Rap icons Master P and Snoop Dogg are filing a lawsuit against Walmart. The two revealed the news in a press conference today, and alleged that Walmart purposely hid their cereal they launched last year with their brand, Broadus Foods.
According to the reported suit, which was filed by attorney Ben Crump, Walmart and major food brand Post partnered with Broadus Foods to distribute the cereal in the super retailer, however, intentionally stocked their cereals in shelves and areas that weren’t immediately visible to customers.
“Broadus Foods is seeking damages suffered by the deceptive trade practices under various causes of action,” reads a press release on Crump’s website.
According to a report from TMZ, Walmart showed the cereal, called Snoop Cereal, to be sold out at various Walmart locations, however, employees reportedly discovered cases of Snoop cereal in the back room of a Walmart store, allegedly uncoded for sales.
At the time of writing, it appears Walmart has not been served with a complaint yet.
“Walmart values our relationships with our suppliers, and we have a strong history of supporting entrepreneurs,” said a Walmart representative to TMZ. “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.”
Additionally, Post also issued a statement to TMZ, claiming that consumer demand did not match what Post and Walmart had initially imagined.
“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 Master P were reportedly expecting their cereal to be stacked with other leading brands, however now feel that Post and Walmart only agreed to the partnership to shut them out of the market.
This is a developing story and will be updated.