Cereal Advent calendar

Many of our most loved Christmas traditions come from Germany. Now, German cereal innovator, mymuesli, recently introduced a creative new cereal product that brings new excitement for children counting down the days until Christmas. Each Advent Calendar box contains 24 cereal containers in eight varieties that are discovered each day through their own window. A fascinating innovation, although not cheap (59 euros = $78 US).

This is the kind of creative thinking we need to see again among U.S. cereal companies!

Kellogg backs down

This summer I reported on a dispute between Kellogg and the non-profit Maya Archaeology Initiative (MAI) over the use of a toucan in the latter's logo. At the time it seemed a ridiculous move on Kellogg's part, and I'm glad to see that sanity has prevailed. The cereal company is going to lay off of MAI, and even give them $100,00 toward one of their projects.

A good lesson in how not to do public relations, something Kellogg especially needs to pay attention to in the midst of their financial challenges.

(Source: Detroit Free Press)

Cereal Wednesday

It's Wednesday, and a great day to highlight another blog devoted to cereal. Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with "Poppy", the personality behind Cereal Wednesday, a video blog that almost every week samples and rates a different cereal or associated breakfast food. I always enjoy talking to someone else with the same obsession!

Cereal Wednesday began over four years ago by another pseudonymous figure, NYCD, "as a complete and total goof". Since then Poppy entered the scene as a partner and has largely taken over preparing weekly reviews of cereals, ranging from the popular to the more obscure. These 5-10 minute episodes take about 2.5 hours to produce, and typically feature Poppy opening a box of cereal, sharing her taste impressions, and highlighting key features such as nutrition facts - all unscripted. By her own admission, Poppy is somewhat "quirky", but comes across to viewers as a real person who simply enjoys cereal. Her reactions and opinions seem trustworthy, and overall the home-spun presenations are mildly entertaining and without glitz. While not influenced by it, Cereal Wednesday bears a number of similarities to the trend-setting Wine Library TV with Gary Vaynerchuk. 

All in all, Cereal Wednesday is just plain, idiosyncratic fun, which is why Poppy and NYCD have done it. Like most blogs there's no real money in it, and they don't accept samples from companies in order to maintain their objectivity and independence. Cereal Wednesday is a great complement to my own blog, and will be of particular interest to those looking for actual cereal reviews.

Check them out at: www.cerealwednesday.com

Lucky Charms cereal sifter

For those that love cereal marshmallows and find the actual cereal distracting, here is an invention for you! Tom Lombardi has created a simple way for you to separate the Lucky Charms cereal from the marshmallows. It's simply a custom cup with the perfect-sized holes on the bottom. LINK.
Stocking stuffer anyone?
(What will they think of next?!)

Challenges at Kellogg

Recent quarterly financial reports from Kellogg suggest the company continues to face some major challenges. Profits are down 14%, and like a growing number of countries the company is facing a rating review from Moody's Investor Service. The pressure comes as a result of several factors including higher grain prices and a highly competitive marketplace, all this despite trying to cut costs and increase prices.

As I've been saying for awhile now, the big cereal companies are in a difficult position despite their strong brand positions. Consumers are restless and exploring new, authentic options. Can Kellogg's stand out in this environment?

Source: Wall Street Journal - article 1, article 2

Halloween cereal

Halloween and cereal are a perfect fit, and a number of companies have taken advantage of the marketing opportunities over the years, and none more than General Mills. Again, this year, they released their monster cereals in time for Halloween, but they were largely unchanged in box design from 2010. Several other children's-oriented cereals feature similar seasonal graphics again this year.

But, in my opinion, the award for the best Halloween cereal for 2011 goes to Quaker for the introduction of Halloween [Cap'n] Crunch. This is a unique, limited-edition cereal that should provide the most breakfast fun this year.

And the milk turns green!

How healthy are "Natural" cereals?

Recently, a study from The Cornucopia Institute has stirred considerable discussion because of their claim that many so-called "natural" breakfast cereals are merely marketing hype, and deceptive. Compared to organic cereals, they often contain residues of toxic pesticides and genetically modified ingredients; and sometimes are even more expensive.

The "Cereal Crimes" report is certainly worth reading, even just for its exposure of the marketing of cereal brands. There is no doubt that many companies are jumping on the "natural" bandwagon to entice consumers. It should be pointed out, however, that Cornucopia enters the discussion with its own biases, "promoting economic justice for family scale farming". Obviously, for them large food corporations are a threat on a number of levels.

Cereal mascots given reprieve

A long, on-going controversy has been over the use of cartoon characters to market cereal, especially sugared ones targeted to children. The fear for manufacturers has been that the government would step in and regulate this, and ultimately prevent the use of mascots and other enticing images for children.

The industry can sigh a temporary breath of relief, as U.S. government officials recently indicated that they won't tamper with these brand icons at this time. Nevertheless, things could still change down the road, and at minimum there is still the possibility of further restrictions on nutritional composition of foods targeted to children, even if in the form of voluntary guidelines.

In any case, Tony the Tiger, Cap'n Crunch and others are safe, for now at least!

(Source: USA Today)

General Mills and DC Comics

Last week General Mills announced a partnership with DC Comics, and that for a limited time some of their prominent, sweetened cereals would feature custom Justice League comic books. A special website will allow readers to continue their adventure reading. Incorporating books, DVDs, computer games and now comic books, is not a new concept for General Mills. And, this certainly taps into a dedicated niche market of comic fanatics.

A good marketing move.

I am wondering, however, if the execution on this one is enough. This would have been a great opportunity for General Mills to either introduce a new, comic-based cereal, or to feature the comic book heroes more prominently on specially-designed boxes. In my opinion, the simple banner approach lacks vigor, and misses out on an even greater marketing push.

(Thanks to @antonioortegajr for the tip!)

Cereal in Europe

Recently I've been traveling in Europe, which explains the lack of blog posts here.

Of course, regardless of where I go I am always interested to discover what I can about cereal in that location. And, Europe is a great place to observe a different take on cereal. It's been a number of years since I've had the opportunity to visit there, and I was pleasantly surprised with the changes I noticed.

First, the interest in cereal is definitely growing. Certainly, breakfast cereal consumption is nowhere near what it is in North American, but it is no longer an ethnic food for ex-pats. Evidence of this abounds in the grocery stores. Whereas at one time on the continent you would have seen very small shelf space devoted to just a handful of cereal brands, now it is possible to enter any supermarket and see a significant section featuring dozens of varieties. I also noticed that at some of the bed and breakfast places we stayed cereal was available, something I never saw before outside of big hotels catering to international travelers.

It was also evident that that there are some differences between cereal in Europe and the U.S. Even those who do consume it tend to eat smaller serving sizes, and as a complement to their traditional breakfast. For this reason the boxes for sale in the stores are much smaller than what we would typically find in North America. Also, muesli is big in Europe influenced by its popularity in Switzerland, where it is often still consumed during the evening meal.

I also noticed some interesting innovations in Europe. Not only are the big cereal companies tweaking their recipes and producing varieties in tune with the local preferences, but there are packaging innovations as well. In Poland, for example, I couldn't find any actual boxes. All the cereal comes in attractive bags. There are other signs of innovation in Europe as well, as is evidenced by the fact that customized cereal has its roots there with such companies as mymuesli and The Cereal Club.

Having said of all this, I must qualify the above statements by pointing out that the United Kingdom stands out in its relationship with cereal. While I wasn't there on this trip, it is a fact that cereal consumption is much higher in Britain than the rest of Europe, and has many more similarities to its U.S. brand counterparts.

I had a great time in Europe, and enjoyed the cereal sleuthing that went along with it!