Cereals meet the need for convenient morning fuel and are seen as a healthy option for kids in particular
Despite the increasing variety of morning-oriented foods on the market, cereals maintain their breakfast monopoly, accounting for nearly 55% of all breakfast occasions, says TNS.
The main focus here is on children and health. PepsiCo shopper insights manager Guy Shepherd says: “Mums are concerned about what their children are eating at school and breakfast is the one meal where they can see what they are eating. It’s also about convenience and cereals meet the need for healthy fuel.”
PepsiCo is forging ahead on the health issue by adding three new hot products under its Quaker brand - Take Heart, which contains added ingredients for heart benefits; Organic Oats, to tie in with what trade marketing manager Nicky Seal says is the “fastest growing food sector in the UK”; and a new Raspberry flavour for its Oatso Simple range.
One of the big issues in this sector concerns ingredients labelling, and Shepherd points out that many more people are now taking the time to read
packs and think about the ingredients. Co-op category marketing manager Helen Eaton says: “Manufacturers have been concentrating on reducing salt and sugar in cereals and the launch of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Muddles [now Rice Krispies Multigrain] and Tiger Power, which contain very little sugar, reflect this trend.”
But Dragon marketing agency consultant Chris Grantham points out: “The majority of breakfast cereals marketed at children still contain high levels of salt and sugar. There are a lot of spurious health claims made by breakfast cereals. The processing
techniques required to make extruded products removes a lot of the nutritional value. These brands will be under more pressure to come clean.”
Alex Smith, MD of porridge oats supplier Alara, warns: “GDA labelling is a pre-emptive industry response to the proposed FSA traffic light scheme. The concept concerns some cereal manufacturers because many of their products are high in salt, fat and sugar. If the consumer is confused now, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’. When the FSA requirements are announced next year, confusion will reign.”
The company is introducing a LifeStage range of muesli, comprising three options to cater specifically for growing children, women aged 18-40 and consumers aged 40-plus.
Smith believes that health is not the only key factor affecting cereal trends - ethics is also important. Alara is a certified Fairtrade muesli producer and Smith says: “Our sales have doubled in the past year. Consumers are buying into Fairtrade in increasing numbers.”
But it’s not just the cereals that
consumers are scrutinising more closely. Unless they’re eaten in bar form, cereals require milk.
Highgrove produces a Breakfast Milk specifically for the occasion and MD Keith Collins says that most consumers are still not properly educated about how to interpret nutritional labels.
He says: “There is little awareness about the fat content of milk. Although many consumers are aware that milk is calcium rich, they still seek alternatives as they perceive it to be fattening. Our Breakfast Milk contains only 5% fat.”
Despite the increasing variety of morning-oriented foods on the market, cereals maintain their breakfast monopoly, accounting for nearly 55% of all breakfast occasions, says TNS.
The main focus here is on children and health. PepsiCo shopper insights manager Guy Shepherd says: “Mums are concerned about what their children are eating at school and breakfast is the one meal where they can see what they are eating. It’s also about convenience and cereals meet the need for healthy fuel.”
PepsiCo is forging ahead on the health issue by adding three new hot products under its Quaker brand - Take Heart, which contains added ingredients for heart benefits; Organic Oats, to tie in with what trade marketing manager Nicky Seal says is the “fastest growing food sector in the UK”; and a new Raspberry flavour for its Oatso Simple range.
One of the big issues in this sector concerns ingredients labelling, and Shepherd points out that many more people are now taking the time to read
packs and think about the ingredients. Co-op category marketing manager Helen Eaton says: “Manufacturers have been concentrating on reducing salt and sugar in cereals and the launch of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Muddles [now Rice Krispies Multigrain] and Tiger Power, which contain very little sugar, reflect this trend.”
But Dragon marketing agency consultant Chris Grantham points out: “The majority of breakfast cereals marketed at children still contain high levels of salt and sugar. There are a lot of spurious health claims made by breakfast cereals. The processing
techniques required to make extruded products removes a lot of the nutritional value. These brands will be under more pressure to come clean.”
Alex Smith, MD of porridge oats supplier Alara, warns: “GDA labelling is a pre-emptive industry response to the proposed FSA traffic light scheme. The concept concerns some cereal manufacturers because many of their products are high in salt, fat and sugar. If the consumer is confused now, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’. When the FSA requirements are announced next year, confusion will reign.”
The company is introducing a LifeStage range of muesli, comprising three options to cater specifically for growing children, women aged 18-40 and consumers aged 40-plus.
Smith believes that health is not the only key factor affecting cereal trends - ethics is also important. Alara is a certified Fairtrade muesli producer and Smith says: “Our sales have doubled in the past year. Consumers are buying into Fairtrade in increasing numbers.”
But it’s not just the cereals that
consumers are scrutinising more closely. Unless they’re eaten in bar form, cereals require milk.
Highgrove produces a Breakfast Milk specifically for the occasion and MD Keith Collins says that most consumers are still not properly educated about how to interpret nutritional labels.
He says: “There is little awareness about the fat content of milk. Although many consumers are aware that milk is calcium rich, they still seek alternatives as they perceive it to be fattening. Our Breakfast Milk contains only 5% fat.”
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