General Mills has taken a few steps back from the cereal industry in the new millennium, putting its breakfast focus on other things like yogurt and meal bars. In its first cereal attempt since 2001, the company is coming back to the bowl with Tiny Toast, which is not to be confused with its new big brother, Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Tiny Toast will appear on shelves this month, featuring crunchy “toast” bits covered with little pieces of strawberry or blueberry, the company announced Monday.
It’s been awhile since General Mills’ last completely new effort in that aisle, which was “Harmony,” a cereal introduced in 2001 aimed at women that lasted two years.
General Mills had good reason to back off, as the cereal market in general has been on the decline in recent years: Euromonitor International reports a 10.7% decline for all types of cereal sales between 2003 and 2013, Christian Science Monitor points out.
As consumer preferences have trended more toward healthy choices, less sugary items, and products that use fewer preservatives, General Mills has found some success revamping old cereals and marketing others like Chex as “gluten-free.”
That, along with improving its ingredients, has led to increased sales, the company said recently.
Tiny Toasts follows that healthy trend, as it’s one of only a few products in the cereal aisle flavored with real fruit, the company says. It’s a whole grain oats and corn cereal covered in strawberry or blueberry powder, and it contains no artificial flavors or colors.
“People told us that both varieties tasted real, and not fake like they typically associate with fruit-flavored cereals” in consumer testing, Mike Evenson, product developer, said on the company’s blog.
It’s worth noting that both flavors of Tiny Toast contain 9 grams of sugar, which is the same amount as in other General Mills brands like Reese’s Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Golden Grahams, Cookie Crisp, Frosted Cheerios, and Honey Nut Cheerios, Christian Science Monitor points out. Lucky Charms and Trix have 10 grams of sugar, and Raisin Nut Bran leads the gang with 14 grams.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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