Cereal has been around since the late 19th century – the very first one was created by health reformer and doctor, James Caleb Jackson, in 1863 – but it wasn’t until almost 70 years later, in the late 1930s, that sugary cereals were introduced. The first sugared cereal in the United States, introduced in 1939, was called Ranger Joe Popped Wheat Honnies, a pre-sweetened cereal that kicked off the sugary breakfast revolution (the company also had another cereal called Rice Honnies.) It was eventually bought out by Nabisco and renamed Wheat Honnies.
Eventually, other companies began following suit, and shortly after, Kellogg’s introduced Sugar Frosted Flakes and Super Sugar Smacks, which contained 56% sugar by weight and were a huge hit with children. Large corporations began to market these sugary breakfasts specifically to children, adding mascots that told a story and appealed even more to the younger demographic. A recent study found that children were more likely to try a new item if it had a popular character on it. (One cereal company even had a dog as a mascot but it looked nothing like Wild Thang, the Pekingese who won the 2024 “World’s Ugliest Dog” contest).
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), 92% of cold cereals contain added sugar, and while sugary cereals were once highly popular in the United States, according to a 2023 article in the Wall Street Journal, they have been on the decline in recent years as people focus more on protein and less on sugar and carbohydrates. But throughout much of the 20th century, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to eat pure sugar in ice-cold milk for breakfast. For those who grew up on breakfast cereal, the nostalgia runs deep for our old favorites, especially those we’ll likely never taste again.
24/7 Tempo compiled a list of beloved breakfast cereals no longer available. While it is not a complete archive of discontinued flavors, it includes many cereals that were released in conjunction with a popular movie or cartoon and subsequently disappeared when the hype died down. Also listed are cereals that have since been reformulated to appeal to changing tastes or, interestingly, to address parental concerns over the color of their children’s stool. It is not always clear when some of the cereals were discontinued. We contacted customer relations representatives to confirm each cereal was removed from the market. For cereals without an exact end year, we listed the decade.
Major food companies employ virtual armies of chefs, food scientists, and marketing gurus dedicated to rolling out new products. They please us with their vivid flavors and attractive textures — and when they eventually disappear from the shelves, as many of them do, we end up missing them — here are 40 popular discontinued snack foods we really miss .
Here are beloved breakfast cereals that are no longer available: Vanilly Crunch
Source: vgajic / Getty Images
- On the market: 1971 – early 1980s
- Manufacturer: Quaker
- What they were: Birthday cake-flavored Cap’n Crunch balls
Pink Panther Flakes
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- On the market: 1972 – 1974
- Manufacturer: Post
- What they were: Neon pink frosted corn cereal
Fruit Brute
Source: jeepersmedia / Flickr
- On the market: 1975 – 1983
- Manufacturer: General Mills
- What they were: Fruit-flavored cereal pieces with lime-flavored marshmallows
Moonstones
Source: Kwangmoozaa / iStock via Getty Images
- On the market: 1976 – 1977
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Fruit-flavored, space-shaped cereal of stars, half-moons, and planets
Donkey Kong Crunch
Source: ilbusca / Getty Images
- On the market: 1982 – 1984
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Barrel-shaped crunchy corn cereal
Strawberry Honeycomb
Source: theimpulsivebuy / Flickr
- On the market: 1983 – 2002
- Manufacturer: Post
- What they were: Strawberry flavored, honeycomb-shaped cereal *Temporarily made a come-back in 2015
Pac-Man
Source: ilbusca / Getty Images
- On the market: 1983 – 1988
- Manufacturer: General Mills
- What they were: Corn cereal with Pac-Man-shaped marshmallows
Smurf Berry Crunch
Source: nicescene / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- On the market: 1983 – 1988
- Manufacturer: Post
- What they were: Red and blue corn puffs in berry flavor
C3POs
Source: jpgfactory / Getty Images
- On the market: 1984 – 1986
- Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
- What they were: Infinity-shaped, honey-sweetened oat, wheat, and corn cereal, that tasted like Lucky Charms but without the marshmallows
Ghostbusters Cereal
Source: Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
- On the market: 1985 – 1990
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Oat cereal shaped like the Ghostbusters logo with ghost-shaped marshmallows in a glow-in-the-dark box
Nerds
Source: quinnanya / Flickr
- On the market: 1985 – late 1980s
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Featured two separate tangy flavors divided in one box, like the candies
Rainbow Brite Cereal
Source: Nikada / E+ via Getty Images
- On the market: 1985 – 1990
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Fruit-flavored, rainbow-shaped cereal pieces in multiple colors
Spiderman Cereal
Source: CTRPhotos / Getty Images
- On the market: 1985 – 1990s
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Spiderweb-shaped cereal with marshmallows
Yummy Mummy
Source: greyloch / Flickr
- On the market: 1987 – 1993
- Manufacturer: General Mills
- What they were: Fruit-flavored cereal with vanilla-flavored marshmallows
Smurf Magic Berries
Source: Courtesy of National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
- On the market: 1987 – early 1990s
- Manufacturer: Post
- What they were: Fruit-flavored multigrain cereal with marshmallow stars
Morning Funnies
Source: Ryan DeBerardinis / Shutterstock.com
- On the market: 1988 – 1989
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Fruit-flavored cereal shaped like goofy faces, in a box covered in comics
Dunkin’ Donuts Cereal
Source: Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images
- On the market: 1988 – late 1980s
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Shaped like donuts, came in glazed donut and chocolate flavors
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cereal
Source: jeepersmedia / Flickr
- On the market: 1989 – 1995
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Net-shaped cereal with crunchy marshmallows that left your milk green
Batman Cereal
Source: ColobusYeti / Getty Images
- On the market: 1989 – 1990
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Bat-shaped corn cereal
Breakfast with Barbie
Source: ivanastar / Getty Images
- On the market: 1989 – early 1990s
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Multigrain fruit-flavored cereal in the shape of hearts, bows, cars, stars, and the letter B
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Cereal
Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
- On the market: 1990 – 1991
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Toasted oat squares with music note-shaped marshmallows
Cinnamon Mini-Buns
Source: krblokhin / iStock via Getty Images
- On the market: 1991 – 1993
- Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
- What they were: Corn and oat cereal shaped and flavored like a swirled cinnamon bun
The Addams Family Cereal
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- On the market: 1991 – early 1990s
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Spooky-shaped cereal with a memorable lack of flavor
WWF Superstars
Source: Trong Nguyen / Shutterstock.com
- On the market: 1991 – early 1990s
- Manufacturer: Ralston
- What they were: Vanilla-flavored, star-shaped cereal
Reptar Crunch
Source: nicescene / Getty Images
- On the market: 1999 – 1999
- Manufacturer: Post
- What they were: Purple rice crisps with green Reptar-shaped pieces
Homer’s Cinnamon Donut Cereal
Source: theimpulsivebuy / Flickr
- On the market: 2001 – 2002
- Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
- What they were: Donut-shaped cinnamon-flavored cereal
Bart’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch
Source: jeepersmedia / Flickr
- On the market: 2001 – 2002
- Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
- What they were: Peanut butter chocolate-flavored orbs
Monopoly Cereal
Source: martince2 / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- On the market: 2003 – mid-2000s
- Manufacturer: General Mills
- What they were: Cinnamon-flavored cereal with marshmallow houses, hotels, and deeds
FiberPlus Berry Yogurt Crunch
Source: Josep Suria / Shutterstock.com
- On the market: 2010 – 2013
- Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
- What they were: Wheat and rice flakes with berry yogurt-flavored clusters
Cupcake Pebbles
Source: tawest64 / Flickr
- On the market: 2010 – 2011
- Manufacturer: Post
- What they were: Cake batter-flavored rice cereal
Sesame Street C is for Cereal
Source: theimpulsivebuy / Flickr
- On the market: 2011 – 2014
- Manufacturer: Post
- What they were: Apple-flavored oat and corn cereal pieces shaped like Xs and Os, made for toddlers
The post Beloved Breakfast Cereals That Are No Longer Available appeared first on 24/7 Tempo .
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