Crazy Cow – The Milk Magic of the 1970s
Back when breakfast could literally be magic, Crazy Cow burst onto the scene with cereal coated in flavored powder that dissolved when wet, with the chocolate variety making “its own chocolate milk,” while the strawberry-flavored cereal made pink milk. This brilliant breakfast innovation was years ahead of its time, giving kids the thrill of watching their milk transform before their eyes.
Crazy Cow was a 1970s breakfast cereal that was immediately a hit, coming in both strawberry and chocolate flavors, with the powder dissolving in milk and turning the liquid brown or pink depending on the flavor. Unfortunately, despite being one of the most memorable cereals of the decade, it couldn’t sustain its popularity. Despite the clever gimmick, Crazy Cow didn’t make it out of the ’70s.
OKs Cereal – Kellogg’s Cheerios Competitor
Kellogg’s OK’s was introduced by the Kellogg’s company in 1959, as an answer to the Cheerios brand, which was made by General Mills. The cereal featured pieces shaped like the letters “O” and “K,” but what made it truly memorable was its unusual mascot journey. Big Otis, a muscular Scotsman, appeared as the mascot for OKs cereal in 1959 and 1960, though the association between an oat cereal and Scotland was lost on most consumers and Otis was quickly replaced by Yogi Bear.
The cereal had a devoted following who claimed it tasted better than Cheerios, with a more solid texture and distinctive flavor. However, success wasn’t meant to last. Around 1962, Kellogg’s decided to discontinue OKs, with the company’s product development team asked to create another cereal that could use the same equipment that made the “O”s in OKs, leading to the introduction of Froot Loops in 1963.
Waffelos – Breakfast Waffles in a Bowl
For those mornings when you couldn’t be bothered firing up the waffle iron, there was Waffelos. This 1970s breakfast cereal was unlike any other, with tiny, crunchy waffle bites flavored with maple syrup, transporting the waffle maker experience into your breakfast bowl, with even a blueberry version introduced in the 1980s. The concept was genius – miniature waffles that actually tasted like the real thing.
Ralston followed suit with bite-sized waffle cereal called Waffleos in 1979, coming in maple and blueberry flavors and featuring a cartoon cowboy in a 10-gallon hat on the box, but this discontinued breakfast cereal was yanked off the market in 1982. Despite various attempts to recreate the waffle cereal magic since then, nothing has quite captured the original’s charm.
Pink Panther Flakes – When Cereal Changed Your Milk
In 1972, one year before the cereal was introduced, Post Cereals co-sponsored The Pink Panther Show, a Saturday morning kid’s show, with Post Consumer Brands introducing the cereal as tie-in for The Pink Panther Show program in 1973. The cereal was a visual spectacle that kids absolutely loved.
The cereal’s flakes had bubblegum-pink, sugar-coated corn flakes, and when milk was poured on the cereal, the pink on the flakes would run into the milk when the cereal was wet. This created an instantly pink bowl of milk that made breakfast feel like a science experiment. Unfortunately, the cereal continued to be produced until 1975, when Post Consumer Brands discontinued the cereal, likely due to concerns about artificial food coloring that were becoming more prominent in the late 1970s.
King Vitaman – The Royal Breakfast That Lost Its Crown
Originally called King Vitamin, the Quaker Oats company changed the spelling of the breakfast cereal’s name when the federal government stepped in, as the word “vitamin” could not be used for a product that wasn’t a vitamin, though the cereal is still being produced. This long-reigning breakfast monarch had an impressive run that lasted decades.
King Vitaman Cereal boasted high vitamin and iron content, in addition to a more modest amount of sugar (6 grams per serving) than many more popular breakfast cereals, such as Cap’n Crunch and Lucky Charms (which contain 13 grams or more). However, changing consumer preferences eventually spelled doom for this healthier option. According to some reports the cereal was discontinued in 2019, though other sources indicate it may still be in limited production, ending or continuing a reign that began in the late 1960s.
Sprinkle Spangles – Rainbow Magic for Breakfast
General Mills launched Sprinkle Spangles in the fall of 1993, featuring star-shaped, sprinkle-covered cereal that arrived less than a year after Disney’s Aladdin (1992) and featured a cartoon genie as the mascot, even voiced by comedian Dom Deluise channeling Robin Williams in the commercials. This cereal was pure sugar-coated joy, designed to appeal to kids who loved anything covered in rainbow sprinkles.
This cereal was a dream come true for sprinkle lovers, like having mini-sugar cookies for breakfast, with sweetened corn puffs covered in rainbow sprinkles, making every bite a tasty flavor explosion. Unfortunately, the magic didn’t last long. By 1995, Sprinkle Spangles had been phased out of the market, becoming another casualty of the competitive cereal wars.
Hidden Treasures – Breakfast Surprise in Every Bite
Imagine playing Russian roulette with your breakfast, but instead of danger, you got delicious fruit flavors. Every piece of cereal in a box of Hidden Treasures was a mystery: Some of the crispy corn squares contained a fruit-flavored (cherry, grape, or orange) filling, while others were plain, leaving it up to kids to shovel spoonfuls into their mouths and find out for themselves.
This element of surprise made breakfast an adventure rather than just a meal. Kids would crunch through multiple pieces hoping to hit the jackpot of a filled square. Sadly for fans, General Mills released Hidden Treasures in the early 1990s and discontinued it by 1995, leaving behind only sweet memories of breakfast surprises.
Mr. T Cereal – Pity the Fool Who Missed This
Mr. T Cereal was created by Quaker Oats in 1984, a sweetened corn and oats breakfast cereal shaped like the letter “T,” marketed after the famous 1980s actor Mr. T, loved by children and around for more than a decade before being discontinued in 1993, with Mr. T’s hit TV show “The A-Team” ending in 1987 and the cereal’s sales plummeting soon after.
Mr. T Cereal was basically Cap’n Crunch with a slightly tougher attitude, featuring the same sweet corn crunch but shaped like little golden “T”s, with commercials featuring peak ’80s glory including the immortal line “I pity the fool who don’t eat my cereal”. The cereal rode the wave of Mr. T’s popularity but couldn’t survive when the cultural moment passed.
Nerds Cereal – Candy Meets Breakfast
If you’re a fan of the little Nerds candy, you might have heard of the Nerds Cereal that hit the market in the 1980s, and while some may argue that turning tiny sour candies into cereal wasn’t the smartest idea, it was an adventurous and unique option that may not have been the tastiest cereal out there.
The cereal came in two split bags, reminiscent of the beloved Nerds candy, and stood out on grocery store shelves, and while many agreed it didn’t live up to the hype, it was still worth trying for its sheer novelty. The concept of turning sour candy into a breakfast cereal was bold, but perhaps too avant-garde for the breakfast table. The cereal disappeared after a brief run in the mid-1980s.
Powdered Donutz – 3D Breakfast Treats
The 1980s also gave us Powdered Donutz Cereal, featuring 3D shapes that just looked like Cheerios but were on the sweet side to go after a younger demographic, which totally worked, and they also came in a chocolate flavor, which was the perfect way to start the school day.
Despite the name suggesting powdered donuts, the cereal looked suspiciously similar to regular round cereal pieces. However, the flavor was distinctly sweeter and more indulgent than typical breakfast fare. The cereal capitalized on kids’ love for anything donut-related, but like many novelty cereals of the 1980s, it eventually faded from grocery store shelves as newer, flashier options took its place.
The breakfast cereal graveyard is filled with these once-beloved brands that captured our hearts and taste buds for brief, shining moments. Each one represents a piece of childhood nostalgia that modern cereals just can’t replicate. Whether they vanished due to changing health consciousness, corporate restructuring, or simply falling out of fashion, these discontinued cereals remind us that even the most magical breakfast experiences are sometimes fleeting. What’s your earliest memory of a cereal that disappeared too soon?
