video transcript

The packaging for Oreo sandwich cookies may have changed over the past hundred years but the formula has not changed all that much: a white mystery cream squished between two black cookies. The Oreo marks a century milestone. Here is the original invoice from the National Biscuit Company, which eventually became Nabisco, dated March 6, 1912. Since then, Oreos have risen to $2 billion in annual sales from more than 100 countries, according to Kraft Foods, which now owns the Nabisco brand. John Ghingo is the senior director of global biscuits for Kraft Foods and says innovation is one key to Oreo's success. SOUNDBITE: JOHN GHINGO, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL BISCUITS, KRAFT FOODS (ENGLISH) SAYING: "So in a given market we may have a flavor that's only available in that market because it appeals locally, an example of that is green tea ice cream flavored Oreo cookies, which are only sold in China; they are a great seller in China. They might not ever be sold anywhere else in the world but that's ok because it is a way to connect the brand stronger locally in China." But no matter what the flavor - there's always a dilemma: to twist or not to twist and to dunk or not to dunk. SOUNDBITE: JOHN GHINGO, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL BISCUITS, KRAFT FOODS (ENGLISH) SAYING: "Going around the world, talking to people around the world about Oreo, one of the things I get to hear is how everybody has a very strong opinion on what is the right way to eat an Oreo. For some people that means twisting it open and licking out the cream, for others it means it has to be consumed with milk; those types of things, that passion that consumers bring to Oreo, is actually something that is quite strong for the brand around the world." A debate that has lasted for 100 years. Conway Gittens, Reuters