Cereal Story
Breakfast cereals first became popular in Britain during the interwar years, when the American fashion for a lighter (and less fattening) alternative to traditional cooked breakfasts began to catch on. However, it all originated as a wider concern associated with mid-19th century American religious sects for the role of healthy eating in promoting physical and mental well-being. A keen, young member of the Seventh Day Adventists, John Harvey Kellogg, was selected to train as a doctor and run the sanatorium, which manufactured a range of its own health foods. In 1895, wheat flakes made their debut - they were made from a local grain using machinery which at that time was not sufficiently strong to flatten corn.
By the early 1900s, a large number of similar breakfast foods were marketed by other companies such as Force, Shredded Wheat and Elijah’s Manna (known in UK as Post Toasties).
Surprisingly, Dr Kellogg himself lacked business know-how, and it was his brother William who, in the face of competition, established the Kellogg’s company and placed his signature on the first packet of cornflakes.
Sainsbury’s entered the market with own brand breakfast cereals around 1930 at a time when the company was increasing its range of own brand groceries with sub-brands such as Selsa and Broadacres.
Alongside the proprietary brands such as Kellogg’s and Force, customers could purchase Selsa Cornflakes or Broadacres Flaked Oats.
In 1965, a new packet was introduced for Sainsbury’s Cornflakes which was in marked contrast to the prewar design and created a great deal of interest in its day. The design featured stylised representations of cornflakes and is a classic example of Sainsbury’s graphic style of the day which was described as ‘ruthlessly minimal’ by contemporary designers.
The company received numerous requests from children and schools for the packet, since the decorative circles made excellent counters – breakfast packaging became a useful teaching aid for years to come.
There’s a fascinating story about production of the Sainsbury’s cornflakes in the staff magazine Journal – Over the rollers with Sainsbury cornflakes.
The pack was replaced in 1973 by a new design dominated by a representation of a warm benevolent sun smiling down on a field of ripe maize.
The company continued to develop its position in the breakfast cereal market, with innovations such as Breakfast Bran in 1980, produced by an American technique of extruding the mixture into little sticks.
It took two years to develop, getting the taste right was the biggest problem with bran products as they have a bitter taste that was harder to disguise. It was on sale at about ninety stores to start with and extended further once the brand became more established. The price of a 15-ounce pack was 37p, while the bigger 680g pack size cost 53p.
In 1983, a bowl of Sultana Bran a day promised a useful contribution to the fibre content of everyone’s diet, especially with added sultanas for greater taste. On the back of each pack was a vitamin chart to show the importance of a well-balanced diet.
Muesli as a healthy and nutritional breakfast alternative started entering our shelves in the 1960s. The main ingredient was rolled oats, soaked overnight and eaten next day for breakfast with added fresh or dried fruit, nuts, lemon juice or honey. People added their own preference for yogurt, milk or other milk alternatives to their muesli recipes.
Nosher Squad introduced in 1988 was 'Sainsbury’s answer to the A Team', encouraging a younger demographic to start the day with any one of five tasty cereals. The range comprised Coco Snaps, Puffed Wheat, Mini Wheats, Snow Flakes and Malted Wheats, price ranged from 55 to 99 pence. In December 1988, Sweetie Puffs were added to the Nosher Squad range.
In 1991, the latest addition to the breakfast club – JS Chockles with Snapper-Crocodile was introduced. Chockles were chocolate covered cornflakes and puffed rice balls with marshmallow pieces, fortified with vitamins and minerals.
In 1995 Balance – crispy toasted rice & wheat flakes with malty taste, were fortified with vitamins and iron.
In 2000 Sainsbury’s began developing Blue Parrot Café, an extensive range of children’s food which aimed to be quick, easy, delicious and nationally balanced. Designed for children aged 5-11 years the packaging of each product featured a tick list on the front to indicate whether it had only natural flavours, only natural flavour enhancers, restricted colours, controlled fat or no artificial sweeteners. The range included alphabet crunch and rice pops amongst the cereals.
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