Focus On Cereals Including on the Go: 22 January

By Megan Tatum wordsbymegantatum@gmail.com 

Publishing: 22 January 2022
Advertising deadline: 11 January 2022
Submissions deadline: 31 December 2021

In troubled times, who could turn down a reassuringly sweet bowl of cereal? The category profited from breakfast literally being put back on the table as many worked from home during lockdown, while also doubling as a snack. But now cereal is facing its own troubled times in the form of looming HFSS regulations. Already the likes of Nestle and Kellogg’s have reformulated or launched new products with less sugar and salt. So how have suppliers gone about remaking cereal? Will a lack of sugar sacrifice on taste? And might the category make more of functional benefits like fibre and protein?

Sugar crash: HFSS regulations due to be implemented next year have prompted cereal makers reduce the sugar content in their cereals. By the end of this year Nestle will use up to 16% less sugar and 50% less salt across Coco Shreddies, Frosted Shreddies, Honey Cheerios, Nesquik, Cookie Crisp and Golden Nuggets, to take one major supplier. How have they done this while maintaining taste? And how will shoppers respond to changes to their favourite cereals?

Indulgence: While cereals are shifting to avoid the HFSS restrictions, there will still be room for indulgence in the category. So what can we expect from suppliers when it comes to sweet treats?

Health and function: Other cereal makers are touting the benefits of their fibre and protein content, as well as being a source of sustained energy. Can function drive the category forward?

Breakfast fast: Cereal sales have fallen over the last year after a lockdown boom. The loosening of restrictions has seemingly encouraged us to eschew cereal, perhaps in favour of a bacon butty on the way into the office. What can suppliers or retailers do to get us back at the breakfast table in the morning?

On the go: Lockdown was no time for breakfast bars. But with things open and people venturing out and about, is the segment recovering? And how can it adapt to stay relevant to changed habits, including more home snacking?

Innovations: Profiles of four new products or ranges that have not appeared in The Grocer before. We need launch date, rsp, and a hi-res picture of each.