Kim Severson of the New York Times published an article called: "Cereal, a Taste of Nostalgia, Looks for Its Next Chapter," in February 2016. Since the 1990s, sales have been sliding. Most people, especially the younger generation, aren't reaching for a bowl of processed grains with a splash of cow's milk. Even though it's simple and easy, most don't even eat breakfast anymore or gravitate towards something else. Also, all cereals aren't created equal: companies and marketers are having trouble finding the right one.
"The dream of all these companies is to capture the all-powerful and elusive millennial eater, who just isn’t all that into cereal for breakfast. It’s just too much work, for one thing. Almost 40 percent of the millennials surveyed by Mintel for its 2015 report said cereal was an inconvenient breakfast choice because they had to clean up after eating it."
The all-powerful and elusive millennial eater is the it-girl the media, companies and business owners love to chase, gossip about and try to catch up with.
The cereal industry is making strides, making power moves, to hold hands with the elusive being: the it-girl who wears Prada shoes with grey-marled joggers to an 8 a.m. economics class.
USA Today reported that cereal makers are trying to salvage anything that's left of the beaten down reputation of everyone's favorite pastime: eating cereal for breakfast.
"Armed with a game plan for growth, General Mills launched its first new cereal brand in over a decade earlier this month. It is also trying to stay ahead of shopper preferences as crunchy flakes and puffs increasingly move from bowls to snack bars.
Even as some shoppers shun their grub in grocery aisles, cereal makers are taking to the streets. Kellogg's is opening its own upscale cereal cafe next week in
"The goal: to expand the appeal of cereal beyond breakfast. Maybe even make cereal chic."
Oh, I get it now. The it-girl is most definitely chic and only eats Instagrammable food items, especially ones that involve avocados and kale or that Himalayan sea salt.
General Mills' newest type of cereal, Tiny Toast, is meant to directly target the "elusive eater" that triggered this drop in sales for the past decade or so. It is made with real fruit, apparently a huge selling point, and is easy to snack on: "apparently" 82 percent of millennials believe cereal is a great snack, which is higher than most adults at 72 percent, according to Mintel.
The kicker? Kellogg's has designed a snack proof menu that totally fits with the average millennial, with menu items like Froot Loops and mini marshmallows, topped with passion fruit jam. Also, it's not just for breakfast. The cafe will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., making cereal a staple once again, even for dinner.
"In 2014, the company opened a week-long pop-up bar in New York to tout its cereals as good sources of grains and proteins. The new cafe is a permanent installation of that experiment, with a bigger emphasis on seasonal recipes and unexpected flavors."
Cereal bowls can be served with milk or soft-serve ice cream. (Photo: Brett Carlsen, USA Today)
However, nostalgia is a huge role in millennials' relationship with cereal: "Cereal invokes a certain nostalgia about childhood and sleepy mornings spent slurping up the milk after devouring a bowl of
Even the New York Times agrees.
"Still, this generation of young people may be the ones who save cereal. But it probably won’t be because they are eating it for breakfast, or because they are moved by vague claims of health, nutrition or environmental impact. Millennials are snackers, and not easily fooled by packaging or advertising, but they are as nostalgia-driven as any group of cereal eaters."
As a millennial, I have to admit, I will most definitely stop by the new cafe opening in the heart of Manhattan. Cereal is more of a snack and I usually never take the time to put it into a bowl with milk. I normally eat it out of the box while standing in my kitchen, and that's even if I put cereal on my weekly grocery list.
So what about you, it-girl? Are you a snacker? Does anyone else who is a "millennial" find it odd that even our snacking habits, whether or not we skip breakfast or indulge in seven courses is being tracked and averaged across us all?
I have no idea what I'm even going to wear tomorrow or how I am going to get a job out of college or what type of dog that I will get once I have a nice apartment, and sometimes I feel like companies like Kellogg's try to know more about me than I do, but the thing is, what is there to know?
