WE HAVE A WINNER! Quaker Oatmeal Squares

Two months ago I launched an endeavor to determine the favorite cereal among my followers. Utilizing a bracketed playoff system inspired by college basketball's "March Madness", dozens of cereals were included in online polls. Thank you to all of you who participated in this lengthy process! It has been arduous, but in the end, after hundreds of votes, we finally have a winner!

The 2016 March Cereal Madness winner goes to Quaker Oatmeal Squares!

For full disclosure this is actually my favorite go-to cereal, so it might be easy for others to see that this result was fixed. I did vote in all the polls, but only once each time, so I know that my single vote is not the whole story. Obviously, through a process of elimination there are many, many others out there who also love this cereal.

This was not expected. I really thought the winner would be one of the super popular cereals like Honey Nut Cheerios, or favorites like Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, and so on. And, while most of these moved along in the brackets, in the end Corn Pops and Oatmeal Squares made the finals, with the latter winning with a 57.14% decision!

What is so special about Oatmeal Squares? As a fan myself I believe that in addition to the hint of brown sugar taste, texture is a big part of the story. These squares are crunchy, even in milk, and make for a hearty breakfast.

Congratulations to Quaker for having a true winner in Oatmeal Squares. (Interestingly, they had another cereal, Life, that made it to the Final Four!).

If you have never tried this exceptional cereal (or if it's been awhile) be sure to get a box and see what the rave is all about!

Review: Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats Crunch

Already this year a number of new cereals have been introduced, but the one that caught my attention most is new Mini Wheats Crunch from Kellogg's. The reason is simple: It appeared to be a knock-off of Quaker's Oatmeal Squares, which I must confess is my favorite all-around cereal. So, a cereal that tries to match my personal fave must be examined, if only to determine which is the best of the best. I do not want to spend too much time comparing new Crunch with Quaker's successful brand, but the comparisons are too obvious to ignore. The Kellogg's cereal has the same shape, highlights a brown sugar flavor, and even comes in a blue box. The recipe itself is somewhat similar, except that whole wheat is the number one ingredient with oats a close second, whereas with Oatmeal Squares the order is obviously reversed. The question for us is: Is this innovation or just a mere copy-cat effort?

It is worth noting that new Crunch is part of the Frosted Mini Wheats family, yet another attempt by a cereal manufacturer to build their portfolio around particular, successful brands (such as Special K, Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, etc.). But in this case the connection is somewhat misleading. Crunch, despite whole wheat as the number ingredient and it having a light frosting, does not look or taste like the other Mini Wheats varieties. This does not make it bad, just out of place.


As far as taste is concerned, my initial impression was positive, but I detected a hint of maple flavor coming through. This caught me a little off-guard as I wasn't expecting it since it is labelled as a "brown sugar" flavor. Upon closer examination of the box I discovered that the reason might be the fact that the cereal does contain both natural and artificial flavors. The latter probably explains the odd taste, and is somewhat disappointing for me. Other than that the cereal holds it own on taste, but would probably be much better with a more authentic, natural flavor.

For me and my love of Quaker Oatmeal Squares, texture was going to be a big test. If there is one area in which the Quaker brand has its own oddity it is texture. Out of the box and immediately in the bowl with milk Oatmeal Squares are too hard and crunchy - it is only after sitting for 20 or more minutes that they are to die for. Kellogg's may have found one way to beat the competition, as Crunch is a much lighter woven square, and easier to chew out of the box and shortly after you smother it with milk. Yet, even after 5 and 10 minutes it still retains sufficient crunch, living up to its name.

Eating Crunch left me a little frustrated. In many ways this is like eating any generic or store-brand knock-off cereal. It might be a decent breakfast cereal, but you're always thinking about the original that you could be eating. Apart from the Crunch lettering which is energetic and wants to jump off the box, the whole experience is diminished by Kellogg's lack of creativity. There are enough subtle differences with this cereal that they could have given it its own identity. Why did they feel the need to copy so much?

While not heavily promoted as a health cereal, Crunch is also not intended to be a high-sugared, novelty cereal. The Mini Wheats brand, while not shying away from the frostings, tries to convey a wholesome image based around whole wheat. Crunch is generally nutritious with a full 6g of protein, 5g of fiber, and the standard fortified vitamins and minerals. The one area that leaves it a little suspect is sugar content. In my view, a healthful cereal should contain no more than 20% of its weight in sugars. Crunch is around 27%. And, forgive me for yet another comparison, overall the brown sugar variety of Quaker Oatmeal Squares edges out Kellogg's Crunch here.

Comparisons aside, Kellogg's Crunch is a relatively wholesome cereal that most everyone will enjoy as an alternative to many of the cereals common in the market today. I question whether it will have longevity as a product SKU, but if you enjoy a crunchy cereal with a touch of frosting sweetness this is worth adding to your grocery cart next time you go shopping.

(Review protocol HERE)

What's up with Quaker?

Yesterday I reported on some packaging updates from Quaker, plus one new cereal. That was pretty significant, but now I discover that there is more!

Four other new varieties have been spotted in the wild, including three new Life offerings, two of which are somewhat unusual for the brand.

The new varieties are: Maple & Brown Sugar Life, Apple Cinnamon Crunchtime Life, Strawberry Crunchtime Life, and Honey Nut Oatmeal Squares. Watch for them!

So, what's up with Quaker? That's a lot of change all at once. Maybe this thrust is a sign of their intent to ramp up their position within the cereal market. Whatever it is, it is rather impressive.