The Monster Cereal That Couldn’t Survive
General Mills’ Fruity Yummy Mummy stands as one of the most intriguing casualties in cereal history. Launched in 1987 as part of the Monster Cereals line, this vibrant, fruit-flavored cereal with colorful marshmallows was aimed at capitalizing on the popularity of its monster-themed predecessors. The cereal was discontinued in 1992 after only five years on the market, as it failed to infiltrate the competitive market.
What makes Fruity Yummy Mummy particularly fascinating is that it was actually a rebrand. Originally called Fruit Brute and represented by a cartoon werewolf, the cereal pieces and its marshmallows were brightly colored and flavored with a blend of artificial fruits. Never as iconic or popular as the other Monster Cereals, Fruit Brute disappeared in 1982. Despite the rebranding effort, consumers never fully embraced this fruity monster, making it the least successful member of the Monster Cereals family.
The Donut-Shaped Disappointment
Cap’n Crunch Choco Donuts cereal was introduced by Quaker Oats in 2002. The company launched the cereal as part of its whimsical “Oops!” line. It featured a chocolate-flavored donut-shaped piece and was supposed to be a fun, kid-friendly breakfast option. The concept seemed foolproof – who wouldn’t want tiny chocolate donuts for breakfast?
However, market realities proved harsh. Despite its creative premise, the cereal failed because it needed to differentiate itself from the other chocolate-flavored options on the cereal aisle. Quaker billed Choco Donuts as one of its “Oops!” cereals, claiming they were made by accident. Maybe Quaker didn’t set out to create tiny rings of chocolatey goodness that look like teeny tiny donuts. But maybe once it happened, they threw some sprinkles on for extra convincing and called it a day. We’re just glad they did it all and very, very sad they were discontinued in the early 2000s.
The Cereal That Made Milk Rainbow Colors
Crazy Cow was a 1970s breakfast cereal that was immediately a hit. It came in both strawberry and chocolate flavors. The powder would dissolve in milk, turning the liquid brown or pink depending on the flavor. This innovative concept captured children’s imaginations and made breakfast feel like a science experiment.
The cereal saw a big push in sales from Star Wars fans when they started putting trading cards in the boxes. Despite this marketing boost, it wasn’t meant to last forever, and you can no longer find this fun cereal. The novelty of color-changing milk couldn’t sustain long-term market success, and Crazy Cow became another victim of changing consumer tastes and manufacturing priorities.
The Ice Cream Fantasy That Melted Away
Introduced in 1987 by General Mills, this cereal offered sweet puff balls of ice cream cereal paired with 3-D waffle cone pieces. Though it only came in two flavors, vanilla and chocolate chip, the cereal didn’t need to rely on variety. It only needed to rely on a child’s eternal desire to turn breakfast into dessert.
Ice Cream Cones Cereal represented the peak of eighties breakfast indulgence. Ice Cream Cones Cereal was brought to grocery stores by General Mills in 1987. Its unique breakfast offering featured cone-shaped pieces in flavors like Vanilla and Chocolate. Its marketers had a field day using catchy jingles and a character named Ice Cream Jones. The cereal was discontinued in 1998, lasting over a decade due to health concerns of parents. The rapid discontinuation shows how quickly market sentiment can shift when health consciousness collides with sugary breakfast trends.
The Celebrity-Endorsed Breakfast of Champions
Mr. T Cereal was created by Quaker Oats in 1984. It was a sweetened corn and oats breakfast cereal shaped like the letter “T.” Quaker Oats marketed it like the famous 1980s actor Mr. T. The cereal capitalized on Mr. T’s massive popularity from “The A-Team” and “Rocky III.”
When these boxes hit grocery store shelves, they were almost immediately a go-to choice as a way to support and admire the actor/wrestler, Laurence Tureaud, and his role as Mr. T from the American classic, Rocky III. That was until 1993 when the cereal was sadly taken away for good (and far too soon if you ask us). The cereal enjoyed surprising longevity for a celebrity tie-in product, lasting nearly a decade before market forces finally caught up with it.
The Treasure Hunt Breakfast Experience
General Mills’ Hidden Treasures promised a hollow corn cereal that had either a mystery fruit filling (in the form of cherry, grape, and orangeicing) or nothing at all. Its mascot was robot H.T. with a backward cap – very hip for the ’90s – who proclaimed Hidden Treasures was his coolest invention yet. The intention was to turn breakfast into a treasure hunt for inquisitive kids, with the surprise working as half the reward.
Eating a bowl of Hidden Treasures was quite literally a treasure hunt. The little bite-size pieces were filled with a fruity center – but not all of them! It was the ideal situation because it meant you weren’t getting too much filling in each bite, but you were so excited about finding the filling that you kept eating and eating. We’re always down for making breakfast into a game. Though started in 1993, it was discontinued by 1995.
The Sugar Cookie Cereal Dream
General Mills’ Sprinkle Spangles were essentially sprinkle-dotted star-shaped corn cereal with a flavor meant to imitate sugar cookies in both taste and texture. Released in conjunction with the aforementioned Hidden Treasures Cereal in 1993, Sprinkle Spangles had a purple, rainbow ponytailed genie mascot that was voiced by the late great comedian Dom DeLuise.
The marketing campaign was ambitious but short-lived. Sprinkles Genie was intended as a purple rip-off of the beloved Robin Williams’ voiced “Aladdin” genie, but this cartoon figurehead didn’t last nearly as long as the cereal, getting phased out only months later. By 1995, Sprinkle Spangles had been phased out of the market. The cereal’s concept of bringing bakery flavors to breakfast was ahead of its time, but execution and marketing couldn’t sustain market interest.
The Ninja Turtle Phenomenon That Couldn’t Last
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cereal is a nostalgic cereal invented in 1989 by Ralston. The cereal looked to capitalize on the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series. They used Chex-like “Ninja Nets” and themed marshmallows. The original version included pizza-shaped marshmallows and became an instant hit among children.
The cereal was successful until 1992. The cereal was discontinued due to the market saturation of TMNT merchandise. When the franchise attempted comebacks, unfortunately, when brought back for both the 2015 and 2023 TMNT movies, the cereal no longer had that Chex and marshmallow magic. Instead, the 2015 version just tasted like a fruity Trix and featured smiling turtle faces, and the 2023 take replaced the Chex for cinnamon apple corn puffs (though the marshmallows were brought back). Sadly, it looks like the old version won’t be revived anytime soon.
The Cinnamon Roll That Couldn’t Roll Forever
According to a Mashed poll, this is the number one cereal that customers wish the cereal companies would bring back, and it’s not hard to understand why. Meant to represent miniature cinnamon buns, Kellogg’s Cinnamon Mini Buns first popped up in 1991 and made it all the way to 2005 before finally getting the boot.
The cereal’s legacy lives on through various attempts at resurrection. The Cinnabon cereal was discontinued in 2018, only to be revived in 2022 … and dead again by 2024. In 1991, Kellogg’s released Cinnamon Mini Buns, marketing the cereal as a low-fat, miniature version of hot breakfast favorite cinnamon rolls the way that General Mills likened Cinnamon Toast Crunch to cinnamon toast. Small round nuggets, Cinnamon Mini Buns were made out of a whole grain oats and corn blend and a splash of cinnamon. The pattern of revival and re-discontinuation shows how difficult it is for nostalgic cereals to maintain market viability in modern times.
The Dinosaur Cereal That Went Extinct
The Flintstones still have their faces on some cereals today, but perhaps none as great as Dino Pebbles, which debuted in 1990. They were made of tiny rice cereals mixed with multicolored dinosaur-shaped marshmallows – modeled after the cartoon dinosaur Dino – and had the nonsensical slogan “Marshmallow Dino-licious!”
Did you ever try Dino Pebbles cereal? If not, you missed out on one of the most iconic and delicious cereals ever. This cereal, which debuted in 1990, was known for its cool packaging featuring the beloved cartoon dinosaur Dino and its unique combination of tiny rice cereals and multicolored dinosaur-shaped marshmallows. The cereal lasted only about a year before disappearing, making it one of the shorter-lived breakfast cereals in the Post/General Mills catalog.
