Kids' cereals are sometimes called sugar cereals, because unlike healthy choices such as oatmeal
and shredded wheat, these kids' cereals are full of sugar. These cereals are probably
better for you than Pop Tarts and at least you're getting important nutrients from the
milk. Companies such as General Mills and Kellogg's market their products to kids with
colorful boxes and fun characters, but let’s be honest, a lot of “grown-ups” keep buying
this cereal for themselves. So let’s see if we can find the prize inside the top 10
kids' cereals we still love.
Theyre Flllllllakes - Frosted flakes
Tony the Tiger is one of the great product mascots - would it matter what he was selling?
I guess there's something trustworthy about a apex predator wearing a handkerchief. Tony
beat out mascot hopefuls Katy the Kangaroo, Elmo the Elephant and Newt the Gnu in 1951
to become the face of a new breakfast cereal from Kellogg's. Frosted Flakes, also known
as Frosties, went on to become one of the company's most popular products. Tony's flakes
were second in sales in 2017 only losing out to Honey Nut Cheerios. Honey Nut Cheerios
is a tasty cereal that could have made this list and it even has a cool bee mascot. But
getting back to Frosted Flakes: they're just Corn Flakes with a dusting of sugar, but the
injection of sweet is exactly what that boring cereal needed to appeal to kids. Corn Flakes
are for adults, but Frosted Flakes are squarely aimed at kids. Several variations of the popular
flakes have been released over the years such as Birthday Confetti Frosted Flakes, Frosted
Flakes Gold (sweetened with honey) and Chocolate Frosted Flakes. Kellogg's introduced Frosted
Bran Flakes in 1991 describing them as "lightly frosted bran." No one should confuse Frosted
Flakes with health food, but its still GR-R-REAT!
If you’re new to our channel, it would also be GR-R-REAT if you hit that subscribe button
and ring that bell to join our notification squad!
The Nose Knows - Froot Loops
Toucan Sam can always smell out a bowl of Froot Loops. He’s known for crying out "Follow
my nose! it always knows!" This kids' cereal made mostly from whole grain corn flour is
known for its colorful rings that suggest the bright tropical birds and flowers of a
distant jungle where Sam might live. The colors of the Blue Toucan's beak, yellow, red and
orange are the three original colors of Froot Loops. Although The fruit flavored breakfast
cereal has been around since 1963 the additional colors - green, blue and purple loops were
not added until the 1990's. Contrary to popular belief, the cereal has a generic fruity taste;
there are no individual fruit flavors corresponding to the different colors. Kellogg's has produced
several variations on the Froot Loop theme including a larger "Snack Ums" version and
a snack bar that contains Froot Loops. Froot Loops was discontinued in the United Kingdom
because of a lack of demand, but in 2017 a limited edition was released that contained
unicorn shapes. Froot Loops cereal has been a favorite in popular culture with references
on several television programs including All in the Family, The Middle and Two and a Half
Men. The sweet, crunchy loops in rainbow colors are a kids' cereal we still love.
Snap! Crackle! And Pop! Rice Krispies
Kellogg's began selling the toasted rice kids' cereal under the brand name Rice Krispies
in 1928. However, the three elf-like mascots did not appear together on boxes of Rice Krispies
until a decade later. The mascots' names: Snap, Crackle and Pop are a nod to the sounds
Rice Krispies make when you add milk to them. These kinds of words are known as onomatopoeias:
the words suggest or imitate the sounds they describe. These characters were Kellogg's
first mascots and are the longest running piece of Kellogg's marketing efforts. This
rice cereal was a popular choice, but it received new fame in 1939 when a Kellogg's employee
named Mildred Day came up with a recipe for a treat made from Rice Krispies, marshmallows
and margarine. These tasty new snacks were dubbed Rice Krispy Treats and they have been
a hit with kids and adults ever since. Although for decades these treats were made from scratch
at home, Kellogg's eventually started producing Rice Krispie Treats of their own in a variety
of flavors. The tasty treats have arguably become more popular than the cereal we love.
A quick online search will reveal dozens of Rice Krispie Treat recipes including a number
of holiday themed versions. And let's not forget the Rice Krispies Treats cereal!
Sugarsmacked - Honey Smacks
People of a certain age may remember when Kellogg's Honey Smacks were called Sugar Smacks. However,
the power that be at the food giant decided "Honey" Smacks sounds less like junk food
than "Sugar" Smacks so after about 30 years the sugary, puffed wheat cereal underwent
the change in the 1980's. A 2008 study by the magazine Consumer Reports found that Honey
Smacks is the Kellogg's cereal with the highest sugar content - more than 50 percent by weight.
Apple Jacks is a close second at almost 50% by weight. This of course makes its original
name Sugar Smacks, completely appropriate. Dig'em Frog is the mascot most of us associate
with Honey Smacks, but there were at least 5 previous mascots including the Hanna-Barbera
cartoon horse, Quick Draw McGraw, who represented the cereal in the 1960's. Dig'em took over
as the mascot in 1972, but was replaced in 1986 by Wally the Bear to coincide with the
change to the name Honey Smacks. Kids didn't warm up to Wally, however, and the following
year Dig'em Frog reclaimed the Honey Smacks mantle once and for all. Kids love Dig'em
and we continue to love this kids' cereal.
I Never Drink Milk - Count Chocula
We’re not sure why, but Count Chocula, introduced by General Mills in 1971, is the kids' cereal
that some of us have remained the most attached to as adults. I suppose its not too hard to
figure out: its a sugary, chocolate flavored cereal with chocolate marshmallows and its
hocked by a cartoon vampire named Count Alfred Chocula - what's not to like? Count Chocula
is part of a line of monster cereals that also includes Franken Berry and Boo Berry.
These three cereals were the most popular brands, but there were two additional monster
cereals that are not as well known. Both Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy had short runs and were
discontinued. However, they are revived occasionally for short runs around Halloween. For a number
of years we thought we imagined the Fruit Brute cereal as kids until the internet confirmed
its existence for us. Alfred the Vampire is of course a take off on Bela Lugosi's vampire
from the 1931 classic movie, Dracula. Franken Berry is reminiscent of Boris Karloff's character
from Frankenstein, also released in 1931. The Count Chocula cereal was developed in
the late 1960's but the marketing campaign took a little longer. The count idea emerged
early, but General Mills took its time refining the idea hoping the result would be able to
compete with kids' favorites like Tony the Tiger and Captain Crunch. In recent years
Count Chocula and the other monster cereals have become coveted by hungry consumers around
Halloween. I don't care what time of year it happens to be - its a kids' cereal that
everyone still loves.
Magically Nutritious? Lucky Charms
This toasted oat cereal with the colorful marshmallows has been a kids' favorite since
1964. A General Mills product developer came up with the idea for Lucky Charms after experimenting
with different combinations of cereals and candies. One of the concoctions that inspired
the product developer was a mix of Cheerios and marshmallow Circus Peanuts. Lucky Charms
is the first cereal to include marshmallows, and it has spawned a number of kids' cereals
that include colorful marshmallow shapes. The original marshmallow charm lineup was:
pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars and green clovers. Blue diamonds were added in
1975 and over the years a number of shapes were added and discontinued. These were not
random changes however. General Mills found through years of market research that changing
the marshmallow shapes once in a while led to a noticeable increase in sales of the cereal.
This revelation motivated the company to make regular changes to Lucky Charms. Everything
from hour glass to unicorn shapes have been a part of the colorful Lucky Charms marshmallow
mix. In keeping with the Lucky Charms theme a Leprechaun named "Lucky" was chosen as the
mascot who was fond of saying "They're magically delicious." They are delicious, but even though
they're made from oats we know they're not all that nutritious. This hasn't eroded their
popularity one bit - Lucky Charms remains a kids' favorite.
Not just for Kids - Trix
Trix cereal hit the supermarket shelves in 1954 as a sweetened version of General Mill's
Kix cereal. This corn-based cereal originally used sphere shapes, but in 1992 they were
changed to fruit shapes. They were switched back to their original sphere shapes in 2007.
However, in 2018, General Mills felt it necessary to change back again to the fruit shapes.
It’s not yet clear when the company will decide to change back to the original sphere
shapes again. Trix originally had three flavors and colors: Orangey Orange, Lemony Yellow
and Raspberry Red. Other flavors and colors were added over the years including Grapey
Purple and Lime Green. Tricks, the Trix Rabbit has been the cereal's mascot since 1959. He
could be seen as a precursor to the Energizer Bunny because Trix exerted a lot of energy
trying to get his paws on a bowl of tasty Trix. Tricks is known for trying to trick
kids into giving him a bowl of cereal, but he always manages to fail and for his trouble
he is treated to the line "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids." Trix may be for kids, but it
seems plenty of adults still love an occasional bowl of this fruity breakfast cereal.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo - Cocoa Puffs
"I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" has long been a popular marketing slogan for this chocolate
flavored rice, corn and oat cereal. Cocoa Puffs was introduced in 1958 by General
Mills and is a variation of the popular Kix and Trix cereals. The company unveiled Sonny
the Cuckoo Bird in 1962 along with his famous catch-phrase. Even when we were kids Sonny's
antics seemed a little over the top. Yes, Cocoa Puffs are a tasty cereal, but he would
work himself up into quite a frenzy for a single bite. For most of his career Sonny
was depicted wearing a white and pink striped shirt, but in 2004 the character was redesigned
and now he doesn't wear any clothes. We don't believe General Mills has provided an explanation
for getting rid of the shirt. Cocoa Puffs are known for turning the milk in the bowl
into tasty chocolate milk and not surprisingly, this is a popular feature with a lot of kids.
Chocolate is usually a safe bet when it comes to kids and Cocoa Puffs is no exception.
Milk And Cookies - Cookie Crisp
You have to admire the makers of Cookie Crisp cereal. There's no pretending or hedging they're
called Cookie Crisp. They are little chocolate chip cookies. Isn't eating chocolate chip
cookies for breakfast a fantasy for most kids? This must have been what the flavorists at
Ralston Purina asked themselves when they decided to push ahead with a cookie cereal.
The cereal debuted in 1977, but it was sold to its competitor General Mills in 1997. Cookie
Jarvis, a wizard, was Cookie Crisp cereal's first mascot. Jarvis was depicted as a wizard
and he used his magic wand to transform cereal bowls into cookie jars. Cookie Jarvis was
replaced in 1985 by the Cookie Crook who went around trying to swindle kids out of their
precious bowls of cereal. A Cookie Cop was also introduced who tried to capture Cookie
Crook, but he had only limited success. Several varieties of Cookie Crisp have been introduced
over the years including Double Chocolate Cookie Crisp, Vanilla Wafer Cookie Crisp,
Cookie Crisp Sprinkles and Cookie Crisp Brownie. Parents could not have been very happy that
General Mills was pushing a chocolate chip cookie cereal, but its one of the kids' cereals
we still love.
Sailing The Sea Of Milk - Cap'n Crunch
Cap'n Crunch is a sweetened corn and oat breakfast cereal created in 1963 by the Quaker Oats
Company. A flavorist named Pamela Lowe was inspired by one of her Grandma's recipes that
featured brown sugar and butter served over rice. Wouldn't brown sugar and butter be good
served over pretty much anything? Cap'n Crunch is one of the more beloved kids' cereal mascots
and has quite a following with web sites devoted to all things Crunch. According to cereal
legend, Horatio Magellan Crunch was born on Crunch Island somewhere in the Sea of Milk.
He helms the Good Ship Guppy. The captain’s charged with keeping the cereal save from
the likes of the pirate Jean LaFoote.. There have been quite a few variations of Cap'n
Crunch cereal over the years including Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries, Peanut Butter Crunch
and Oops! All Berries. Oops! All Berries was introduced in 1997 and featured only the berry
pieces and no crunchy pieces. This variation was discontinued after a year, but has made
limited appearances since then. In 2006 a limited edition Cap'n Crunch was released
as a tie-in to the movie Superman Returns. The blue Superman shield shapes turned the
milk blue and were just one more reason why we still love these kids' cereals.
What favorite cereal could you never give up? Let us know in the comments below! And
be sure to click on one of our other great videos. You can now become an official BabbleTopper,
click on the join link in the description below to find out more.