Breakfast Cereal

Some of the breakfast cereals listed below are still in production. Some have been re-named and re-packaged. Many of them disappeared as quickly as they arrived.

But they all have a special place in our memory because they evoke powerful memories of our childhood in decades gone by . . . when a bowl of your favourite cereal was usually an accompaniment to Saturday Morning Cartoons, and the carton yielded magical prizes, tokens and competitions.

This list is not intended to be a definitive list of breakfast cereals from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. It is a work in progress.

Please drop us a line if you have a favourite which is not listed here (or to share your special breakfast cereal memories).

All Stars

This “Sugar Toasted Oats” cereal from Kellogg’s appeared in the early 1960s and lasted only a couple of years before it was transformed into Frosted Sugar Stars and eventually Stars Cereal, which had the signature hole in the centre of the star shape filled in.

Alpha-Bits

This breakfast cereal from Post Consumer Brands was invented by Thomas M Quigley and contained frosted alphabet-shaped multi-grain cereal bits.

The cereal was introduced in 1957 and was taken off the market in 2006.

One of the first advertisers of the cereal was the Ruff and Reddy cartoon show in 1957. Alvin and the Chipmunks were also early pitchers for Alpha-Bits.

Post Cereals also started producing ‘Marshmallow Alpha-Bits’ in 1990.

Alpha-Bits reappeared in January 2008 with a new formulation boasting “0% Sugar!” as a “Limited Edition” cereal.

Apple Jacks

“A is for apple, J is for Jacks, Cinnamon-toasty Apple Jacks!”

Invented by college intern William Thilly, this cereal was first introduced to the US as “Apple O’s” in 1965. The name “Apple Jacks” was introduced in 1971.

Apple Jacks were originally orange in colour and O-shaped. Green O-shapes were added to the cereals in 1998.

The first Apple Jacks’ mascot in the 1960s was “Apple Jack”, a figure made by cutting a mouth onto an apple and applying a hat and pieces of cereal for eyes.

Television advertisements featuring Apple Jack had the tagline, “A bowl a day keeps the bullies away!”

In 1971, the official mascots became “The Apple Jacks Kids”, an animated boy and girl. Their reign lasted for 21 years, making them the most well-known Apple Jacks mascots and most universally associated with the cereal.

Baron Von Redberry

Created by General Mills in 1972, Baron Von Redberry featured a World War I era German pilot (modelled on the “Red Baron” Baron von Richthofen). The berry-flavoured oat cereal was packaged with sweet berry marshmallows and tasted strongly of fruit punch.

Baron Von Redberry was the nemesis of Sir Grapefellow, the mascot of another General Mills cereal brand.

In the vein of the cereal rivalries Quisp & Quake and Count Chocula & Franken Berry bickering over which one was better, Redberry would proclaim, “Baron Von Redberry is der berry goodest!” and Grapefellow would counter, “Sir Grapefellow is the grapest!”

Body Buddies

Body Buddies from General Mills was promoted in the 1980s as a healthy cereal for kids. Four healthy-looking cartoon children were shown on the box cover with sporting equipment to promote further the cereal’s image as a healthy breakfast option.

The cereal came in two varieties – Natural Fruit Flavor and Brown Sugar & Honey.

Boo Berry

Released in December 1972, this was one of the line of “monster cereals” introduced by General Mills in the 1970s. At various times, the line included ‘Count Chocula’ (chocolate flavoured), ‘Franken Berry’ (Strawberry flavoured) and ‘Boo Berry’ (Blueberry flavoured) as well as ‘Frute Brute’ and ‘Yummy Mummy’, with a sixth character – ‘Carmella Creeper’ – introduced in 2023.

In the TV commercials of the day, Count Chocula and Franken Berry would engage in bickering over which cereal was better when someone else – usually Boo Berry – interfered in their verbal sparring and scared them out of their wits.

The voice of Blue Berry – a blue ghost with a red bow tie and red and yellow striped hat – was provided by Paul Frees and based on Peter Lorre.

Since 2010, Boo Berry cereals have been manufactured and sold only for a few months during the autumn/Halloween season.

Bran Flakes

Kellogg’s Bran Flakes have been around since 1915. Similar to Corn Flakes, the cereal consists of small toasted flakes of wheat or oat bran together with binders and seasoning. They may also be nutritionally fortified.

Variants of bran flakes include Raisin Bran, Sultana Bran, and Fruit and Fibre.

Bran Muffin Crisp

Introduced in 1985, this cereal from General Mills was meant to capture the taste of a bran muffin. The cereal featured brown sugar-cinnamon crunchy bran flakes, slivered almonds and raisins. The product was discontinued around 1989.

C-3PO’s

Kellogg’s introduced C-3POs in 1984, one year after the third film in the original Star Wars trilogy appeared in cinemas.

Some packs came with plastic Rebel Rockets, Star Wars stickers and trading cards, or cut-out Star Wars Masks. Packs also included a send-away offer for Kenner Star Wars action figures.

Cap’n Crunch

“Stays crunchy, even in milk”

‘Cap’n Crunch’ was introduced by Quaker in 1963. The sea-going mascot sported a white walrus moustache, jacket with tails, shoulder epaulettes and a blue Napoleonic hat bearing the initial “C.”

The Captain (voiced by Daws Butler) – who often said of his cereal, “It has to be good because they named it after me!” – commanded the SS Guppy, which sailed the oceans with a crew of four children: the ponytailed Brunnhilde; bespectacled Alfie; gap-toothed Dave; and silent little Carlyle.

The ship’s first mate was a dog named Seadog. Pirate Jean LaFoote (the barefoot pirate) often attacked the ship for its cargo of Cap’n Crunch and Crunchberry cereals.

Other characters were the Crunchberry Beast, who raised strawberry-flavoured crunchberries and Smedley, a friendly elephant who loved peanut butter-flavoured Cap’n Crunch.

The cereal was an instant hit, and within two years of its introduction, it became the 9th best-selling cereal in America. At least 25 spin-off cereals have been created since 1963, and every one featured Cap’n Crunch as a character on the box.

Cheerios

This cereal brand from General Mills was introduced on 2 May 1941 as “Cheerioats”. The name was shortened to “Cheerios” in December 1945 after a competing cereal manufacturer, Quaker, claimed to hold the rights to use the term “oats”.

Beginning in the mid-1950s and continuing through the early 1960s, “The Cheerios Kid” was a mainstay in Cheerios commercials. The Kid, after eating Cheerios, quickly dealt with whatever problem presented in the commercial, using oat-produced “Big-G, little-o” “Go-power.”

In 1976, “Cinnamon Nut Cheerios” became the first alternate variety of Cheerios.

In 1984 and 1985, characters from the comic strip Peanuts were featured in many Cheerios commercials.

In 2005, it was estimated that one out of every ten boxes of ready-to-eat cereals sold in the US was a box of Cheerios.

Coco Pops/Coco Krispies

Kellogg’s “Coco Pops” – a chocolate-covered rice-based cereal – was launched in the UK in 1961, supported by a substantial TV advertising campaign with Mr Jinks as the mascot.

Sooty’s friend Sweep replaced him after the name became Coco Krispies in the late 1960s.

Cocoa Puffs

General Mills launched Cocoa Puffs – basically sweetened, chocolate-flavored Kix cereal – in 1956.

Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, the manic mascot for Cocoa Puffs who was “coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs”, was introduced in the early 1960s. His trademark catchphrase became so ingrained in American culture that it became used as slang for “crazy or insane”.

Cookie-Crisp

Released by Ralston in 1977, Cookie-Crisp was available in two flavours – Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Wafer. The cereal tasted like cookies but stayed crisp in milk.

Ralston reassured parents that the cereal was “fortified with eight essential vitamins and iron”.

Corn Flakes

Introduced in 1906, Cornflakes was developed by brothers Dr John Harvey Kellogg and Will Keith Kellogg, who originally founded the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. The company was renamed Kellogg’s in 1922.

Cornelius the cockerel appeared on Corn Flakes packets from 1963

Count Chocula

“I vant to eat your cereal!”

Introduced by General Mills (alongside Franken Berry) in March 1971, this chocolate-flavoured frosted cereal with marshmallow bits had a vampire as a mascot – but a vampire who preferred chocolate to blood.

Franken Berry

Count Chocula and Franken Berry cereals were both introduced by General Mills in 1971.

The cereal was advertised by Franken Berry – a cuddly, pink version of the Frankenstein monster who loves strawberries and is afraid of Boo Berry.

Franken Berry (voiced by Bob McFadden) co-starred with Count Chocula in TV commercials.

Freakies

Freakies were made by Ralston Purina (yes, the cat food people) from around 1973 to 1977.

The box had a picture of a large tree (the “Freakies” tree), and very long, well-written stories about the Freakies on the back of the pack.

The Freakies themselves were seven really neat creatures;

Hamhose : A brown octopus, known for his shyness;
Gargle : A purple alligator (who stood upright) and was the genius of the group;
Cowmumble : Looked like a green cow – She was pathologically shy, but also a little giddy;
Grumble : Looked sort of like an orange frog with gigantic feet and complained about everything;
Goody Goody : Looked and talked like everybody’s worst grandmother, and had a giant bulbous red nose;
Snorkeldorf : A purple elephant who played his trunk like a musical instrument;
Boss Moss : The green leader of the group whose wide-open mouth was so big that it covered half of his face

The cereal itself looked like yellow Cheerios but tasted just like Cap’n Crunch. There were six or seven different TV commercials on Saturday mornings, and at least one of them went “We are the Freakies, We are the Freakies, And this is the Freakies tree, We never miss a meal (Oh, no) ‘Cause we love our cer-ee-eel”

But the neatest thing about Freakies were the prizes. First, they had little statuettes of the seven Freakies; then they had refrigerator magnets. But the big favourites were the Freakmobiles; seven little cars which every kid just had to collect. They had a little “air booster” in the back (a kind of rubber bulb) and squeezing it would push the car thirty feet or more!

There were also seven boats for the Freakies. You blew up a balloon and attached it to the boat, and as the balloon deflated, the boat travelled through the water.

In no particular order, there were also; Freakies bicycle flags; Freakies airplanes (which you just cut out from the back of the box); Freakies iron-on patches (twenty of them; Flip ‘N Fly’s (sort of like little Frisbees) . . . and then Ralston Purina offered their famous “Mystery Prize” (where you could basically get any of the items above).

Eventually, Ralston Purina started to run out of ideas and by early 1978, Freakies was gone.

NB: Do not confuse the original Freakies with the feeble comeback attempt in the late 80s.

Froot Loops

“Follow my nose! It always knows! The flavor of fruit! Wherever it grows!”

When Kellogg’s introduced Froot Loops in 1963, the loops were flavoured cherry (red), lemon (yellow) and orange (derr!). Many other flavours were included later, such as grape (purple).

The Froot Loops mascot, Toucan Sam, was originally voiced by Mel Blanc.

Frosted Flakes/Frosties

Tony The Tiger has been the mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal since its introduction in 1952 when it was called Sugar Frosted Flakes.

The cereal has used the tag lines “They Bring out the tiger in you” and “The taste adults have grown to love”, but the most popular line by far is Tony’s deep-throated “They’re Grrreat!”

Golden Crisp

First introduced as Sugar Crisp in 1949, Sugar Bear and his delicious Golden Crisp cereal helped make many childhood memories. The puffed wheat cereal coated in a delightful, sweet glaze made every spoonful a scrumptious treat.

The catchy “Can’t get enough of that Golden Crisp” tune still echoes in our memories, reminding us of those carefree mornings.

Golden Grahams

Introduced by General Mills in 1975 (and marketed in the UK by Nestle), Golden Grahams was promoted as “A Honey Of A New Cereal!”

Golden Nuggets

Klondike Pete and his hoss featured on the boxes, of Golden Nuggets (which always used to have great free gifts, like Klondike Pete comics). Sold from 1970 – 1979 (and were re-launched in 1999).

Grape Nuts

When CW Post invented this cereal in 1897, he was looking to produce a coffee substitute. What he ended up with were crunchy nuggets. Post called his new cereal Grape Nuts (with “grape” stemming from the cereal’s inclusion of maltose, which Post referred to as “grape sugar”).

He positioned Grape-Nuts as “the most scientific cereal in the world”.

Honey-Comb

Introduced in 1965 by Post, Honey-Comb was described as “a new kind of cereal for the whole family . . . made from golden corn and sweetened with pure natural honey and sugar.”

In the mid-2000s, Post began tweaking the recipe of Honey-Comb to make it healthier. In 2017, they reformulated the recipe to the extent that it tasted significantly different from the original. Reviews of the new flavour were exceedingly negative, and in 2018, the original flavour was restored.

Jets

This sugar-toasted oat and wheat cereal from General Mills was originally advertised on TV by Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Juniors

“spoon size shredded wheat.”

Kaboom

Introduced by General Mills in 1969, Kaboom contained colourful cereal pieces resembling the smiling face of a clown and marshmallows in the shape of circus animals.

King Vitaman

Launched in 1970 by Quaker, this cereal was to be called King Vitamin, but the name was changed when an American federal regulatory agency disallowed the use of the word “vitamin” in the name of a product that wasn’t a vitamin.

The first mascot for King Vitaman was an animated king created by Jay Ward Production (the same company that created Cap’n Crunch, Quisp, Quake and Rocky & Bullwinkle) who was always trying to protect his cereal from his arch enemies, the Blue Baron and the Not-So-Bright Knight. He was assisted by good knights, Sir Laffitup and Sir Cravenleigh.

A year later, the animated king was replaced by a real-life man (George Mann) playing the part of King Vitaman. George Mann passed away in 1977.

Life

In 1971, the Doyle, Dane & Bernbach Agency created an ad campaign for Life cereal (which ran from 1972 through 1987) starring three young brothers (the Gilchrist brothers), all freckled and all very cute. The now classic TV spots showed two of the boys (Michael and Tommy) wrestling with the decision of whether to try a new cereal (Life) that was supposed to be good for you.

“I’m not gonna try it. You try it,” they argued. Suddenly, they slid the bowl of cereal in front of their little four-year-old brother, Mikey (John Gilchrist), who, according to the commercial, “hates everything.” To their surprise, Mikey liked it (“He likes it! Hey, Mikey!”), and the commercial message that Life cereal was good for kids was complete.

In 1986, Mikey returned as a college student to continue this cereal saga for the Quaker Company. In addition to Life cereal, John Gilchrist (aka. “Mikey”) appeared in more than 250 commercials for such products as Pepto Bismol, Skippy Peanut Butter, and Jell-O before quitting in 1988.

In later years, the Gilchrist brothers joked about how they did all the talking, yet their brother John got all of the recognition. John’s standard answer to this discussion “Well, I was the cute one.”

Urban legend rumours asserted falsely that Mikey had died after eating Pop Rocks and Coca-Cola. In 1997, the makers of Life cereal held a contest to find a “new” Mikey to appear on their cereal boxes. The winner (chosen from 35,000 entrants) was a girl named Marli Brianna Hughes.

Lucky Charms

“They’re always after me Lucky Charms!”

Introduced in 1964 by General Mills, Lucky Charms was the first cereal to include marshmallow pieces (the pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers were based on the concept of the charm bracelet).

Lucky the Leprechaun has been the enduring mascot for the cereal since the beginning.

Puffa Puffa Rice

Introduced by Kellogg’s in 1967, Puffa Puffa Rice was initially advertised with a Hawaiian or Polynesian theme. Island volcanoes, ocean scenes and palm fronds adorned various versions of the cereal box.

The cereal disappeared around 1975.

Quake/Quisp

A round-faced alien with crossed-eyes, a broad teasing grin and a propeller growing from the top of his head featured on the 1960s Quaker commercials that advertised Quisp cereals.

The counterpart cereal to Quisp was Quake. Introduced the same year, Quake was another crunchy cereal with pieces shaped like gears. Advertisements for Quake referred to the cereal pieces as “wheelies” and the mascot was a muscular, cape-wearing, miner’s helmet-sporting momma’s boy with a deep booming voice (voiced by William Conrad).

The flavours of the two cereals were basically identical, but Quisp was a far more popular cereal.

Quisp and Quake were almost always promoted together. The usual commercial scenario had the two characters competing against each other for screen time and bickering over which cereal was best or gave away the best free gifts in the boxes. The Quisp & Quake ad campaign was created in 1965 by the Compton ad agency.

In the early 1970’s, Quaker ran commercials asking consumers to vote on their favourite cereal/character. The loser would be banished from grocery store shelves. Quisp won by a wide margin, and, true to their word, Quaker discontinued Quake cereal.

Quisp memorabilia has become a particularly hot commodity among cereal collectors.

Raisin Bran

Kellogg’s introduced Raisin Bran in 1942.

Rice Krinkles

When Post first introduced Rice Krinkles (their full name was ‘Sugar Coated Rice Krinkles’), the mascot was a rice-loving Chinese boy named So-Hi.

While undoubtedly politically incorrect in modern times, the cute little boy with his high-pitched stereotypical Chinese accent and his hat made from a bowl of Rice Krinkles was extremely popular in the early 60s.

The cereal disappeared from shelves in 1969.

Rice Krispies

Introduced in 1928, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies was advertised by three cute little elves called Snap, Crackle and Pop, who scampered about the kitchen.

Originally designed by children’s illustrator W. T. Grant, the three elves derived their name from the Snap! Crackle! Pop! sounds emitted from the cereal when milk is poured onto it. Over the years, the elves’ large ears and noses were softened and downsized.

With the introduction of television, the Snap, Crackle, Pop campaign initially targeted such children’s shows as The Howdy Doody Show but later targeted programs like CBS Schoolbreak Specials and ABC After School Specials. The elves’ voices were provided by Daws Butler, Paul Winchell & Don Messick.

Ricicles

Basically just ‘Rice Krispies’ with a frosted sugar coating, Kellogg’s Ricicles (and their chocolate counterpart Choco Ricicles) was a popular cereal in Britain in the 1980s and 1990s until it was discontinued in 2017 due to its sugar levels.

Special K

Launched by Kellogg’s in 1955, Special K was the first high-protein cereal fortified with vitamins and iron.

Sugar Crisp/Super Sugar Crisp

Launched in 1949, Post’s Sugar Crisp had the distinction of being the first cereal to have an animated television commercial.

The commercial featured three cartoon bears named Dandy, Handy and Candy, who appeared as the announcer explained how the cereal was “dandy” for breakfast, “handy” for snacks and could be eaten like “Candy”.

Sugar Crisp’s more famous mascot, Sugar Bear, became the cereal’s mascot 14 years later. The character was actually created for an animated kids’ show called Linus The Lionhearted, but outlasted the show.

Sugar Crisp was renamed Super Sugar Crisp in the late 60s and transformed into Super Golden Crisp around 1986.

Sugar Puffs

Originally introduced in 1957, ‘Sugar Puffs’ was a much-loved cereal staple in many British households.

In the 1980s, the cereal became synonymous with the TV advert featuring the larger-than-life Honey Monster.

The cereal saw big changes in 2014 when the name was changed to ‘Honey Monster Puffs’, and the recipe was altered to include less sugar and more honey.

Sugar Smacks

In the UK, Sugar Smacks kept pace of childhood trends by featuring the latest favourite TV hero on the pack.

Some of the featured stars were Joe 90, Yogi Bear and the cast of Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds and Star Trek.

The fear of overly sugary cereals forced Kellogg’s to change the name to Honey Smacks in the 1980s.

Trix

“Silly Rabbit! Trix are for kids”

Trix was introduced by General Mills in 1954. The rabbit mascot first appeared in 1959 (as a floppy glove puppet) and went on to become one of the most famous characters in the cereal world.

From its inception, the cereal pieces were multi-coloured spheres. In the 1990s, the shape was changed to resemble different fruits. Then, in the mid-2000s, they reverted back to sphere-shaped pieces.

Waffelos

Launched by Ralston in 1979, Waffelos was a sweetened cereal with an artificial maple syrup flavour. A blueberry version of the cereal was also available.

The mascot for the cereal was a cowboy character named Waffelo Bill who had a very sensible (guitar-playing) horse who would often chime in with common sense interruptions when Waffelo Bill got too excited in the TV commercials.

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