The expanding Raisin Bran(d)

With the literally hundreds of cereal options available to consumers, manufacturers have a challenge keeping their brands from all the clutter. The trend in recent years is to build on already successful brands, instead of trying to launch out with something completely new. For this reason we now see super cereal brands like Honey Bunches of Oats, Cheerios, and Special K, each offering a myriad of flavor and nutrition variants in order to catch people's attention in the grocer's aisle. If you like a cereal such as regular Cheerios, it is not a big leap to venture out for some variety with flavors like chocolate, ancient grains, or honey nut.

The latest example of this strategy is Kellogg's Raisin Bran, one of the best selling cereals on the market. The Battle Creek company has been gradually adding new cereals to the Raisin Bran portfolio, including three quite recently: Crunch Apple Strawberry, Cranberry Almond Granola, and Raisin and Honey Granola. This now brings to seven the number of offerings with "two scoops of raisins" along with fiber-rich bran.

The new Crunch Apple Strawberry, in particular, looks real interesting, and something I definitely want to try. I suspect others will as well, and that is just the way Kellogg wants it.

Is it time for hot cereal to be disrupted?

Over the past few weeks, several tips out of Canada (including a segment on NBC's Today Show) have revealed that General Mills is experimenting with some innovations to stodgy old oatmeal. For a limited time in the Great White North consumers can buy Lucky Charms Instant Oatmeal and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Instant Oatmeal. Pairing a traditional hot cereal with an irreverent, popular cold cereal brand is powerful. I am amazed no one has thought of this before.

For years I have been observing the slow, but growing trend toward oatmeal, and porridges in general. Hot cereal is a comfort food, and with the increased convenience factors (i.e. instant and single-serve packaging) offers a nutritious alternative to the typical cold cereals that dominate the marketplace. Already there are dozens of oatmeal brands readily available in the supermarket, and many more niche varieties as well.

General Mills told NBC that their Canadian experiment is an eight-week trial, and that "there are not any plans at this time to introduce the product in the United States." Porridges are somewhat more popular in Canada (any big surprise?), so this is a good test market for them. I would love to hear what General Mills learns from this venture, but I hope they decide to expand their offerings to more brands and to the U.S. as well. At minimum it could get children hyped over oatmeal!

I have long contended that with the breakfast cereal market in decline, innovation is critical. This could be an opportunity for the big players to extend their already well-known brands to hot cereal. Kellogg has already done this with Special K, but they all could benefit from following General Mills' lead with Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch and try other pairings. Some naturals that come to mind for me would be Apple Jacks, Cap'n Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, and Froot Loops. What about Boo Berry, Count Chocula and Franken Berry in the fall?

What fun, new hot cereals would you like to see?

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Things have been quiet around the Breakfast Bowl lately, partly due to work we're doing to expand and improve our site and cereal banter.

One of the enhancements that we are happy to unveil right now is our new Instagram account. Be sure to follow us at @the_breakfast_bowl for photos about cereal, and especially boxes, including many from my collection!

New Year, New Cereals

January has typically been a prime occasion for cereal manufacturers to launch new products, and this new year is no exception. Here are some of the notable cereals to watch for in the U.S. this month (although a few hit store shelves a few weeks early):

Kellogg's Cinnamon Frosted Flakes - Kellogg probably has realized that they can do so much more with one of the most popular cereals out there, Frosted Flakes. While this is not the first variety ever introduced, it might be the most interesting.

Post Cinnamon Pebbles - Cinnamon has become a popular flavor in recent years, and Post (affirming what Kellogg's sees as well) is relying on that with its latest Pebbles iteration.

Kellogg's Keebler Cereal - Most people are not aware that the famous cookie brand Keebler is actually owned by Kellogg. This is not the first time the company has tried a Keebler cereal, but they are wise in making another attempt, and playing off a strong brand to attract consumers. The 2017 version claims to contain "real mini chocolate chip cookies."

General Mills' Girl Scouts - Announced back in the fall, General Mills is also expanding on its cookie offerings with a unique partnership with the Girl Scouts, and two fun cereal flavors.

General Mills' Very Berry Cheerios - This one has not been officially announced yet, but some sites such as JunkBanter and Cerealously have already come across it in stores. Not the first berry flavored Cheerios, but a bright new extension to this leading brand. The O's feature specks of real berry powders (i.e. blueberry, strawberry, cranberry and raspberry).

Regional differences and responsibility

It is hardly news when a special interest group criticizes the nutritional quality of breakfast cereals. So, a recent report from WASH (World Action on Salt and Health) would normally hardly catch our attention, except for one difference.

In WASH's international survey of breakfast cereals they discovered that not only are there big differences in salt and sugar content in global cereal brands, but that even among specific brands there can be dramatic differences from country to country. Again, the fact that there are regional variations among brands is no big shock, but upon closer examination these differences represent some disturbing implications.

The survey revealed, for example, that Kellogg's Honey Smacks have 25% more sugar in Mexico than the same cereals in Belgium, Spain, Morocco, Norway, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE. Similarly, Kellogg's Corn Flakes has 46% more salt than the same product in Argentina and Brazil. Again, this is likely due to different taste preferences in the various countries, but WASH is rightly concerned that big cereal companies like Kellogg and Nestle/General Mills are irresponsible in even offering foods with such high levels of sodium and sugar. The Honey Smacks example is particularly troubling since Mexico already has one of the highest obesity rates in the world.

Again, this all has to do with reputation and public relations, an issue we examined last week. Cereal companies are not immune from this public scrutiny, and need to work harder to establish themselves as brands that can be trusted by consumers who are increasingly cynical of cereal.

Kellogg and bad PR

Life has been very full the last couple of months, so writing here has been sparse. It's time to catch up, and look forward to expanded coverage coming in 2017! (Reminder: Keep up to date with cereal news and fun on our Facebook page @BreakfastBowl).

The cereal industry has taken some big hits in the past few years with declining sales amid frustrated efforts to turn things around. The big companies, like Kellogg, have been particularly impacted by these shifts, and cannot afford for anything else to further erode their businesses.

One can only imagine then the hand-wringing among executives in Battle Creek in the past month or so when not one, but two, stories stormed the media and threatened to take everyone's eyes off of Kellogg's cereal business, including the introduction of new products, such as new Cinnamon Frosted Flakes.

First, was an Associated Press report that Kellogg misled consumers by not making it clear that its "independent experts" who make up its Breakfast Council are, in fact, paid by the company. Then, only days later, Bloomberg reported that Kellogg pulled ads from the right-wing news site, Breitbart. This latter story could be seen as a positive for those with left political leanings, and a negative for Breitbart supporters (encouraged on by a boycott), but the point in all this is that ultimately Kellogg does not need any of this publicity.

At a time when the cereal industry is struggling, companies are going to have to be extra vigilant to ensure that their actions are carefully thought out, and consistently applied. There can be no room for bad PR to distract consumers. People today are watching closely, and want the brands they buy to be of the highest integrity and representative of their values. Getting media attention for the wrong reasons does nothing to help these perceptions.

Bear Naked goes wild

Recently I highlighted the new custom cereal venture at Bear Naked, a Kellogg company. Since then I've placed my first order in order to test the process. Within a few days my canister arrived, presented in an attractive box, along with a handwritten note, thanking me for my order. The experience has been pleasant, reinforcing my observation that they are really trying hard to get this right.

Another feature of Bear Naked's version of customization is the inclusion of unique ingredients not commonly found in breakfast cereals, such as jalapeno, lavender, kale and olives. The whole point of that is to position granola as something that can be eaten not just at breakfast, but even at other times in the day when you want stronger, savory flavors. Since my first post, Bear Naked has added several more novel flavors that should definitely get consumers' attention. Most notable, are two non-alcoholic wine varieties, and also a bourbon flavor.

Not having tried any of these truly wild flavors, I can't really comment as to whether these types of granola will start a new eating trend. At minimum, however, these bold additions to the ingredient options should generate buzz, whether or not people actually try them. Of course, the key will be marketing, something I haven't really seen too much of so far.

Give Bear Naked credit for an worthy experiment, and we'll keep watching to see if this adds new life to the cereal industry in the U.S.

Girl Scouts cereals

A venerable part of American culture is the annual sale of cookies by Girl Scouts, a leadership development organization for girls. Now it appears that you could be supporting this respected program by purchasing some new cereals that are being produced for the Girl Scouts by General Mills. There has not been an official announcement on this partnership yet, but sightings of two new cereals have appeared on influenster.com and the Instagram account of candyhunting.

According to the box images, the two new cereals will come in Caramel Crunch and Thin Mints varieties, the latter being a truly innovative flavor for cereal. The cereals are obviously take-offs of cookies. It also appears these will be limited edition.

The big question is whether these cereals will be sold in stores or by the Girl Scouts themselves. We'll be watching for more details, so that we can try them!

UPDATE 10/24/16: General Mills confirmed on Twitter that these cereals will be arriving in January.

Bear Naked goes custom

I've long been an advocate of customized cereals, largely because of the innovation and success of mymuesli in Germany. There were several attempts in the U.S. over the years, but earlier this year when the last one closed, it looked like those small-scale ventures were the last gasp for giving American consumers the opportunity to create their own cereal mixes. But, others are still seeing the potential, including MyCerealMix, a small player; and, now I have discovered that Kellogg-owned Bear Naked also launched their own customization effort earlier this year.

Bear Naked Custom Made Granola is a website (bearnakedcustom.com) that allows consumers the opportunity to create their own granola recipe and have it shipped to them in an attractive canister. On the surface this is very similar to the other companies that have entered this field at some point, but there are some noteworthy differences. First, this is a well-designed online store, backed by one of the major cereal manufacturers. Second, they are stepping outside the ordinary with fifty different non-GMO ingredients, including several very novel ones for cereal, such as jalapeno, lavender, kale and olives. These diverse ingredients allow for some out-of-the-box combinations, including some "chef blends" with names like "Chocolate Strawberry Jalapeno," and "Olive You, Kale."

The ordering process is pretty simple, although there are certain limits when creating your mix. There are only three granola bases to start with, and you can only add three additional ingredients. Bare Naked brags that their website is powered by IBM's Watson to help you create the perfect blend, but I have not found that feature to be that useful. Once you have determined your recipe, you get to choose from one of five canister designs, featuring a different styled bear. The price is $9.99 for 11oz, and that includes shipping.

This is a major development. For the first time a major U.S. player is entering the custom cereal market. So far, this seems low profile, as I haven't seen any advertising, other than a few social media posts. It somehow passed my notice until now, and I doubt that many others have really tapped into it yet either. If Kellogg wants this to be successful they will need to find some way to get the word out, and entice consumers with the opportunity to create cereals that they might actually eat!

What impact will new GMO disclosures have?

I recently noticed that a number of cereal boxes from Kellogg, General Mills and Post were starting to appear on grocers' shelves with an inconspicuous phrase indicating that they are made with genetically modified organisms (GMO's). This is the result of a new federal law that will require certain foods to be labelled as such.

Pressure has been mounting for this type of legislation, as many consumers are concerned about the health effects of GMO ingredients. This labelling will provide people the information they need to make informed choices.

Of course, a brief mention on the side of a cereal box is likely to be missed my most people, but it does raise the question as to whether this will have a further negative impact on the sale of major brands of breakfast cereals. Will this give health-conscious consumers one more reason to look for alternatives? Certainly, some cereals are non-GMO, but more are not. Cereal manufacturers will need to pay close attention, and respond accordingly if it appears that this labelling further tarnishes cereal's reputation.