My Impression of Nabisco's Packaging of "Crema de Fresa" Oreo Cookies

there hasnt been an official language for the us declared. even though
I think there should be. I hate spanish labeled stuff as well. I have
wondered what people from other companies think of our food labels.
you see something with a picture of a tomato, you know it has tomato
in it, what do they think when they see a can with a picture of a dog
on it ?

Well, if you can't read it, I think there's a few obvious solutions:

1. don't buy it.
2. learn to read it or ask someone who can
3. continue writing up these silly little letters as if English is the
only language packages should be printed in.

PS: How do you think all the immigrants and illegals who can't
read/speak English buy their groceries? Other languages are on the
packaging!

It must be nice to have enough money to only have to worry about the
language on a package. Do you honestly have nothing better to do? It
may come as a shock to you, but America is a multicultural country. To
me, you sound like just another racist moron hiding behind the flag.

this is why the man was singing in front of Walmart .. in spanish! He
got ahold of one of the Crema De Fresa cookies!! See what happens when
you eat things from "Spanish" packages???


ay ay ay.. Caramba!!

YOU WILL GET MORE EFFECTIVE RESULTS IF YOU IDENTIFY THE PRESIDENT/CEO
OF THE COMPANY. I HAD A SIMILIAR EXPERIENCE WITH A CEREAL COMPANY.
THEY AT LEAST SENT FREE COUPONS. SOMETIMES I CALL AND ASK FOR THE
QUALITY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND OFFER SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE THE
PRODUCT.I HAVE GOTTEN REFUNDS FROM SUCH A SITUATION.

I am also noticing More & More Packaging Printed More In Spanish then
in English..

I thought the Language of OUR Country "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
was English...DUH!!

Hey if they Want Spanish Information on their products... Go To Mexico
and Buy It!!! PLEEEEEEEEEEZE

Many companies make two kinds of packaging, sometimes more. One in
English, and others in languages such as Spanish, French, even Russian
and Japanese. Most of the time, these alternate packages are sent to
other countries: Spain/Mexico/Puerto Rico, France/Canada, or wherever
else they might be ordered from. We buy lots of products from other
countries, and they label them in English for us.
Sometimes, these packages don't make it to the country they are
intended for (I see lots of Spanish and French packaging at my local
outlet/overstock store-I have NesQuick with a Spanish label!), or
retailers on the border order them to appeal to their bilingual or
immigrant customers. I can see this happening where you are in
Arizona.

If you have a complaint (and I don't really see this worth complaining
about), it should be directed at the store where you found these
Oreos, not at Nabisco.

I did a little research and I THINK I have some information.

The Strawberry Milkshare flavor and these "Crema de Fresa" cookies are
the same. The later (and the associated packaging) are for
Spanish-speaking markets. Yes, that includes such markets within the
US.

I live in a multi-cultural area and I can find many familiar products
repackaged for other audiences. I frequent Korean grocery stores and
I can buy many American products with labels in Korean, for example.
There's a local chain on "international" stores that sell products for
Asian, Latino, and other communities. One can find Oreos, for
example, with Spanish packaging.

Nabisco wants to make money. That's why they do this. It isn't their
place to make political statements by forcing Spanish-speaking
customers to learn English to buy their products. Selling "Crema de
Fresa" cookies gives that an audience that they can't reach (as well)
with "Strawberry Milkshake" cookies.

Brooke's local store either accidentally ordered (or accidentally
received) the wrong packaging or (as several have pointed out) have a
Spanish-speaking customer base. Therefore, having a product that
appeals to this base gives THEM money that they might not otherwise be
able to capture.

What I suspect is behind this letter is the feeling that companies
shouldn't make money from people who live in America, but refuse to
learn the language. That's an interesting debate.

But, when you look at the larger picture, I'm sure you realize that
targeted products is a very normal thing. Would you disagree that
companies should certify Kosher products to sell to a observant Jews?
Would you disagree that Campbell Soup should make flavors that appeal
to people in the South? Should companies be required to only sell and
market products in a way that appeals to "regular Americans"?

Brooke: this box wasn't meant to offend you. It was meant to get
someone who speaks Spanish to buy it.

As an aside...

As somoene that doesn't consume dairy, when I saw "milkshake" on the
package, I passed it by. Does it actually contain milk? If the dulce
de leche flavor is an example, the answer is no. Perhaps Nabisco is
trying to offend us non-dairy folks by selling a product with "milk"
in the name (if not in the ingredients).

You may have gotten them in the regular cookie isle and I could very
well be incorrect but both Wal-Mart stores in my town have a section
of an isle that is completely geared towards their spanish costumers.
Everything in that section is labeled in spanish - even items that are
in the regular designated section of the store with english labels.
Is it possible that these cookies were meant for that isle/section?
Or that you picked them up in that type of isle? It may be a
possibility....

I'm not sure why you are offended by this,considering you live in
Phoenix,where I assume you have a sizable Spanish speaking
population.
I live in South Florida where we have many Spanish speaking people,so
as a result,I see quite a lot of Spanish labeled food items(and other
things as well)in my local grocery store.It really doesn't bother me
in the slightest.Many of these things are marketed towards Spanish
speakers anyway,so why should it bother me?
I buy Flan all the time at the gorcery store.The entire package is in
Spanish,including the ingredients.Do I care?heck no,the flan is good!

Well, dont ever shop at World Market. Thats probably my most favorite
place to shop! They have stuff from all over the world there and most
of the packaging is in a foreign language.

I think in this day and age its pretty silly and immature to allow
cultural and language barriers to still be an issue.

You had to have seen the packaging BEFORE you bought the product. If
it was such a problem then why did you buy it? Dont you think that its
quite possible that they made the product for South America and they
had too many so they sent some to some US stores? When I shop some
places like the Dollar Tree, a lot of their products were manufactured
for Spanish speaking locations. I dont speak Spanish. Not enough to
mean anything. But I do know enough to be able to figure out the
ingredient content on a package of cookies.

There is NO way something like this should alienate anyone. While I am
completely for people who come here learning to speak English, I think
this is a petty complaint. You could have turned the situation into a
learning one. Taught yourself a little Spanish while you ate your
cookies.

While your letter is well written it really goes a long way in proving
the ignorance of Americans.

The letter itself is rational, and its written well.

*disclaimer* Bear with me, if this seems long winded

About a year ago, I would have agreed to an extent with your views on
the language. I always felt that If you were coming here, you should
learn to speak english prior to entering the U.S. Never annoyed me to
the point that I would complain to a company or a politician about it
though.

Last summer I traveled to Italy for a wedding. (beautiful country by
the way) And that changed my perspective on the language issue. Most
of the signs, packaging and what-not were in multiple languages, and
most people spoke different languages. Some towns not always english,
but most spoke spanish and french as well as italian.

Even though I learned what i thought was "enough to get by"... there
were still times I felt lost and confused, even if I was just trying
to buy a phone card. That experience taught me to be empathetic
towards people trying to live in the US that dont primarily speak
english. I'm willing to be that the US is one of the few countries
left that does not embrace cultural differences by the amount of
people that are outraged and offended when they see signs in different
languages (im not directing that at the OP, she seemed far from
"outraged") a little culture goes a long way. I see americans have no
problems eating tacos, enchilatas or other various mexican foods, yet
they see a sign with spanish translation and THATS a big deal.

sorry if that was tangent-y. I agree with others that the packaging
was probably meant to go in a "ethnic" food section, and was placed
there by mistake.

I'm going to assume that this WAS a package aimed at Spanish speakers.
My guess (and it's a guess since I haven't seen this package) is that
either this product is aimed specifically at a Spanish-speaking
audience or the package was destined for markets where there are
Spanish-speaking people.

While sometimes companies do make "cute" packing with foreign words,
they usually contain plenty of English. For example, Oreo Dulce de
Leche. This product's name is in Spanish because, hey, that's the
name of the flavor. This flavor has become popular outside the Latin
community in the last few years, so Nabisco is capitalizing on that.
However, the rest of the words on the package are English.

Given that you said that most of the package was in Spanish, I'm going
to guess that it was meant to be sold to Spanish-speakers.

Either you're shopping in a store that caters to a Spanish-speaking
market OR they ordered/were shipped the wrong box.

Let me ask: were the ingredients in Spanish? Were they also in
English? If they were ONLY in Spanish, that indicates that this box
was not supposed to go to an "English-speaking" market. If it was in
both, it indicates that the box was intended for a mixed market. If
the ingredients were only in English, chances are that they are trying
to be cute by putting some Spanish words on the box.

I think the letter was generally well-written, although I find it sad
that Americans are so quick to find offense at just about anything.

Most Europeans speak 2-3 languages by the time they are adults. I wish
Americans could embrace the idea of a multi-lingual nation instead of
feeling 'alienated' by packages that feature spanish language
descriptions.

Just my two cents.

The language of the packaging seems to be a geographical thing. When I
lived in Las Vegas (which I thought was rather far removed from our
southern border) I occasionally saw Spanish packaging on some
"mainstream" products. When I go to San Diego, it's even more
prevalent. I imagine that Phoenix would have a similar situation due
to its location.
As an aside, I read this letter earlier today. Then I went grocery
shopping. I did not see any "cream of strawberry" Oreos. I did see
"strawberry milkshake" flavor in a "limited edition" package. I was
tempted, since this baby seems to like strawberry flavor. But, due to
blood sugar issues, I did not. Please, have an extra one for me
because DANG do they sound good!!!

Being a self confirmed "Oreo" purist, that meaning "Oreo" should be
two chocolate wafers with fake waxy vanilla creme in between. The ONLY
other type I will accept is the "double stuff" oreo or the chocolate
covered variety. This whole concept is foreign to me. It's no longer
an oreo if they change the flavors. It's something other than oreo
anyway.

Packaging language, as you yourself proved, makes no difference..you
purchased the cookies based on the brand name and logo and trusted
that they sold cookies.

It all boils down to this: All people laugh and cry in the same
language. What happens in between is just life.

I've noticed recently that stores (WalMart especially) will offer the
same product in two packages, one written in Spanish and one written
in English. It's very likely if the OP had looked a bit further along
the shelf, she would have found the English version.

I'm in Wisconsin, and often I find packaging with English prominent on
one side and Spanish on the other.
The stores stock one language in one row on the shelf, and the other
in the next row.

As someone who took German in high school, this is a bit annoying, but
I know that I can turn the package around or look at the next row. And
I'm nowhere near the Mexican border. Heck, I'm also likely to find
French on a package instead of Spanish.

I find it a challenge to match my limited knowledge of German, French,
and Spanish to the package. If I'm not sure, I ask one of my
kids(German isn't offered at their middle school, so they can help
with my Spanish). I think it's kind of fun. If I don't think I like
the ingredient list, I leave the package on the shelf.

Did you like the Oreos? That's what counts in the long run, isn't it?


Since you're in Phoenix, you might decide to learn some basic Spanish
so that you can decipher labels.

I seem to recall that somewhere around 2020 we Caucasians will be in
the minority in the US.

Perhaps starting now to be more aware of other languages is a smart
idea. Around the corner are lurking some other small items...

This place is going to be facing some big issues soon. Health
insurance/costs, social assistance programs, and what about schools?
We haven't been able to figure out how to educate our public school
students for several decades. And now our economy is becoming global,
an everyone is howling about lost jobs, obsolete careers. Not to
mention immigration "reform".

Oreo packaging is going to seem like a small concern when this other
stuff gets tangled in the fan blades. Some people will be pining for
the days when it was easy to dislike someone because of the color of
their skin, language they spoke or the clothes they wore.

Brooke,
This very likely may be a product they have offered for a while in
Latin America, and are now offering it in your area because of the
growing Hispanic population. So it may be a case of continuing the use
of packaging that is familiar to previous buyers in order to help them
locate it, not an attempt to alienate the English speaking community.


Or, as others have suggested, some boxes got switched around at the
plant, and the wrong box went to the wrong country. Makes you wonder
what some resident of Mexico City may be staring at right now,
wondering what this American packaging is doing there...interesting.

Brooke A.,
At first I thought maybe their Oreo delivery for Mexico missed it's
mark and then realized you are in
Phoenix, Arizona. Almost a stones throw from the border.
I too share your concern. I used to hear Press #1 for English or Press
#2 for Spanish and that really made me wonder where we live. The PC
companies now simply
state " Press #1 for Spanish".
What is the English/Spanish speaking ratio down there anyway? I
goolged it. Could not find it but I did see that Phoenix offers
Spanish as a second lanquage.
Heaven help us if we don't get serious about our borders but I will
save that for the proper place.
Let us know if they get backj with you.
Buenas dias.
BillR.

I've never actually seen one of these packages, so I can only assume
the following statement.

Perhaps they called the product Crema de Fresa. People tend to buy
things with exotic names. It might have had nothing to do with
language and everything to do with marketting.

Go to your local wine store and see how many brands have French names
or labels, even if they are not from France, and you may see what I
mean.