This Blog Rules

This Blog Rules

Short Lived Breakfast Cereals

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 05:58 AM PST

Remember as a kid, before becoming consumed with social media, there was a time when we sat in front of the television to watch our favorite saturday morning programs? We used to eat our cereal while watching those programs and would be as excited when the commercials came on. That’s when we would decide which cereals to pick on our next shopping trip. Some cereals survived the test of time, while others staying for a brief period. Here are some cereals from the past that really never got their chance to shine and be eaten by us sugar loving kids.

Rice Cream Flakes (1968)- Nabisco

Short Lived Breakfast Cereals

Photo Credit: chollingsworth3 via Compfight cc

What’s one thing that’s better than sugary cereal? How about sugary ice cream? Rice Cream Flakes were introduced in 1968 in New York for market testing. There were three flavors introduced at that time, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Rice Cream Flakes were doomed to fail as Nabisco hired Oregon Freeze-Dried Foods as its supplier of its ice cream, but the company soon went out of business and no other supplier was found. Rice Cream Flakes soon followed and we were left with only thoughts of what they would have tasted like.

Pink Panther Flakes (1972-1974)- Post

With the brightest pink cereal box ever produced, Pink Panther Flakes were marketed from the popularity of the cartoon “The Pink Panther”. Sadly, the cereal didn’t last as long as the show has lasted. With neon pink flakes that made your milk turn a pepto bismol color, no wonder two years was the limit. It would have been cool to have the theme music as a premium in the box. How about a button that played when you pushed it? No matter, we will never again see the horrible goodness of Pink Panther Flakes.

Buc Wheats (Late 1970′s – early 1980′s)- General Mills

Buc Wheats were the perfect fall cereal. Unfortunately, they weren’t catered to the kids, want proof? Across the front of the box read “NEW! NUTRITIONALLY IMPROVED”. No kid wants a cereal with nutritional value. Buc Wheats were actually very tasty with a wheat flake and a touch of maple syrup. They tasted good with milk and as a handful snack. Buc Wheats went away in the early eighties, probably because of all the sugary themed cereals coming out at that time. One cereal that tastes a little comparable to Buc Wheats are Frosted Flakes Gold.

S.W. Graham (1992)- Kellogg’s

This cereal’s demise was mostly due to release time instead of poor marketing or bad taste. Former CEO of Kellogg’s Carlos Gutierrez said that the timing was a huge reason the product failed after only a month and a half on the shelf. He stated “We launched a product… right in the middle of the oat bran craze, which was called S.W. Graham. It had nothing to do with oat bran, and consumers were looking for oat bran and anything that had oat bran sold — and this was all about graham and the goodness of graham. That probably lasted six weeks on the shelf.” S.W. Graham was named after the inventor of graham, Sylvester Graham. Most people who had the chance to try S.W. Graham want it to return. This may be one of the only cereals that tasted great, but didn’t last. S.W. Graham may very well have the shortest shelf life in cereal history.

Sir Grapefellow (1972)- General Mills

“Grape Flavor” never tastes like grapes. Welcome, Sir Grapefellow! This is basically a box of grape flavor. The oats, marshmallows, and the box were all grape! It has been said that when you open the box the strength of grape flavor would overwhelm the consumer. The box states the contents were “Vitamin Charged”. Sir Grapefellow did supple an awesome premium (toy) contained within. Some of the boxes contained a “Sir Grapefellow Air Car” – a balloon propelled plastic car! As an added bonus, your milk turned a pale purple to sip on after eating the cereal.

Honorable Mentions:

S’Mores Crunch (1982 – 1988)- General Mills

Yes. S’mores Crunch lasted six years and returned again a few times until the late 1990′s. But, hear me out. When the cereal was discontinued, it caused such an fracas that it was petitioned to bring it back. The cereal was graham cracker pieces with miniature marshmallows with chocolate flavor. The cereal lasted a long time in milk and tasted phenomenal. As a bonus, each box contained a small pack of Starburst candies as a prize. Some fans of the cereal has even went as far as making their own homemade S’mores Crunch using Golden Grahams, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips.

Related Posts:

Comments system

Disqus Shortname