Dunkaroos (History, Flavors, FAQ & Commercials)

Dunkaroos is a snack that consists of small cookies that you dunk into the frosting. The cookies are shaped in the form of kangaroos and basketballs that are dunked into frosting that is contained inside their holding containers, hence the namesake “Dunkaroos”. They were a popular snack in the ’90s, favored for their delicious sugary frosting. This one is always a crowd favorite, with the nostalgia factor being strong with this one, often eliciting strong fan support for the diminished but loved snack. 

History

Dunkaroos is a snack that consists of cookies that are dunked into the frosting and then eaten. Dunkaroos packaging contains everything needed to eat the snack, including a pouch for the frosting that is included with it. First launched in 1988 under the Betty Crocker name, they become very popular with children as a lunchtime treat to be included in their meal. Children would find many requests to trade snacks if they came in with Dunkaroos, as it was quite popular. The popularity of Dunkaroos was largely driven by its frosting, being a very sugary and tasty sweet to eat in combination with the cookies included in the packaging. Dunakroos cookies are in the shape of kangaroos and basketballs that you subsequently “dunk” into the frosting, thus the name, Dunkaroos.

Dunkaroos has come in many different flavors of cookies and frosting over the years since its release, most recently being in 2018 when Dunkaroos released a hazelnut flavored edition. Other flavors include chocolate cookies, vanilla cookies, cinnamon graham cookies, with various combination of flavors of frosting such as chocolate or vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.

Dunkaroos market visibility and popularity have faded somewhat over the years, with its golden age being in the early 90’s or so. Released in 1988, Dunkaroos aired its first commercial in 1993, the marketing of an energetic mascot named Sydney the kangaroo bouncing around happily in front of kids promoting its product Dunkaroos was a popular tactic with snack brands and it was effective. With several marketing campaigns and a sugary tasty product, Dunkaroos enjoyed success, and to this day it is remembered fondly as a delicious and fun snack item. In recent years Dunkaroos has been in decline somewhat, despite its high nostalgia factor, the product has become increasingly hard to find in stores since the early 2000s. 

Most production and marketing in the United States has ceased in 2012, and similarly in Canada in 2018. However, Dunkaroos is still produced and sold in smaller amounts out of Australia and is at times imported into other countries such as the U.S. Even though the Dunkaroos brand may be in a lull at the moment, the Nestle Australia’s division has nonetheless been released and still sells a hazelnut Dunkaroos product under the Nestle name. Dunkaroos hazelnut flavored frosting is made with real hazelnuts and a new packaging style and may signal a potential revival of the product. Additionally, even after production has tempered down in the early 2000s, Dunkaroos has been known to show there is still life in the product, such as having the occasional revamp of the product such as a new larger and reshaped cookies featured around 2010.

Dunkaroos have been sold in Australia since around 1992 and continue to be produced and sold there as of 2018. Even though produced of Dunkaroos is limited, there is still a strong demand for them. At the height of their popularity, Dunkaroos commanded roughly 8 percent of the entire granola bar and fruit snack category in Canada. Often times consumers in the United States wish to import Dunkaroos, with a campaign by General Mills that was done by encouraging the transport of Dunkaroos from Canada to the United States by consumers. A website called Smugglaroos was created to help Canadians who are traveling to the United States to sign up to bring Dunkaroos across the border to Americans who can’t find them in stores. Although, at this moment as of 2018 the Smugglaroos website currently says it is down for maintenance. It should be noted that the company released safety advice as part of the campaign and that it was aimed towards adults. Smugglaroos’ slogan is “Make America dunk again,” borrowing a phrase often used during the United States 2016 election in order to promote the idea of the product being returned to the United States. The company did not seem to expect the idea of customer-to-customer sales of Dunkaroos to take hold, but merely for it to get some buzz going about the product.

Production in Canada may have been hampered by the belief that there was not enough interest, as may be gleaned from the following statements during the Smugglaroos campaign.

“Online, we started to see that there was cross-border shopping: people were posting that Americans could purchase Dunkaroos online for grossly inflated prices,” said General Mills marketing director Jason Doolan. “It was a wake-up call. … There is still an affinity for this product.”

It should be noted that for Canada, General Mills has agreed to the “Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative,” a voluntary program created to improve food advertising directed to children under the age of 12 to help address concerns regarding childhood obesity. It has not been confirmed if this was a part of the decline of the Dunakroos in Canada, but maybe noteworthy.

On Monday, September 17, 2018, a U.S. federal trademark registration was filed for Dunkaroos by Retrobrands USA LLC under the Cereal-based snack foods category. The stated mission of RetroBrands is to revive “abandoned” consumer iconic brands and to bring them back to the marketplace. This could have indicated a possible revival of Dunkaroos in the United States, but for now, little information exists on what RetroBrands was attempting to do, and as of early 2019, the application was on hold pending other action. On Sat, Oct 20, 2018, Snack History contacted Jeff Kaplan president of RetroBrands USA LLC for more information but received a reply asking us to contact him at a later date as he was out of the country.

General Mills sued ReotroBrands for allegedly breaching a previous settlement agreement by their action of filing a trademark for Dunkaroos under the Cereal-based snack foods category. It appears that the lawsuit is not for the trademark infringement itself, but for violating a previous agreement that prevented them from such trademark filing. General Mills has asked for things such as the terms of their previous agreement to be enforced, such as the cancellation of the trademark filing for Dunkaroos by RetoBrands and for legal fees in the costs of the case.

In February of 2020, Dunkaroos was announced to be released again in the United States. The release of Dunkaroos for sale to the public is to begin in May 2020, with the product availability increasing until around July. On 4/30/2020, Dunkaroos gave out 5,000 free packs of Dunkaroos, with a limit of 1 free pack per person or household.

A statement from General Mills says, “We’re thrilled to relaunch Dunkaroos in the U.S. after years of it only being available in Canada,” says Jeff Caswell, president of Snacks at General Mills. “For those who grew up in the ‘90s, the original cookie-frosting combo represents the taste, color and fun of being a kid during that decade. We know there’s a lot of love for Dunkaroos, and fans everywhere have been asking for it. We’re excited to help ‘90s kids relive all the best parts of childhood.”

The Company That Makes Dunkaroos

The 90s candy Dunkaroos is made by Betty Crocker, a brand name owned by General Mills. Betty Crocker is the name that several snacks and candies are produced under, such as Fruit by the Foot and Fruit Gushers, all owned by General Mills. Dunkaroos also seems to have spent time being produced by Uncle Toby’s company, before Nestlé purchased the business and associated brands in 2006. Dunkaroos is sold under the Nestle Australia name, with a “Starz” logo by the Nestle Logo, though this is just for Nestle’s Dunkaroos Hazelnut version. The US and Australian products are not connected and are owned by separate companies. The Dunkaroos produced by General Mills under the Betty Crocker brand are separate from the Dunkaroos produced by the Uncle Toby’s (and now) Nestle lineup. Dunkaroos has been produced by separate companies since near its inception. Betty Crocker and General Mills produced their own, and Uncle Toby’s produced their own until 2006 when Nestle obtained Dunkaroos from them and transitioned to Nestle packaging in 2007.

The Year Dunkaroos Was First Made.

Dunkaroos was originally made in 1988 under the Betty Crocker brand name. It was an instant hit with kids, and the high energy marketing and the sweet sugary taste were very popular with the children.

Mascots

In an effort to promote Dunkaroos, mascots were created for the product. The original mascot of Dunkaroos was Sydney, an energetic kangaroo from Australia. Sydney was voiced by John Cameron Mitchell. In 1996 a new mascot was shown for Dunakroos named Duncan, the dunkin’ Daredevil. The new mascot Duncan was chosen after a contest called the “Dunk-a-Roos Kangaroo Kanga-Who Search”, which allowed children to submit drawings of possible designs for a new mascot.

Where To Buy

Many people want to know where they can buy Dunkaroos, but have a hard time with it. In the past Dunkaroos could be bought in stores all over the United States and many other countries, such as Turkey. Over time, they began to vanish from many stores shelves in most countries. For a time Dunkaroos was produced in small amounts in Canada, but that seems to have ceased as well. If you want to buy Dunkaroos, your best bet is to look to the one place left that Dunkaroos seems to be produced, Australia. Of course, many people do not live in Australia, so if that is not an option you can try to find a box in a random store. Consumers have reported occasionally about finding a long-lost box of Dunkaroos for sale on the odd store shelf in Canada, the U.S, Poland, and Turkey. If none of these options are available, your last choice is to buy Dunkaroos online. They are not always available, however, though you may be able to find them. You can check this page to see if you have any offers to buy Dunkaroos online for display. In the past Dunkaroos were being encouraged to be transported into the United States from Canada, but little seems to have come from this and the supply seems to have dried up.

Logo

Flavors

Dunkaroos has had multiple different types of flavors of both cookie and frosting released, here is a list of known flavors:

• Cookies n’ cream flavored cookies with white creme frosting.
• Vanilla cookies with chocolate frosting.
• Chocolate chip cookies with chocolate frosting.
• Vanilla cookies with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.
• Cinnamon graham cookies with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.
• Vanilla cookies with strawberry icing.
• Shrek edition Dunkaroos cookies with Vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.
• Shrek edition Dunkaroos cookies with green frosting.
• Hazelnut flavored Dunkaroos featuring frosting made with real hazelnuts.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients of Dunkaroos.

Vanilla Frosting with Rainbow Chips: 

• Sugar
• Vegetable Oil (palm, palm kernel, coconut)
• Water
• Corn Syrup
• Corn Starch
• Nonfat Milk
• Salt
• Monoglycerides
• Polysorbate 60
• Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
• Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate
• Modified Cellulose
• Natural and Artificial Flavor
• Soy Lecithin, Color (yellow 6 lake, red 40 lake, yellow 5 lake, blue 1 lake, yellow 5, blue 2 lake, yellow 6)
• Citric Acid.
• Freshness preserved by Potassium Sorbate.

Vanilla Cookies: 

• Enriched Flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)
• Sugar,
• Palm Oil
• Water
• Whole Wheat Flour
• Salt
• Soy Lecithin
• Natural and Artificial Flavor
• Monocalcium Phosphate
• Baking Soda.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 serving	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	115
Calories from Fat	0
Total Fat	5.3g	8%
Saturated Fat	1.2g	6%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	20mg	1%
Potassium	0mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate	15g	5%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars	10.2g
Protein	1.2g	2%
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		0%
Iron		0%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Packaging

Dunkaroos come in a rectangular container inside of a rectangular package. The container that has the cookies and frosting in it has been designed to optimize the consumption of the snack. The container has 2 compartments, one with cookies, and the other with frosting, which allows the cookies to be dunked into the frosting. The containers are generally blue, though sometimes white. The packaging box itself is usually blue, or blue and white, though older Uncle Toby style Dunkaroos sometimes had more color in them. On the boxes of Dunkaroos, there is often a kangaroo mascot depicted, either Sydney or Duncan, and the container of Dunkaroos highlighting the cookies and frosting are also apparent on the box. Boxes of Dunkaroos sold in Australia sometimes contain a STARZ logo that is depicted on the box.

More about ownership and packaging.

Snack History contacted Nestlé Australia to inquire more about the ownership of Dunkaroo’s and information regarding the Stars logo on the Dunkaroos hazelnut packaging. We received this response from its Consumer Engagement Services. “The US and Australian products are not connected and are owned by separate companies. DUNKAROOS has been sold in Australia for many years (since around 1992). Previously owned by The Uncle Tobys Company, Nestlé purchased this business and associated brands in 2006 but there is no connection to Betty Crocker or General Mills in this market. In around 2007 the previous Uncle Tobys Company packaging transitioned to Nestlé branding and the STARZ logo was added. It is currently the only Nestlé product on the market using the STARZ logo…”.

Slogan

One slogan that reappears often in commercials for Dunkaroos often is “How do you do your Dunkaroos?” Kids are then portrayed explaining and acting how various ways they “dunk’ the cookie into the frosting.

Another slogan is “Ya just don’t eat, ya Dunkaroos!”. This was a catchphrase used in a song in a commercial for Dunkaroo’s. General Mills filed a trademark registration for the catch-phrase, but ultimately it seems like that filing was labeled as abandoned.

Generals Mills has used the slogan “Make America dunk again!”, to promote their Smugglaroos website for bringing Dunkaroos from Canada to the United States.

Dunkaroos Song

In 1993, Dunkaroos released a song during one of its commercials: “My name is Sydney I’m an awesome hunk, got a wacky snack ya don’t just eat you dunk. Cookies on one side, frosting on the other, the creamy taste will drive you wild! (Let’s have another!) Dunkaroos, Dunkaroos, ya don’t just eat, you Dunkaroos! Frosting like… Chocolate, vanilla, yummy cookies too! Tastes soo good with a glass of mooo! Dunkaroos, Dunkaroos, you don’t just eat you Dunkaroos!”

How To Store

According to the storing instructions for the Smugglaroos campaign, you should store Dunkaroos in a cool dry place. The instructions also say try not to store Dunkaroos in the heat, or you may end up with melted frosting. This will help keep the snack in better quality for consumption and is a good practice to follow.

Popularity

For a snack that has often been hard to find, Dunkaroos sure are popular. Multiple social media campaigns, posts, and tweets have been attempted to get Dunkaroos to be easier to access. What makes Dunkaroos so popular can be attributed to several potential reasons. First off, people remember the snack being very good tasting, kids do love sugary sweets, and Dunkaroos was the king and queen of sugary frosting goodness. That frosting delight brings back fond recall of times in the school lunchroom eating them, so nostalgia may be playing a large role in the constant hum of demand for Dunkaroos. The fact is that it was a favorite snack for many as a kid, one they would trade for in the middle school cafeteria. Perhaps many just wish to see their old favorite return, craving that sugary frosting they fell in love with as a kid.

Childhood Recollections

When I was a child I would do anything to get my hands on Dunkaroos. My dad was pretty big on limiting sweets for me as a child. I would hope every day that this would be the day to get Dunkaroos for my snack in my lunch box. I would usually get some sort of snack included, but my dad was thought Dunkaroos had a lot of sugar so it was rare he would include them. I used to do what I could to trade for them at school, but it was hard to get someone to give up a package, no matter what you offered. Sometimes he would give in, and include a package a couple of times a week, and I would be overjoyed. I really loved them when I was a kid, the sugary frosting was just so much better than anything else I had, and I craved those things. To this day I am still in love with this treat, and they will always be my favorite snack.

Trademark Information

Dunkaroos has had several trademark filings, some of their serial numbers are listed as 74208749, 74274185, 74681854, and 88119368. The trademark filing with serial number 74208749 (registration number 1755584) is marked as “790 – Cancellation Pending”. This trademark for the word mark Dunkaroos has a filing date for
1991-10-01 and a registration date of 1993-03-02. The listed first use anywhere date is 1992-07-06. This does not necessarily mean that Dunkaroos was first made or sold on that date, however. The originally listed registrant is General Mills Inc, and the current owner is listed as General Mills Marketing Inc.

Other trademark information such as trademark serial number 74208749 shows a filing for the word mark “YA JUST DON’T EAT, YA DUNKAROOS”, a slogan based on a song for the product. This trademark filing is listed as “602 – Abandoned-Failure To Respond Or Late Response”. The aforementioned trademark filing is listed as being filed on 1992-05-11 and is listed under goods and serves as “cereal-based snack foods and frosting”. Its first use anywhere date is listed as 1992-07-07.

There is a trademark filing for the word mark Dunkaroos and listed as a cereal-based snack food that is marked as serial number 88119368 and listed as “654 – Report Completed Suspension Check – Case Still Suspended”. This trademark filing lists the owners as Retrobrands USA LLC and has a filing date of 2018-09-17. General Mills sued Retrobrands LLC for allegedly breaching a previous settlement agreement for this trademark filing.

Advertisements

Dunkaroos has had multiple advertisements over the years, mostly in the form of television commercials. The first commercial advertisement aired in the year 1993 and seemed to have a popular reception and included the mascot for Dunkaroos, Sydney, jumping around while a group of small kids happily ate them. Dunkaroos commercials generally were aimed at children, often featuring kids talking about dunking cookies into frosting as the mascots gave off a high-energy feeling promoting the Dunkaroos lineup. In addition to television commercials, Dunkaroos has had an advertising campaign to renew interest in Dunkaroos called the “Smugglaroos” camping. A website was established and an announcement was made to encourage people living in Canada to buy them and take it with them to America where production was Dunkaroos was discontinued. Safety tips were given as a part of the Smugglaroos campaign, as well as storage instruction for Dunkaroos, and the ability to buy the Dunkaroos in bulk. The campaign was to help renew interest and gain insight on demand, and a parody slogan “Make America Dunk Again” was used to help promote the idea of making Dunkaroos available in the United States.

Pictures

Commercials

Here are some commercial advertisements for Dunkaroos.

THE FIRST COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENT, FEATURING THE MASCOT SYDNEY KANGAROO.

1995 BETTY CROCKER COOKIES AND CREAM COMMERCIAL

Questions And Answers

Frequently asked questions and answers about Dunkaroos.

• Q: What year was dunkaroos invented?
• A: Dunkaroos was invented in the year 1988.
• Q: Who makes Dunkaroos?
• A Dunkaroos is produced under the Betty Crocker brand of General Mills and by Nestlé who acquired the rights from Uncle Tobys Company.
• Q: Has Dunkaroos been discontinued? / Is Dunkaroos still made?
• A: Dunkaroos is still made and has not been discontinued. However as of 2019 it’s only being sold by Nestlé Australia in that region, and not General Mills.
• Q: Can i still buy Dunkaroos?
• A: You can buy Dunkaroos in stores in Australia or buy them online.
• Q: Does Dunkaroos contain gluten?
• A: Yes, Dunkaoos appears to contain Gluten.
• Q: Does Dunkaroos contain soy?
• A: It does appear that Dunkaroos contains soy.
• Q: Who is Dunkaroo’s mascot?
• A: The mascot for dunkaroos is a kangaroo called Duncan, the dunkin’ Daredevil. The previous kangaroo mascot before Duncan was “Sydney”.
• Q: How do i make Dunkaroos frosting?
• A: Funfetti is often credited with being able to make a close approximation of Dunkaroos frosting when mixed with various ingredients.
• Q: How many flavors of Dunkaroos are there?
• :A: There are at least 8 flavors (combination of cookies and frosting in one package) of Dunkaroos.
• Q: What is Dunkaroos slogan?
• A: The main slogan for Dunkaroos is “YA JUST DON’T EAT, YA DUNKAROOS”.

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