Thursday, July 23, 2009

More evolution

As part of today's first-stage announcement regarding the future of Wheaties, General Mills has updated the Evolution website, providing many more details on where they're headed in the coming months.

http://www.wheaties.com/evolution

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Wheaties Fuel - the evolution begins

The New York Times today is revealing upcoming plans about the upcoming Wheaties "evolution" that we have been expecting and speculating over. (You will notice that I was interviewed for this article, and my blog post from last year, "The Breakfast of the Mediocre", is referenced).

Wheaties Fuel will be a new type of Wheaties that will be targeted to men. Three prototype formulas have been created, and in the next few weeks selected readers of Men's Health magazine will get to try them and pick the best one, which will be announced on September 9th, the previously publicized date for the "evolution".

It looks like a deliberate marketing strategy with considerable potential. For the sake of an iconic brand I hope it works.

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Saturday, July 18, 2009

Cerealism

Everyone once in a while I come across examples of art utilizing cereal. Recently a reader passed along a link to Cerealism, the work of Michael Albert, a modern pop artist whos work includes collages made from cereal boxes.

Wildly interesting.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Cereal Bowl expands to Middle East

The Cereal Bowl restaurant chain is expanding, and not only in the U.S., but now to Qatar and other regions of the Middle East. As I observed previously the growth of cereal restaurants has struggled in recent years, and it appears that Cereal Bowl is taking a lead over Cereality. Their latest press release indicates that their expansion plans include at least 15 restaurants in the U.S., in additional to the expansion to the Middle East. While the Middle East seems to be a strange location for such a restaurant it may be a great move, as places like Qatar and Dubai are emerging powerhouses and a prime ground for Western companies looking for a foothold. We'll keep watching.

(Source PRLog)

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Sunday, July 12, 2009

Time to think outside the box?

I've been away for the past few weeks, but cereal life continues...

In recent weeks a new discussion has emerged as U.K. grocer, Sainsbury, has announced that it will be using bags instead of boxes for its own brand of cereals. This is hardly innovative, as many other companies have been using bags, most notably Malt-O-Meal in the U.S.

What is significant, however, is that the discussion may be picking up, and reports are that even Kelloggs is considering it. Obviously boxes do perform a practical role, helping to preserve the physical integrity of the cereal, and they are a major part of the marketing and merchandising. But, with conventional cereal packaging there seems to be excessive waste between the box and the inner bag. Some companies have already begun experimenting with other forms of packaging, including a sharp and sturdy bag by Jordans, also of the U.K.

Maybe it is time for cereal companies to move beyond the box, and with innovation bring new life to their cereals.

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