Cereal companies desperate to see what sticks

Although its hard to quantify, it certainly seems that 2017 could be one of the most prolific years ever (or at least in recent history) for new cereal introductions. A quick review of this year, reveals a plethora of new cereal brands and varieties, ranging from the usual infusion of new Cheerios to the reintroduction of classic Trix to the countless recipes brought out by smaller players. There are, in fact, so many new cereals coming out now that The Breakfast Bowl does not even bother to report on most of them, unless they stand out as truly unique or innovative. Quite frankly, most of the new cereals are quite boring and even predictable.

Why the recent surge in cereal introductions? In short, it's because cereal companies are desperate to find some new magic bullet that will help turn around overall slumping sales. The hope, of course, is that they will stumble across a brand or flavor that will go viral and boost sales revenues. So, they keep throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks.

For consumers, and especially true cereal enthusiasts, this can be a fun time. The abundance of options fights against the boredom that has been growing for this food category. Sadly, however, many of these new products will never catch on, and will quickly disappear from the grocers' shelves, never to be tasted again.

Yet, there's more to come. Typically, the beginning of a new year, which is just around the corner, sees a number of cereal launches. We just came across one of these. A video from midwest grocer County Market shows a taste test of some supposed new cereals coming from General Mills in early 2018: Lucky Charms Frosted Flakes, Peach Cheerios, and a new flavored shredded wheat product called Shreds in peanut butter chocolate and Cinnamon Toast Crunch varieties. And, we are very likely to see Kellogg and Post pull out all stops as well with some great introductions.

What has been your favorite new cereal of 2017? What are you hoping for in 2018?