As a Twitch streamer, Imane "Pokimane" Anys has spent almost a decade entertaining viewers with her gaming content, playing a variety of titles like Valorant and Among Us. Her YouTube channel is also filled with vlogs that show what her life is like outside streaming. Over the past few years, Pokimane has dabbled in different ventures, from being the creative director of a clothing brand to co-founder of an Endeavor-backed talent management company.
Pokimane's recently revealed her newest company that she'd been working on for two years: Myna Snacks, a health-conscious snack brand. The first product is Midnight Mini Cookies, which are chocolate cookies made with gluten-free and non-GMO ingredients, and infused with nutrients like vitamin D. As Pokimane celebrated the launch of her company, some people were immediately skeptical of it.
The announcement of Pokimane's Myna Snacks Midnight Mini Cookies was immediately followed by accusations that it was a rip-off of Toatzy Midnight Mini Cookies, which were sold at Costco. Apart from the fact that the products had similar names, people found out that they were both made by Creation Foods, a company that specializes in health-conscious food. They claimed that this was why Myna Snacks and Toatzy had similar-looking cookies with almost the same list of ingredients. The difference was that Myna Snacks' Midnight Mini Cookies had more vitamins and nutrients in them.
One Twitter user alleged that Pokimane simply slapped her name on an already existing product and started selling it for a slightly higher price. This led many skeptics to believe that they were being scammed by the streamer. Meanwhile, many people, including other Twitch streamers, also defended Myna Snacks' price point, especially since the Mini Midnight Cookies bundles come with four 400g packs.
Pokimane and Myna Snacks released statements to address the allegations. They emphasized that Myna Snacks Midnight Mini Cookies' formulation is unique and exclusive to the brand. The company confirmed that the product was in development with Creation Foods for two years, which included many rounds of testing and ingredient changes. Although Pokimane didn't outright name Toatzy in her statement, she explained that the cookie brand Myna Snacks was being compared to only released one test batch before being retired. When she started working with Creation Foods, she fell in love with its Midnight cookies' flavor profile and decided to refine an older version of the snack.
The streamer also addressed the accusations that Myna Snacks is a white-labeled version of Toatzy. She claimed that most of the food products sold in stores are white-labeled and that refining ingredients is a common practice in the industry. The price difference was mostly because of the quality of the ingredients added to Myna Snacks' cookies, and not because Pokimane owns the company. Pokimane ended her statement by reiterating that Myna Snacks is not a cash grab, noting that she wouldn't put a limit on her Twitch donations or not be mindful about endorsement if she was in it for the money.
Myna Snacks Midnight Mini Cookies are actually cheaper at $7 per bag compared to Toatzy's $9.99 per bag. Critics think the former is more expensive because they're sold in bundles of four at minimum, which adds up to $28.
From the outside looking in, people who aren't in the food industry will understandably think that it's a red flag when a Twitch streamer or any influencer comes out with a product that's similar to another, especially if the products were manufactured by the same company. However, it does seem like Pokimane and her business partner Darcey Macken invested a lot of time and effort in conceptualizing and formulating Myna Snacks Midnight Mini Cookies. As Pokimane said multiple times, she wanted to create snacks that actually tasted great, while still taking great care in choosing healthy ingredients.
As one of the most popular female streamers on Twitch or otherwise, Pokimane has been involved in many controversies. These include beefing with xQc, much less exposing predators in the streaming and gaming space. The criticisms she's received are mostly rooted in misogyny, while others seem to distrust her because of past mistakes she's apologized for. It's likely that Myna Snacks will still have critics, but as long as Pokimane has the receipts to back her up, she will continue to thrive.
=
https://gamerant.com/twitch-pokimane-my ... explained/
I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.