goh-goh: Just add water

One of the frequently stated reasons for the decline of cereal consumptions is the trend toward greater convenience among consumers. Pouring a bowl of cereal with milk seems to be too arduous for some people, prompting them to switch to alternatives like bars and yogurt. For decades, cereal has come in convenient, single-serve packs, but there is always the problem with the milk. There has been some innovation with double-containers to keep the cereal and milk separate until consumption, including an attempt by Kellogg in 2005, and a more recent invention last year; but none of these have taken off.

Canadian company, Sunny Crunch Foods, has come up with a different approach: individual cereal cups with powdered milk - only water is needed to make your breakfast. Branded as goh-goh, this new line of on-the-go cereal has been recently available in Canada, but this month is making its U.S. debut in 7-Eleven stores, with planned expansion to larger grocery retailers. Executive Vice-President, Jeff Wagoner, told me that a challenge they face is that because of the uniqueness of the product buyers do not yet know what to think about it. "But, once they realize the value-added aspect of having the milk already in the cereal (just add cold water), it being shelf-stable and portable (take it anywhere), coupled with the all-natural ingredients aspect makes Goh-Goh Cereal Cups an exciting new product entry into the breakfast category!"

To be fair, this is not the first attempt of cereal cups with powdered milk. A few years ago, U.K. cereal maker, Mornflake, introduced a similar product, but it is no longer available. Perhaps one reason is they used skimmed milk powder, which many consumers do not find palatable. goh-goh uses whole milk, which is designed to come much closer to what people are used to in their cereal.

Currently, goh-goh comes in four granola flavors: Blueberry Greek Yogurt, Chocolate Chip Crunch, Honey Hemp & Flax, and Raisin & Almond. Wagoner said that they are planning to introduce other types of cereals (i.e. corn flakes, puffed rice, etc.) as well.

The company sent me some samples, and I will be posting a review of them in the coming days.

So, are you interested in this type of convenient cereal?