Perfecting Cereal Milk

It's not a new concept. For several years now a number of attempts have been made to convert the cereal experience into a beverage. So far nothing has really stuck. Breakfast drinks themselves have been around for years and are still readily available. The deliberate introduction of a cereal-flavored drink goes back nine years, and several have tried since, even has recently as this past year. But, as a category this has not become the sought after breakfast alternative.

The latest entrant to the race is an upstart simply called "Cereal Milk". Even though the product isn't even available yet, I am intrigued with their creativity. They are still working on the formulas and trying to arrange licensing agreements with major brands (no easy feat), but if they can get it right their vision could be the breakthrough that will make this fly. I especially like the glass bottles!

Check out their website, including the video. It will be worth watching their progress.

CowWow Cereal Milk

"There is nothing new under the sun" and that is often true in the cereal world too. It certainly is the case with cereal milk, an idea that goes back at least 7 or more years, but has never really taken off. The idea is simple: For people on the go and who want the taste of cereal without the crunch why not just provide the milk, like it is at the bottom of the bowl. Past attempts include Liquid Cereal and even a General Mills attempt, but neither succeeded.

Maybe the timing wasn't right. At least that appears to be the thought of CowWow, a company that offers organic milk in two "bottom of the bowl" cereal flavors: Fruity Trudy and Chocolate Chip Cathy.

It is questionable as to whether this will take off without a closer link to some major cereal brands, but the company does have one marketing accomplishment, the endorsement of Jimmy Kimmel.

We'll keep watching to see if this one Mooves.

Cereal alternatives: Breakfast Drinks?

The focus of this blog is cereal, but there is no doubt that cereal has inspired several new food trends over the years as our society has changed. Most notable in recent years have been cereal bars, the ultimate in convenience. While food bars of all types have become mainstream, traditional breakfast cereal has not been usurped, but it does indicate that cereal manufacturers have new competition, even if many have themselves entered intro the fray.

Now for the latest quest for the cereal alternative: breakfast drinks. And, this is coming from two of the biggest names in cereal, Kellogg and General Mills.

Liquid breakfasts are not new. Almost 50 years ago Carnation introduced its Instant Breakfast (now known as Carnation Breakfast Essentials), and within the last decade a few companies, including General Mills and Kellogg, were experimenting with cereal beverages. And, of course, there are all kinds of meal replacement drinks already available, most of them targeted at dieters.

But with the two big boys going after this again, maybe Carnation's original vision might itself become truly mainstream. With some people too busy even to get out their bowl and milk, with fresh marketing this could catch on to a greater degree.

Kellogg's entry into the market is with Breakfast to Go shakes. General Mills has announced BFast shakes. These are milk-based drinks, but with higher levels of protein, fiber, and other nutrients.

It's probably too early to tell how successful this latest attempt at breakfast drinks will be. Nonetheless, it will be an interesting development to watch, and taste.

(Sources: Huffington Post, and brandchannel)

General Mills goes liquid

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I've been moving.

 

General Mills announced a deal with flavored-milk maker Bravo! Foods for a line of milk that tastes like General Mills' most popular cereals. Initial flavors include Trix, Cocoa Puffs, and Wheaties (?!), with the possibility of later adding Lucky Charms, Booberry, and Frankenberry.

 

(Read the story at the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal)

 

This is the not the frist foray into cereal beverages. Last fall I reported on Liquid Cereal, but that has appeared to have fizzled. Kellogg's has Drink 'n Crunch, which isn't quite the same but leans in the same direction.

 

This new deal between a major cereal manufacturer and Bravo! (which already has established itself in creating specialized branded milk beverages) could be the one that pushes cereal beverages into the mainstream.

 

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Technorati Tags : cereal, beverages, General+Mills, breakfastbowl

 

Liquid Cereal

While introduced earlier this year, this is the first that I've come across Liquid Cereal.

Apparently its real cereal and fat free milk blended into a satisfying (?) beverage, especially for people on the go. It comes in four flavors: fruit, apple & cinnamon, peanut butter, and chocolate.

I haven't tried it, but while it is an interesting concept, I'm not convinced that it can be as good as the real thing (at least for us purists!)

LINK for BevNet review.

UPDATE 11/13/05 - After contacting the company they replied to tell me that they are currently reformulating the formula to make it better.

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Technorati Tags : cereal, Liquid+Cereal, breakfastbowl