'Nature’s cereal' creator explains origins of TikTok food trend, answers critics

A concoction dubbed "nature's cereal" is the latest food trend to take over TikTok after Lizzo gave the refreshing breakfast food a try. But as people are both praising and knocking the bowl of fruit turned "cereal" with the addition of coconut water, its originator, Sherwayne Mears, tells Yahoo Life that he wasn't expecting to create such a divisive snack.

Known by the handle @natures_food on TikTok, Mears explains that he uses the social media platform to share his love for plants and fruit — two things that he has been interested in since growing up in Jamaica and learning about their many benefits. And while he calls himself a "student of nature," he didn't expect so many people to be attuned to what he shares on his page.

"I had hoped that people would be interested. I didn't know it would have been this," he explains.

He certainly didn't expect for his late night idea of "nature's cereal" — a mix of pomegranate seeds, blackberries, blueberries and coconut water that he says helps with digestion and energy levels — to be the food to make his page go viral.

"I was just simply in my bed one night, I was about to go to sleep, turn my TV off and I just started thinking of those fruits and then I thought of adding the coconut water to it, like making a cereal. And I even said the name that night. I was like, you know what? I could call it nature's cereal," he shares. "The next morning I got up and I did it and I made a video about it and I posted it and I just didn't expect it to get to where it is now, but I'm very grateful that it did."

In particular, Mears is grateful to singer Lizzo who discovered his February video and recently recreated it on her own page, with the unique addition of ice cubes. Naturally, her 13.3 million TikTok followers became intrigued.

"I was very excited," Mears says of coming across Lizzo's video — which has 5.9 million views as of Friday evening. "You could see that she's enjoying it as she eats it and that's what I want. I just want people to enjoy it the way that I enjoy it. And I'm just happy that she did."

Still, not everyone is convinced of the magic of nature's cereal. Many have labeled it simply a hyped-up fruit bowl or an unblended smoothie. Others have pointed out that it cannot technically be cereal without the inclusion of a grain.

Despite the difference in opinions, Mears is unbothered.

"A lot of people come onto my page and say it's an unblended smoothie and people are entitled to their opinion. It doesn't bother me," he says. "I would say, 'Listen, if you prefer it in the form of a smoothie, you're welcome to do that. I'm not gonna try to stop you from doing that.'"

He even shares that while Lizzo prefers hers in a bowl — having given the smoothie option a try in another TikTok video — and Jason Derulo prefers the ingredients blended together, Mears is just excited to see people take an interest in all that you can do with fruit.

"I just think that we're in a particular time where people are just interested in their health and just making better decisions as far as food," he says of the general interest. "But that's how I actually live. I'm just allowing people to see that because it's what I love. So with TikTok, without TikTok, I would still be me."

Read more from Yahoo Life:

• Did a viral pasta recipe really cause a feta cheese shortage?

• Addison Rae reveals mental toll of having 70 million TikTok followers: ‘A lot of it has to do with body image’

• Skinny jeans are canceled, Gen-Z says. But is the skintight trend really dead?

Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Life’s newsletter.