Cereal Brands That Shape Our Breakfast Culture!

Last Updated on June 21, 2022 by Jim Edwards

Cereal is among the top choices for breakfast regardless of a person’s age, which is why the best cereal brands keep growing in the global market. People associate cereal with a healthy breakfast. It does not matter what the lifestyle of the consumer is; as long as they are loyal to a cereal brand, they are leading a healthy life.

There are many cereal brands that have been operating locally and globally for decades, evolving with time and demand to provide the best breakfast experience for the customers. With tasty treats, colorful packaging, and effective marketing strategies, here are the cereal brands that have changed our breakfast culture!

Post Cereal Brands

Post cereal brands are part of Post Consumer Brands, a company that was founded in 1895 by Post Holdings. Post owns most of the popular cereal brands we know and love today. These include

• Bran Flakes
• Coco Wheat
• Golden Crisp
• Grape-Nuts
• Honeycomb
• Pebbles
• Oreo O’s
• Raisin Bran
• Malt O Meal
• Waffle Crisp

The first-ever cereal introduced by Post was a blend of barley and wheat. It was produced in 1897, and the founder of the company, C. W. Post, called it Grape-Nuts. That was only the beginning of a successful business venture for Post cereal brands because now they have various cereal options that accommodate people from different lifestyles.

As part of the top brands, Post cereals are manufactured keeping health factors in check. They produce gluten-free cereal, Keto-friendly, vegan-friendly, heart-healthy, Kosher, and certified non-GMO cereals, among many other options.

Some of their most popular cereal flavors are Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, and Malt-O-Meal Fruity-Dyno-Bites.

General Mills Cereal Brands

General Mills is the manufacturer of branded consumer goods, including cereal. It is an American-born company established in 1856 by John Crosby, Cadwallader C. Washburn, and James Ford Bell. Just like Post Consumer Brands, General Mills has been in the cereal production business for over a century!

It does not only serve the American public with delicious cereal products but is also considered a multinational brand in the global industry. Some of the most popular General Mills cereal brands are:

• Cheerios
• Monsters
• Trix
• Lucky Charms
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• Wheaties
• Total
• Reese’s Puffs

Some of these brands are marketed outside the US with the help of the Nestlé brand. These are only the cereal brands that are in production now. There are many more over the past decades that have been discontinued.

The cereal brands that are in production are some of the best-selling cereals nationally and internationally. These include Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cheerios. As the bestseller for General Mills, Cheerios has various options for healthy breakfast cereal. Some of these include Honey Nut, Multi-Grain, Very Berry, Frosted, Oat Crunch Cinnamon, and Chocolate Peanut Butter. Cinnamon Toast Crunch also has less-popular variations, such as Chocolate Toast Crunch, Apple Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and French Toast Crunch.

Monster Cereal is also a popular brand of General Mills, but it’s a seasonal cereal brand. Available only around Halloween time, monster cereals include Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry.

Golden Grahams Cereal – The Taste of Childhood

Aldi Cereal Brands

Aldi is a manufacturer of low-priced in-house goods, and cereal brands are some of their popular products. Millville is the name under which these cereal brands are produced. While they make many cereal brands, not all are as popular as most of the oldest products! Still, Aldi cereal brands hold their own with these popular cereals:

• Frosted Flakes
• Cinnamon Crunch Squares
• Cocoa Rice
• Corn Flakes
• Crispy Oats

You may notice a similarity between the names of Aldi cereal brands and that of General Mills’. That’s because Aldi’s Millville produces and sells its take on some of the best-selling General Mills cereal brands. Hence, the similarity!

However, the similarity ends with the names. The taste is entirely different for both brand manufacturers. Take Cinnamon Crunch Squares, for example; they are the Aldi-version of the best-selling General Mills’ Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It may not taste like the original version, but Aldi has certainly created something worth eating for breakfast! The Cinnamon Crunch Squares are crunchy and sweet.

Quaker Cereal Brands

Quaker is a popular brand of oats, advertising its products as cereal brands since 1870. The company is among the first to offer cereal boxes in replacement for bulk purchases to make it easier for its consumers to buy their cereal brands. This was all before the Quaker Oats Company was established in 1901 with a cereal mill in Iowa.

Among their other products, such as pancake mixes and granola bars, Quaker also manufactures cereal brands, including:

• Cap’n Crunch
• Life Cereals
• Oatmeal Squares
• Granola
• Corn Crunch

Cap’n Crunch and Life Cereals are among the top cereal brands from Quaker. Cap’n Crunch cereal is sweetened pieces of oat and corn squares, making children happy since 1963. There have been many variations of Cap’n Crunch, including Choco Crunch, Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries, Deep Sea Crunch, and Halloween Crunch.

Life cereals are promoted as a healthy breakfast option with minerals and nutrients. The cereal used to contain sugar, sodium caseinate, oats, and soy protein concentrate before. Now, it has rice, corn, and whole wheat flour as well. Life cereals came a couple of years before Cap’n Crunch and look different from those oat and corn squares. Life cereal boxes have brown checkered squares for cereal.

Kellogg Cereal Brands

When we talk about cereal brands, Kellogg’s is among the top 3 manufacturer names that come to mind! The company is among the top producers of cereal brands and convenience food. While the crackers and toasties are popular, Kellogg’s breakfast cereal options are hard to miss. Kellogg’s cereal brands include:

• Special K
• Frosted Flakes
• Froot Loops
• Frosted Mini-Wheats
• Kashi
• Rice Krispies
• Corn Pops
• Corn Flakes
• Krave

While the rest are just as delicious and sugary as you can imagine, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, and Frosted Mini Wheats are among the top cereal brands liked by Americans. They are right next to the General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios and Post Holdings’ Honey Bunches of Oats.

Froot Loops are the sugar fix for many people who can’t wake up after waking up. The sugary cereal is among the favorite breakfast options for North Americans. Frosted Mini Wheats are a favorite cereal brand for many for their sugary frosting that melts in your mouth. Frosted Flakes is the best-selling cereal for Kellogg’s. It contains frosted corn flakes that are a fresh alternative to ordinary corn flakes!

Popular Cereal Brands

Among the top cereal manufacturers, some of them have best-selling cereal brands that have lasted for decades. We already mentioned some in the previous sections. Now, let’s take a closer look at their taste and the reason for their popularity. Here are the popular cereal brands that are loved by many:

General Mills Cheerios

It took many tries for General Mills to come up with the best flavor of Cheerios that people love today. Cheerios is the best cereal brand in North America for its unchanging taste. General Mills enjoys at least a 30% increase in revenue every year despite the fluctuating cereal market.

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes

Not the Aldi ones! Frosted Flakes are Kellogg’s original products, and if you try the two different brands together, you’ll know why Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes are the better ones. Each year there’s an increase of at least 1.9% in the boxes sold for Frosted Flakes.

Kellogg’s Froot Loops

Froot Loops is not only the most popular cereal brand in North America but probably the entire world! It’s hard to resist the sugary treats that make mornings brighter. Kellogg’s Froot Loops have been somewhat steady for the company, with an increase in sales by 1.1% year-over-year.

Healthy Cereal Brands

Most cereals are overloaded with sugar to start a day on a happy note, but some people find their happiness in healthy food instead of sugary treats. Therefore, many cereal brands have started offering healthy cereal options for a long time. Some of the best healthy cereal brands are:

Post Great Grains w/ Crunchy Pecans

Post’s healthy offering is the crisp flakes with crunchy clusters. The cereal has pecans inside the box, which are great for boosting heart health. You can scoop a spoonful of whole pecans with the crispy flakes and enjoy a healthy cereal meal in the morning. There are 210 calories per ¾ cup of Post Great Grains.

Kashi Go Original

A cereal brand of Kellogg’s, Kashi has something to offer to those looking for healthy cereal brands. The product will meet 46% of your daily fiber and 17% of your protein goal. The cereal is a light morning meal with 180 calories per 1 1/2 cups of Kashi Go Original.

General Mills Fiber One

The General Mills cereal has 18g of fiber that covers more than 50% of your daily fiber goal. You can have 2/3 cup of Fiber One cereal without any worries because it only contains 90 calories! If you want to mix it with another cereal to bring extra flavor to the mix, go ahead.

Vegan Cereal Brands

Vegan cereals have to be free from any animal content, that includes milk and honey. That’s why many companies have not tried launching a “vegan” product because surety is extremely important. Vegan cereal brands are not as many as you’d like, but there are more than a few that are delicious and perfect for a morning meal. Here is the list of some top vegan cereal brands:

• General Mills Fiber One Original
• Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size
• Cascadian Farm Organic Fruitful O’s
• Cap’n Crunch’s Peanut Butter Crunch
• Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries
• Kashi Organic Island Vanilla
• Nature’s Path Crunchy Maple Sunrise

Keto Cereal Brands

The Keto diet requires you to consume a low-carb breakfast, which is hard to manage with a cereal box full of sugar and fruit-flavored treats. Thanks to the evolution of the cereal industry, companies have recognized the need for keto cereals that contain low-carb and high-fat ingredients. If you have to eat cereal while on a keto diet, there are some options that you can explore.

• Magic Spoon Cereal
• Catalina Crunch
• Keto & Co. Peanut Butter Crunch
• NUCO Coconut Crunch
• Highkey Protein Cereal

Cereal – A Complete Guide

Schlatt’s Cereal Tier List

Schlatt loves cereal and decided to make a Cereal Tier List and rank every cereal known to man. Cap’n Crunch, Oreo O’s, Eggo Cereal, Count Chocula, Lucky Charms, Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Krave, Cocoa Pebbles, Fruity Pebbles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese’s Puffs, Rice Krispies, Apple Jacks, Cocoa Puffs, Frosted Flakes, Cookie Crisp, Trix, and more are featured in this video.

Summary

Cereal brands have evolved over the past century or so with sweet, healthy, vegan, and keto cereal options available for all. If you have been avoiding cereal for health reasons, there’s no need to do so anymore. Many cereal brands have introduced healthier cereal options with little to no sugar content. It helps people with health and weight loss goals to manage their diet while enjoying a good, crunchy breakfast.

Cereal Brands – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What Are the Top 5 Selling Cereals in America?

The top 5 best-selling cereals are: Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Post Honey Bunches of Oats, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios are the top sellers for General Mills manufacturing company.

What Is the Oldest Cereal Brand?

Granula is the oldest cereal brand which was created in 1863. It was invented by Dr. James Caleb Jackson, who was experimenting with cold cereals for various illnesses. Other older cereal brands include Wheatena (1879), Pettijohn’s Breakfast Food (1889), Shredded Wheat (1890), and Granola Flakes (1895).

What Is the Most Famous Cereal Brand?

General Mills, Kellogg’s, and Post are some of the most popular cereal manufacturing companies with famous cereal brands like Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Froot Loops. The most popular cereal brand based on revenue and boxes sold is Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios.

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Links

“Despicable Me 2 Reese’s Puffs Cereal with Free Minion” by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Cap’n Crunch!” by israelavila is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Mini-Wheats Galore” by rynosoft is licensed under CC BY 2.0.