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Once the breakfast of champions for millions of Americans, cereal seems to be losing its crunch — especially among younger generations who are redefining the morning meal.
Sales of boxed cereal, once a pantry staple for generations, have been declining in the United States for over 25 years.
A temporary pandemic-era bump – when more Americans had time for sit-down breakfasts – wasn’t enough to help. Cereal sales in the U.S. dropped over 13% from nearly 2.5 billion boxes in 2021 to 2.1 billion in the same period this year, according to Nielsen IQ.
Since the 1990s, grab-and-go options like Nutri-Grain breakfast bars and Clif Bars have posed a challenge to cereal. Now, yogurt cups and protein shakes are also stealing the spotlight.
Experts claim this isn’t just about convenience, but rather represents a generational shift in how people fuel their mornings.
Members of Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, especially are rethinking the way millennials, Gen X and baby boomers approach breakfast, according to Kenton Barello, a vice president at market research firm YouGov.
Gen Zers are less likely to eat breakfast at all and if they do, they’re choosing eggs, fruit, toast and pancakes ahead of cereal, according to YouGov’s research. They also eat more vegetables at breakfast than older generations.
Thirty-six percent of Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980, still opt for cold cereal – 10% more than their Gen Z counterparts, according to YouGov.
While Gen Zers still buy some boxed cereal, data suggests they eat it as a snack or for other meals.
“With younger generations, there are differences in their relationship with food and these eating moments,” Barello said.
Gen Z social media influencers are embracing the “crunchy” trend — meant to evoke not cereal but granola and signaling a health-focused, all-natural lifestyle.
Annika Zude of Iowa, known online as @ThatCrunchyGirlAnnika, posts videos on TikTok and Instagram of highly processed foods she’d never eat.
“I would never eat sugary cereals if I wanted my day to go well,” Zude, a teenager, told Fox News Digital. “You couldn’t pay me to eat them.”
Instead, she said she prefers to “eat something nutritious like steak, eggs or ground beef for breakfast.”
Concerns about food processing and sugar intake have dimmed enthusiasm for cereal for consumers across generations, too. Just one cup of Lucky Charms contains 24% of the recommended daily sugar intake, for example.
The artificial dyes used in many cereals have been under intense scrutiny of late, largely a result of the growing Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.
Last year, demonstrators rallied outside WK Kellogg’s headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan, demanding the removal of the dyes. Kellogg and General Mills have since pledged to phase them out.
Among Kellogg’s pledges: The company said it’s “reformulating our cereals served in schools to not include FD&C [food, drug and cosmetic] colors by the 2026-27 school year,” according to a statement on its website. It also says it “will remove FD&C colors from the small percentage of our foods in retail that contain them today, by the end of 2027.”
Italian confectioner Ferrero Group – maker of Ferrero Rocher chocolates – recently said it plans to purchase WK Kellogg, maker of Corn Flakes, Froot Loops, Rice Krispies and other popular brands.
But the sale doesn’t mean cereal is at total risk of extinction.
Packaged food companies have options for turning around their soggy cereal sales, according to Tom Rees, global insight manager for staple foods at the consulting company Euromonitor.
Kellogg’s Mashups line, which mixes brands like Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops into one box, appeals to younger consumers, who tend to like interesting flavor combinations, Rees told The Associated Press (AP).
The market may also have a fragmented future, according to Rees. Companies may have to accept that younger buyers want a sweet-and-spicy cereal, while older buyers might want a keto-friendly option.
“The future might be realizing that the era of ‘This brand will serve everybody’ isn’t going to happen,” Rees said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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