MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills, Inc. has been capitalizing on the popularity of its Cinnamon Toast Crunch brand, as the flavors of the cereal have expanded into a variety of categories.
Jeffery L. Harmening, chairman and chief executive officer, said the company’s cereal portfolio is playing a winning game against its competitors during a June 7 presentation at the Deutsche Bank dbAccess Global Consumer Conference in Paris. To stay ahead of the competition, the company is continuing to focus on innovation and strategy. Recent innovation includes doubling the vitamin D content in most of its Big G breakfast cereals, including Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which is the first cereal to contain the higher vitamin content.
Beyond the cereal category, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is proving versatile, as the non-cereal list of the cinnamon sugar-flavored products grows. One of the most recent expansions from the brand includes the Cinnamon Crunch K-Cup pods, which was launched by Keurig Dr Pepper. Other non-cereal applications of the flavor include soft baked oat bars, cookies, stuffed marshmallows and more.
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch brand was highlighted as a product that resonates with consumers as it crosses into new product applications, according to market researcher Mintel at IFT FIRST, the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and expo, held in July in Chicago.
“This is something that is very much rooted in that familiarity and that nostalgia of childhood, which makes it a very powerful expansion within this flavor and brand family,” said Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, associate director of Mintel Food & Drink, during the presentation.
