New biscuit brand Pokimane is facing accusations of “fraud” after fans uncovered a strikingly similar product being sold at Costco.
Popular influencer Pokimane ventured into the snack industry with the launch of her company Myna Snacks and introduced her own line of cookies called Midnight Mini Cookies.
Pokimane’s move follows a trend of influencers who have started diversifying their sources of income through various product launches. He joins Logan Paul & KSI who launched Prime in 2022 as well as MrBeast who founded Beast Burger and Feastables. There are also people like Amouranth who recently talked about some more unique business ideas.
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However, the launch of Pokimane has already led to controversy over the product’s authenticity and price.
Myna Snacks was announced just days after Pokimane teased the product’s launch, claims to offer healthier snack options.
In a statement on Myna Snacks websitePokimane said, “Most of the snacks were full of things that I couldn’t feel good about. So we created Myna.”
Midnight Mini Cookies are described as being made with “rich chocolate with velvety white flakes and sea salt” and retail for a premium price of $28 for a 4-pack, $56 for an 8-pack and $84 for a 12-pack. .
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Controversy surrounding the product erupted almost immediately, as social media users were quick to question the snack’s origins. One Twitter user provided a deep dive into the origin of the productfinish with Resources.
Myna Snacks and its co-founders, Pokimane and Darcey Macken, are tight-lipped about how they experimented, created and tested their product. So I did a bit of digging into their product. Here is the thread of my findings. 🧵
Links are provided at the end of the thread. https://t.co/cDb0VFNnYN— 🪷🪻Suvana🪻🪷 (@Atelisi) November 13, 2023
An Atelisi investigation alleges Myna Snacks lied about who created the cookies after discovering similarities between Midnight Mini Cookies and a product from Creations Foods, another Pacific Northwest company known for its healthier snack options. apparently available at Costco stores earlier this year.
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“There are cookies right on their site that look similar to Myna Snacks…Toatzy’s Midnight Mini Cookies,” Atelisi shared, noting that Toatzy’s website links back to Creations Foods.
Atelisi also added that a comparison of nutritional information and ingredients revealed the two products were almost identical, before saying it was possibly a “cash grab” where “no work was put into the biscuits themselves, and claims of ‘creating’ the cookie is (allegedly) a lie.”
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More social media users are also speaking out against the product, p one highlighting the now higher listing price“Apparently the new Pokimane product is just a rebranded ‘Toatzy Midnight Mini Cookie’ that sells for three times the price. The only difference between the cookies is vitamin D3. $28 vs. $9.99 for 400g. Scam?”
Neither Pokimane nor the Myna Snacks brand have yet publicly responded to the claims.