National Cereal Day

Happy National Cereal Day, everyone!

When most people think of cereal, they may think of cold cereal, that is basically dry flakes or oats poured into a bowl, then mixed with milk. 

The first of these cold cereals as we know them was called Granula, introduced in 1863 by American nutritionist and inventor James Caleb Jackson. However, it wasn't like the cold cereals of today, in which you pour it out of a box into a bowl. Or even eat it straight out of the box, I'm not going to judge. Heck, I've eaten cereal that way myself. Granula never became popular because you had to soak it overnight before you could eat it. Yeah, no wonder it flopped. 

In 1873, Wheatena was introduced. This cereal made a bit of an innovation. You see, back in those days, cereals came in big barrels, and it would be sold by the pound to customers. Wheatena was the first cold cereal to be sold...in a box. Yeah, Wheatena introduced the cereal box. Because of this, cold cereals would grow popular as boxes were more sanitary and consumer friendly. Not to mention, this made cold cereal an easier alternative for a breakfast food than cooking something.

Enter John H. Kellogg. During his time as the medical superintendent at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, he started experimenting with granola and wheat as a way to supplement the Sanitarium's vegetarian offerings. This led to the creation of a lighter and flakier cereal. This would eventually become known as Corn Flakes. His younger brother William bought the rights to Corn Flakes in 1906 and started the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company, which is now just Kellogg's. His signature appeared on advertisements, and to this day, a stylized version of his signature is a company logo. The Kellogg's company also made another little innovation in the 1900s. You know those little prizes that you'd find in cereal boxes back in the day? Yeah, Kellogg's introduced that.

In the 1800s, a salesman went to the Sanitarium due to a nervous breakdown. That man was Charles W. Post. Post was very impressed with the all-grain diet there, and it got his brain juices churning. He would experiment with grape products, which led to the introduction of Grape-Nuts. It contains no grapes or nuts. It would make Post a massive fortune in a few years. 

The 1900s would also see Quaker Oats enter the cold cereal market. The 1920s would see the rise of General Mills with the introduction of Wheaties. With the passing of World War II and the 1950s, cereal companies would increasingly advertise to children. It would also be the propagation of more sugary cereals for that market as well as the rise of mascots, like Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam. 

And that's how we got here. Nowadays, cereals come in a wide variety of flavors and levels of healthiness, but they're still considered a beloved way to start the day. Personally, I enjoy the occasional small bowl of Frosted Flakes myself. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!