Cereals rank among the most eaten breakfast meals, especially in America. Made from a dried flour dough, the flaked cereals remain the favorite breakfast food of Americans to date. However, this wasn’t the case with cereals till the middle of the 19th century. Foods like pancakes, beefsteaks, eggs, boiled chicken, oysters, and pastries came under the preferred breakfast choice of both middle and upper-class Americans. Brands all over the world look for the best packaging like custom cereal packaging boxes to package and store these edibles effectively. Today, brands offer several other flavors of cereals like chocolate, butter, honey, etc. In this article, we’ll discuss the origins of cereals and how they gained importance over time.
The Origins of Cereals
The origins of cereals date back to prehistory when people used to mince whole grains and cooked them with water to make oats and gruels. However, cold cereals developed later, in the second half of the 19th century.
The Making of Modern Cereals
Religious beliefs became the reason for the making of the first ready-to-eat cereals. An American priest named Sylvester Graham invented the Graham cracker in 1829 from the tasteless ground floor. A physician named John Kellogg later invented various grain-based alternatives of meat in the Battle Creek Sanatorium. Around 1877, Kellogg invented granola by mixing and baking corn, oats, and wheat. He, along with his brother W.K. Kellogg created the first boiled and chipped cereal in 1994. W.K. Kellogg along with his partner C.W. Post who was a patient in the sanatorium went on to sell all the invented items as health edibles. Several other people opened factories in Battle Creek to make those products but failed. However, the company that Kellogg and Post created still leads the market as a pioneer in cereal manufacturing.
Promotion of Breakfast Vitality
Brands selling cereals found that most Americans prefer eating light breakfast. They observed eating habits as a problem for the promotion of their cereal products. To cope with this problem, brands hired a PR consultant named Edward Bernays to find a solution. As per reports, Bernays got the signatures of around 4,500 doctors on a report stating that a heavier breakfast was healthier than a light one. He made this research to be reported on the news channels to make up the peoples’ minds. This strategy helped cereal brands to fortify their market demand as healthy breakfast food.
The Role of Marketing in Promoting Cereals
Although cereals became a popular food, they didn’t become a famous breakfast food until marketing came in. In 1944, General Foods, the company that sold Grape Nuts, launched a campaign to increase its cereal sales. The advertisers created the slogan of the campaign ‘Eat a good breakfast – Do a better job.’ As per the campaign planning, radio stations promoted the vitality of breakfast as suggested by nutrition experts. Several grocery stores shared pamphlets stating the vitality of breakfast. The next step involved making cereals the most suitable breakfast food. The inventor J.H. Kellogg being a deeply religious doctor believed cereals to prevent Americans from desiring sex and masturbation and would improve their health. Such campaigns added to the continuous popularity of cereals.
The Role of Corn Flakes in the Popularity of Cereals
The rise of corn flakes that were also made by Kellogg and Post, added to the popularity of cereals as well. Made from wheat flakes, cereals were close to corn flakes. Thus, the success of cornflakes also made cereals popular as they resembled a breakfast food product already in rising demand. The advertising campaigns also changed the image of breakfast cereals. From being a healthy breakfast food, cereals were promoted by the advertisers as a tasty breakfast food that can be easily and instantly made. Today, 9 out of 10 American homes utilize ready-to-eat breakfast cereals which showcases its popularity.
The Role of Custom Cereal Boxes in the Success of Cereal Products
Tailored cereal boxes have played a major role throughout the years to intensify the popularity of cereals. At the start of 1909, cereal brands started targeting children by adding toys in cereal boxes, which still happens today. As per the 2018 reports, the business of cold cereal generates billions in revenue. As packaging plays a vital role in promoting a brand and packed products, brands invest heavily in creating effective cereal boxes. They acquire services of reliable packaging brands that can deliver the best cereal packaging. Cereal brands in the United States partner with the best packaging brands like Packaging Mania. We have created our name in the market by certifying the success of several brands in the US. Our custom cereal boxes offer everything that a brand needs from packaging. So if you want your brand to stand out in the market and create its unique worth, then get in touch with us. Visit our website Packaging Mania and take a look at our variety of custom boxes.