Coffee cereal

I've always wondered why someone hasn't come up with a coffee-flavored cereal. Well, finally someone has taken on the challenge!

A Maui-based food scientist has come up with Cappuccino Crunch a brand of four unique varieties (Kona Blend, Mocha, Cappuccino, and Chai Spice). At this point the company, Flavor Waves, markets these cereals only in Hawaii. But, who knows, if they go over well more of us might be able to have our coffee cereal alongside our morning coffee!

(Source: The Maui News)

Kellogg looks for loyalty

A big part of any company's success is customer loyalty. If people like your product and make it a habit to keep buying it you have a winner on your hand.

Earlier this summer Kellogg announced a Family Rewards program intended to get consumers to stick with their products because of the lure of rewards, prizes and special offers. Quite simply many Kellogg's branded products will contain a special code printed inside, You enter the codes on your computer or phone and collect points.

In a highly competitive cereal and snack food marketplace working to obtain customer loyalty is a big feat. I wonder, however, whether most customers could be bothered with the whole process. Sure there are some couponers, etc. who look for this type of thing, but I'm not convinced it will make a difference. In fact, I've seen or heard little buzz about it outside of Kellogg's own promotions.

Real customer loyalty comes not from promotions or gimmicks, but consumers who are passionate about a product. That comes from innovative, strong products backed by strong branding. Kellogg should be focusing more on that.

The first Breakfast Bowl contest!

It's hard to believe that it's September already! But, this is a great time to introduce a contest that will run through to the end of this month and give you the opportunity to win a unique cereal prize!

Here's what you have to do to enter:

Simply tell your friends via Facebook to "Like" our Facebook page, or via Twitter to follow us on Twitter.

The Prize: One winner will receive two packages of the new SexCereal (one for him, and one for her) with a retail value of approximately $22.00. This unique cereal could be a collector's item in the future!

The Story behind the Prize: I like to try the cereals I talk about in this blog, but rarely receive samples from manufacturers. So in light of our recent story about SexCereal I decided to try it and buy some myself. Unfortunately, there was a problem during shipping with one of the cereal packages, and the company responded promptly to fix the mishap and was gracious to throw in some extra packages for the trouble. So, instead of keeping it all to myself I'm going to share some with my loyal readers.

The Details:

1. To share the Breakfast Bowl via Facebook, post a "Public" message to your timeline telling people to visit our Facebook page, but be sure to tag The Breakfast Bowl page in your message (the simplest way is to start typing "@break..." and watch for our page to appear in the list and then select it). OR visit our page and click on the settings button next to the "Message" button, and then choose "Share", but again be sure the message is "Public" and we are tagged.

2. To share the Breakfast Bowl via Twitter, tweet a message that tells people to follow us at @breakfast_bowl. You must be using a public Twitter account.

3. You may repeat this on each social media network up to once per day through to midnight (Pacific) on September 30, 2012.

4. One winner will be chosen randomly from all entries (i.e. Facebook and Twitter promotions)

5. Open to all residents of the United States and Canada.

6. Big Life Foods, maker of SexCereal, is not involved in this contest.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2, 2012: Congratulations to @antonioortegajr the winner of our contest!

General Mills tries for gold

The Olympics and its wall-to-wall coverage are now over, but General Mills is wasting no time in capitalizing on the event and two of its premiere stars. Today they announced two new Wheaties boxes featuring high-profile gold medal winners Michael Phelps and Misty May-Treanor.

This is significant for several reasons. First, the timing is great. Second, it helps the flagging Wheaties brand. But, most significant, this is a big jump ahead of Kellogg who has Olympic sponsorship rights. General Mills can't actually take advantage of all the official Olympics branding, but with these two stars it really doesn't matter. This is big, and ultimately, could over-shadow whatever exposure Kellogg gained in recent weeks, but watch for a new Corn Flakes box coming soon featuring the popular U.S. women gymnastics team.

Let the games continue!

Cereal goes to the Olympics

This year the gold medal goes to: Kellogg's. For the 2012 London games the company is the official sponsor of the USA Olympic and Paralympic teams and gets the right to piggy back on all the attention that the massive sporting event provide. In addition to specially marked Corn Flakes boxes featuring Team Kellogg, specific athletes, they have introduced a limited-edition Team USA cereal.

Kellogg's has had this privilege for a number of years. I'm just surprised that they haven't taken advantage of it even more than they are. There is so much more marketing potential here.

UPDATE: More on Kellogg's sponsorship on their website, includes links to commercials and ads.

"More" from Post

Recently in grocery stores large boxes of cereals are showing up promising "more". Good Morenings cereal is a new brand launched by Post that appears to be a major thrust since their move late last year to go public and independent. Good Morenings is bold on several fronts, mainly because it is actually six new cereals which come in large boxes (over 20 ounces) that stand out on the grocers shelves.

The six new varieties include some knock-offs like frosted flakes, berry loops, vanilla o's, and waffle crunch. But, there are also some innovative flavors like cocoa cinnamon crunch and strawberry and creme. The emphasis in this brand seems to be on value. They are priced well, and they want consumers to believe that they have good nutrition value too, packed with vitamins and minerals but lacking high fructose corn syrup (although their sugar content is on the high side).

In any case, this is an interesting move from Post, who desperately needs to reinvent itself. These cereals should stand out, although I haven't seen any formal marketing campaign yet. Post appears to be taking its future seriously, and this is a good example. In addition, they have also made some other changes with a revised logo and visual identity, plus the launch of postgoodness.com, an online social site that encourages consumers to share positive intentions for their day. All in all, Post may be on the right track.

SexCereal

You knew it was only a matter of time, and finally someone has done it. We've seen cereal focused on children, sports, digestive health, etc. but now we have entered a new frontier. Big Life Foods, a Canadian company, has introduced SexCereal, two cereals (one for men, one for women) to help you "Fuel Your Fire."

SexCereals are touted as "an amazingly delicious melange of wonderful, sometimes exotic, whole foods and spice." The implied message is that these formulas will enhance your love life.

This is obviously an incredible marketing effort, and one that should catch people's attention. But, as always, the cereals themselves had better be pretty tasty (or effective!) or the novelty will wear off fast, especially at almost $11.00 a box. At this point the cereals are available online and in Canadian health food stores. Don't look for it at your local grocers anytime soon, especially next to the Froot Loops.

(More at: Ottawa Citizen)

Crunchy Nut superhero

Maybe it's the recent superhero craze associated with some prominent movies, but Kellogg is jumping on the bandwagon with its introduction of The Crunchy Nut, a superhero whose mission is "to seek out people suffering from dull breakfasts and put the fun back into cereal bowls everywhere." As part of their new campaign he recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Obviously a marketing gimmick, but a few noteworthy points. First, it's a mascot for an adult cereal, something we don't typically see. And, it suggests that Kellogg is intent on building the Crunch Nut brand. In fact, they also recently introduced a new Caramel Nut variety.

I haven't tried this new flavor, but I wasn't overly impressed with the first two that I tasted. Nevertheless, the cereals must be getting some traction, and Kellogg must believe that there is a strong future for Crunchy Nut.

Press release here.

Disney drops high sugared cereals

For years I have reported on the growing pressure put on cereal companies for their production and marketing of high-sugared cereals. Companies have responded with healthier cereals and voluntary reduction of advertising.

The powerful Walt Disney Company has recently made a decision that will have significant influence on a wide range of food manufacturers, including cereal. All food products advertised on their entertainment services must meet strict nutritional standards. For cereal this means no more than 10 grams of sugar per serving (although that's kind of nebulous since companies can easily modify suggested serving sizes).

This policy is likely to prompt other media companies to make similar changes.

(Source: New York Times)

ESPN the cereal

This would have been a great April Fools gag, but while the box image is fictitious it is a serious proposal.

Over the past few years I have watched the the ever-unfolding General Mills saga with Wheaties. Its latest attempt to revive the brand, FUEL, just doesn't appear to have worked. And the company as a whole is having some challenges, even with layoffs announced last week.

I am still convinced that a cereal targeted to men is a viable marketing strategy. But, the Wheaties brand doesn't cut it. Here's my proposal: Form a co-branding partnership with ESPN, and you will have a winner! The cable sports network is a major testosterone symbol, and considering the passion of many sports fans who wouldn't dare miss SportsCenter, an ESPN branded cereal would fly off the shelves.

Co-branded cereals are not new, and even General Mills tried something similar with women when they introduced Curves cereal several years ago (although the cereal didn't last that long). But, Curves for women does not even come close to the marketing potential that ESPN would have for men.

I think it would work!