The Biggest Cereal Failures of All Time (And Why They Failed)

Cereal lovers seem to be easy to please as customers. That’s probably because of the fact that cereal is a breakfast food that is associated with childhood memories and can easily bring nostalgic feelings. Another reason is its simplicity and ability to use various ingredients and still get it right. 

As a result, snack products have experimented a lot with classic cereal flavors, and some of them somehow managed to make creations that failed immediately. 

In this article, we will look at some of the biggest cereal failures in snack history and find out why they failed.

1. Honey Nut Clusters

Not many modern cereal lovers have heard about this brand. The first impression while discovering it existed could be, “what could go wrong with honey and nuts,” right? And nothing related to flavors went wrong. In fact, the loyal customers of General Mills loved the idea when it first introduced the cereal back in 1986, using the simple name “Clusters.” 

Later, the cereal was renamed Honey Nut Clusters, and the new name made even more sense. Surprisingly, sometimes even products that are adored by customers end up failing. Even though this particular snack was popular, it still failed to stay on shelves as the company wasn’t satisfied with sales. 

As customers say, many of them still search for this cereal brand in stores, and many things remind them of it, including a honey-flavored cereal box in grocery stores or a honey-themed online platform like honey betz that keeps people coming back for another round. 

2. C3PO’s

Most of the time, pop-culture editions of traditional beloved snacks either succeed or fail, there’s no in-between. The same happened with C-3PO’s, a cereal that was inspired, no more, no less, by the famous golden droid from Star Wars. This cereal from the 80s was supposed to please Star Wars fans and give them their beloved characters in a cereal. However, this simple idea to attract attention failed more than the company expected.

The problem was that the cereal relied too much on the popularity of the franchise. Of course, seeing a Star Wars character on a cereal box was exciting at first, but once everybody satisfied their curiosity, there was no reason to keep buying this product. As a result, it didn’t become a part of the everyday breakfast routine.

3. Kellogg’s Breakfast Mates

The name itself may sound like a great idea at first. And Kellogg’s Breakfast Mates was supposed to make breakfast easier with a simple plan: to give customers everything they needed in one package. This included cereal, milk, a spoon, and a bowl. 

Theoretically, it sounded like something people with busy mornings could take advantage of and easily grab on the go. However, in reality, the product didn’t turn out to be as convenient as Kellogg promised. 

The main issue was probably the milk because cereal lovers enjoy having their favorite breakfast snack with cool milk directly from the fridge. But this one came in room temperature. While it was technically safe to drink, the idea didn’t feel appealing enough to many customers.

4. Hidden Treasures

General Mills seems to be famous for creating cereals that don’t last for long but people keep on remembering them long after they disappear. Hidden Treasures is a great example of this. This cereal brand was introduced in the early 1990s. As the name itself suggests, the idea behind this cereal was fun – every piece looked similar on the outside, but some of them had a sweet filling inside. Therefore, kids especially enjoyed finding the winning piece while having breakfast.

Yet again, once the customers got used to the product, Hidden Treasures had to compete with other cereals that already had stronger flavors and mascots, and the company had to discontinue it eventually.

5. OJ’s

The final failed cereal product is still from General Mills, and this one proves that even a familiar breakfast flavor doesn’t always work in cereal form. OJ’s was introduced in 1985, and the concept could have been relatable to most people. In fact, this cereal was a combination of a typical breakfast that satisfies everybody: the combination of milk and orange juice. 

The brand thought that since most Americans already drank orange juice in the morning, turning that into a cereal flavor would be a good idea to simplify their breakfast. They even created a cowboy-style mascot named O.J. Joe to make it even more playful, but the problem was the taste. People didn’t like the combination of their favorite two ingredients, and consequently, General Mills’ experiment failed. 

Bottom Line

Now you know that even breakfast classics aren’t fully safe from bad ideas. Despite nostalgic flavors, colorful packaging, and loyal customers, cereal brands can still create products that are far from becoming successful. In the case of these 5 cereal failures of all time, fun mascots and famous names didn’t turn out to be enough to attract customers and create something unforgettable.