Wake-up call: Can cereal makers revive a flagging category?Wake-up call: Can cereal makers revive a flagging category? - June 9, 2017 Consumers are abandoning the breakfast item, but manufacturers say there’s growth to be had — even if it doesn’t involve a bowl and a spoon.
Once synonymous with breakfast, the bowl of cereal drenched in milk has lost its crunch as more U.S.
consumers gravitate toward portable foods and products with less artificial ingredients and colors.
Sales of ready-to-eat cereals have declined during the past few years, with most brands showing little sign of rebounding as
consumers reach for bars, shakes, yogurt and other handheld items. Market research firm
Euromonitor projects cereal will decline 2% in volume and 5% in sales during the next four years alone. ….
… Tom Vierhile, a director at research firm GlobalData, noted
cereal, which used to be a leader in flavor and format innovations,
has taken a back seat to bars, new portable options and even oatmeal. He pointed to new releases such as Jimmy Dean Frittatas and
Rachel’s Overnight Oats — an oatmeal made with superfoods like chia and hempseed that can be prepared overnight by soaking in water — as examples of products that are catching the consumer's attention. Vierhile noted the demand for protein, which is especially important to breakfast eaters, also has worked against cereal companies. Some manufacturers have added protein to their cereals, but these reformulations haven’t gone over well with consumers, he said. …
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