Cereal has gained popularity in the consumer market right from the beginning, which only a few other food products can attain. Originating in 1863, this delicious corn product evolved into what we know as cereals today and is available in a variety of colors, flavors, and shapes.
Popular brands like Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, and others sell cereals in different varieties and earn major revenues. Filled with crunchy goodness, this product deserves packaging that exhibits its fame and market success and there can be no other alternative than custom cereal packaging boxes for this purpose.
Origins of Cereal
First, we need to know how this flavorful food product became popular, particularly as a breakfast item. Well, it starts from a man named James Caleb Jackson who created the first breakfast cereal from graham flour dough in 1863, called granola. Following James, a surgeon named John Harvey Kellogg created a new version of granola. John was a surgeon by profession and he had a patient who followed this recipe and later made an improvised version of this, called grape nuts.
Factors that Made Cereal Products Popular
So how did these different types of cereal gain popularity as a healthy food product?
i. World War II
Well, World War II played a major part in making famous cereals but only for kids. As many adults died and new babies were born, mothers needed food that kids could easily eat and digest, and cereal in milk was just that; easily digestible.
ii. Jackson’s Anti-sex Campaign
The second reason for the popularity of cereals was J.C. Jackson, who was the inventor of the first cereal as stated earlier. He was a religious man and asked people to avoid the traditional American breakfast that included potato and meat. The reason is rather bizarre but true.
Jackson believed that this sort of breakfast has a particular effect on the gut that impacts mental health as a result and causes people to do insane things including masturbation. His point was that people should avoid fried potato and meat and rather opt for cereals as it’s made from natural ingredients, light on the gut, and good for mental health. This campaign had a huge impact as the sales of cereals elevated tenfold.
iii. Demand for a Suitable Breakfast Option
The third factor for cereal popularity is that the public was already in dire need of a healthy breakfast option. The reason is that during the colonial period, daily wagers used to eat either porridge or leftovers from last night. The European elite, on the other hand, used to eat massive breakfast buffets that included egg, ham, and sausage dishes. Brands published and advertised many studies about the health benefits of cereal to create the trust of the American public in then. As brands started adding corn syrup or sugar to cereal, both common people and the elite accepted cereal as the perfect breakfast option
Role of Custom Cereal Boxes in Popularizing Cereal
Brands used the power of advertising to the maximum as they advertised cereals through commercials, magazines, TV shows, and custom cereal boxes that could be tailored with the best colors, graphics, and printing options to achieve successful marketing. They introduced mascots like Tony the Tiger, Sonny, and Katy the Kangaroo for cereal publicity that worked the charm and popularized cereals among kids.
The result? Just in 2020, around 283 million Americans consumed boxed cereal products, and around 2.7 billion cereal boxes are sold every year which exhibit their popularity in the current era. Brands opt for custom cereal boxes as they offer peak security to brittle cereal products, long-term storage ability, and effective marketing that amplifies their sales.
Choose Packaging Mania!
Packaging can take marketing to peak level and that’s why brands invest in making boxes that are printed with HD colors and graphics and exhibit elegance. For cereal products, there is no other packaging option better than custom cereal boxes, and successful brands contact Packaging Mania to acquire these boxes. We’ve got the best crew and skilled individuals who can fulfill all your packaging demands and provide guidance for creating the right packaging that hits the bull’s eye with its marketing ability. So, if your brand is in dire need of a packaging upgrade and you don’t know which company to choose, then try us. Call our sales team, let us know of your packaging demands, and we’ll handle the rest.