Sunday, March 26, 2017

Will Cereal A GO! go?

Over the years I have highlighted various bowl inventions designed to improve the cereal eating experience. Most of these concepts were designed to solve the problem of soggy cereal, by keeping the cereal and milk separate as much as possible.

The latest concept is Cereal A GO!, a two-container system developed by a retired Army paratrooper. In addition to separate compartments for the cereal and milk, it was designed to be used with one hand, making for greater convenience. The user simply squeezes the liquid side and it sprays into the cereal. The attached spoon can be likewise operated with the same hand while hold the device. The cereal can be eaten directly from the built-in bowl, or transferred to a more conventional one.

The inventor, Jesse Fairchild, has patented Cereal A GO!, and is hoping that cereal companies will license the product for selling their products, but also sees application in other setting, such as in relief efforts.

It's an awkward looking device, but in a tight market, something like this might be a solution for the cereal industry seeking to make cereal consumption more convenient for today's picky consumers.

Would you use it?

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Froot Loops celebrates Canada's birthday

One of the aspects of cereal culture that has made it so endearing is the fun experiences that some brands and varieties provide. Despite the gloom and doom in the cereal industry, there are occasional glimpses of creativity, and we have discovered one example in Canada. According to Instagramers @junkfoodcanada and @candyhunting Kellogg is about to introduce a special edition of Froot Loops in conjunction with Canada's 150th birthday this year. Birthday Cake flavour Froot Loops look just plain fun, even though we will have to reserve full judgement until we have a taste.

Recently we have seen several innovative cereals showing up in the Great White North, such as Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch oatmeals. Who knows if any of these cereals will make it to the U.S. or other markets, but we can only hope!

(Image source: candyhunting)

Monday, March 20, 2017

Honey Nut Cheerios seeds of hope (or despair?)

It's finally spring, and with that General Mills is celebrating the arrival of the equinox with a marketing campaign mixed in with a dose of social responsibility. A couple of weeks ago the company launched #BringBacktheBees, a program designed to highlight the unexplained decline of bees in the world. To do so they utilized the best-selling cereal in North America, Honey Nut Cheerios, as the platform to get this message across. Specially marked boxes in the U.S. and Canada feature Buzz the Bee missing, with only a silhouette in its place. As part of the promotion consumers were invited to request a package of wildflower seeds so that they could contribute to nourishing the bees around them.

Apparently the seed giveaway has been a resounding success, even exceeding General Mills' goal. 1.5 billion seeds were distributed, and their website says they have none left. This is a feel good campaign that not only raises the profile of the cereal, but creates of lots of goodwill for the company as well.

Except, however, for some controversy. Apparently some environmentalists, as reported on Lifehacker, have urged people not to plant these seeds since many of them are flowers not native to the United States, and therefore not necessarily a good match for the bees. The fear is that this could actually cause more damage than good. General Mills countered these concerns on the Cheerios Facebook page claiming that "the seed varieties in the mix are not considered invasive."

Most of this "buzz" has been good, but it seems that cereal companies just cannot get it completely right nowadays!