberry frosting with vanilla cookies.
- Rainbow sprinkle frosting with chocolate chip graham cookies.
Besides the original snack, the 2020 return also brought us cookie dough, cereal, yogurt, and separate frosting packs.
In the past, some Dunkaroos cookies were cinnamon flavored. There was also a special SpongeBob SquarePants edition with yellow frosting. In 2010, Dunkaroos even worked with DreamWorks to create varieties based on movies like Megamind and Shark Tale.
