A sweet history of breakfast cereal

Is the best part of waking up cereal and milk in your cup? It turns out dry cereal has quite a fascinating history, and while it’s common today, it’s also a surprisingly new invention. Before modern times, dry cereal wasn’t really a thing. Folks might enjoy warm porridge or oatmeal, but not the cereal staples that now fill the breakfast aisle.
Cereal offers a relatively nutritious, easy-to-make breakfast invented as a digestive aid.

In 1863, a diet guru, James Caleb Jackson, invented a kind of granola that is often considered the first manufactured cereal. Before being eaten, however, it had to be soaked in milk for several hours. In 1877, John Harvey Kellogg devised a similar cereal, which he dubbed Granula, which is not the same as granola. Kellogg also developed and patented a tempering process vital for making flaked cereals. Thus, Corn Flakes were born.

One of Kellogg’s patients, C.W. Post, also jumped into the nascent cereal market with Grape Nuts. To this day, Post and Kellogg’s rank as two of the largest breakfast cereal producers in the world. More cereals were imagined in the early 20th century, including Wheaties and Rice Krispies. Cheerios, another classic cereal, was invented in the 1940s.

Demand for kid-friendly foods skyrocketed during the baby boom that followed World War II. Further, more people were leaving farms and heading to offices and factories for work. With folks pulled away from home, demand for quick, easy breakfast cereals rose.

As modern society unfolded, cereal companies continued to expand their lineup. They also targeted kids with sweeter cereals like Count Chocula. Despite cries that cereals have too much sugar, revenue in today’s breakfast cereal market is enormous, amounting to about $21 billion in 2022.

Bestselling cereals
According to Food Manufacturing, National Cereal Day occurs on March 7, but the highest cereal consumption is in January and February.

In 2021, the top ten kinds of cereal were:
1. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
2. Rice Krispies
3. Frosted Flakes
4. Lucky Charms
5. Honey Nut Cheerios
6. Raisin Bran
7. Fruity Pebbles
8. Special K
9. Corn Flakes
10. Life Cereal

The top four of these were nearly equal in demand.