When brands are toast

There has been much buzz in recent days as General Mills has revamped and expanded its line of "Toast" cereals, built around the highly successful and popular Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The company just announced the introduction of Apple Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and a re-branding of last year's strawberry and blueberry Tiny Toast cereals to also join the family. Along with French Toast Crunch, there are now five Toast Crunch cereals, creating a strong sub-brand, a growing trend in the cereal industry. Previously, there have been other flavors as well, including chocolate, and peanut butter.

Of course, the new Apple Cinnamon flavor sounds delightful. But, of most interest here is the quick re-branding of the two Tiny Toast varieties introduced just one year ago. At the time, General Mills touted this as a new brand, but I questioned the strategy, wondering why they did not go with the Toast Crunch designation. One analyst, quoted in Ad Age, suggested that they went the Tiny Toast route to get more attention and grocer's shelf space. Regardless, the company has allowed common sense to prevail, and now they have a strong family of cereals that should be a leader within their portfolio.