Our Editorial Director Reveals The Dramatic Origin Story Of Froot Loops
When you're in the cereal aisle at your local supermarket, you see dozens of options that come in many shapes, flavors, and colors. But have you ever wondered how these brightly colored pebbles, loops, and clusters ended up in your bowl?
In the season four premiere of the History Channel's The Food That Built America reveals the origin story of some of our favorite fruity cereals, like Froot Loops and Fruity Pebbles. And our very own Editorial Director, Joanna Saltz, was interviewed for the show and shares the story of how cereal transformed from bland to bright.
The vibrant hues have made mornings fun for generations of eaters, but the history of Froot Loops and Fruity Pebbles is rooted in cutthroat corporate competition. Throughout the 20th century, Kellogg's and Post were two titans fighting to be America's favorite breakfast brand. But the most popular cereal in America at the time came from neither Post nor Kellogg's. Cheerios, made by General Mills, took the top spot with its simple, oat-based loops. Kellogg's tried making a version of their own, called OKs, but failed to sell nearly as much as Cheerios did.
Rather than waste the OKs machinery, Kellogg's executive William LaMothe decided to pivot from OKs to a fruit-flavored O-shaped oat cereal.
The idea took off, and fruity flavors became the most exciting innovation in breakfast food. Post later followed suit, transforming crispy rice cereal into Fruity Pebbles. Just like Kellogg's Froot Loops, they were made with artificial fruit flavoring and came in a rainbow of colors. However, Post decided to up the ante by featuring some of America's most beloved characters on the box: The Flintstones.
To learn more about how the country's popular and enduring breakfast products were made, check out the premiere of The Food That Built America on the History Channel this Sunday, February 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
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