Tag Archives: kellogg’s

News: Shaq & Tony’s Frosted Flakes with Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs

New Shaq Frosted Flakes with Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs

Kazaam. “That’s How I Beat Shaq.” Shaq Fu. And my personal favorite: Soda Shaq. The list of Shaquille O’Neal’s off-the-wall escapades and cross-promotions nearly eclipses his countless on-the-court accomplishments. Between Shaq’s philanthropy and a genial personality as tall as he is, the guy’s just lovable—which is why, when I heard about Shaq’s new Frosted Flakes, my first thought was, “That’s awesome!”

Then my second thought was, “I have no idea who thought this needed to exist, but…it’s awesome!”

And it turns out this cereal, releasing in April, exists for a reason. The out-of-nowhere alley-oop between Shaq and Tony the Tiger will benefit Mission Tiger, which aims to help one million kids get better access to sports.

Beyond its wholesome aims and sugary flavor, Tony & Shaq’s team-up scores points for using the unprecedented phrase “Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs.” Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs. Gets funnier every time I say it.

If I’m nitpicking, I’ll say it’s a little disappointing that these cinnamon puffs didn’t get mixed in with Cinnamon Frosted Flakes for a spicy–sweet double feature. Nevertheless, I’m interested to see how these cinna-spheres spoon when they bounce onto shelves in a couple months.

Now please, universe: bring back Soda Shaq!

News: Caramel Corn Pops

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Cereal Time TV (@cerealtimetv)

Welp, another one to cross off the “how have they not done this yet?” list. Here’s hoping PB&J Reese’s Puffs, Fluffernutter Reese’s Puffs, and White Chocolate Reese’s Puffs are next.

I…I really like peanut butter combos.

Yes, Caramel Corn Pops seems like an incredibly obvious cereal idea. And yes, it has technically been done before. When Kellogg’s introduced their Jumbo Snax line of supersized snacking cereal pouches last year, there was a caramel-flavored Corn Pops variety—except they bafflingly used puffs (the shape of Canadian Corn Pops) instead of the chewy half-popped lumps we’re used to from the brand.

But now those glorious, squeaky gobs of toasted maize have been caramelized too. With its baseball aesthetic, we can probably surmise that Caramel Corn Pops will hit shelves near or before April 1, the MLB’s 2021 opening day.

Do I think they’ll be good? Hard to say, since Corn Pops has a very scant track record of flavored variants. Besides the Jumbo Snax, I’ve only ever reviewed Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops on this site. And they were only okay. If anything, caramel will probably be a more natural fit.

Now if we’re talking seasonally specific cereal themes, how might we go about getting those PB&J Reese’s Puffs by back-to-school season?

Review: Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal

New Chocolate Eggo Cereal Review Box

French toast? One iconic cereal.

Pancakes? Like, half of one cereal.

But waffles? Well they’ve got a whole father, son, & holy ghost type deal going on. Not to mention whatever divine misfire spawned this unsettlingly charming abomination. Yes, waffles are king of the bowled maple breakfast game, probably because they’re a) the most iconic, b) easy to translate into aerated cereal form, and c) the word “waffle” is just infinitely more fun to say. Waffle. Waffle.

It’s like I’m a dog asking to be thrown a whiffle ball!

Since waffles are so (w)awfully awesome, it’s no surprise that we’re getting a third entry into the rebooted Eggo Cereal franchise. Joining Homestyle Maple and Blueberry, Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal seems a bit strange when compared to the obvious Chocolate Chip Waffle Cereal they could’ve done, though I suppose I shouldn’t complain that we’re getting 100% chocolate immersion with this one. Or should ? That remains to be seen, tasted, and casually belched as I pat my soon-to-be cereal-swollen stomach.

Enough talk. L’Eggo! Continue reading

News: Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies Cereal

New Cosmic Brownies Cereal

I knew it.

Well, it wasn’t very hard to know, but I still called Kellogg’s bluff.

See, when news first leaked (like a microwaved Honey Bun) that Kellogg’s and Little Debbie were teaming up to release Oatmeal Creme Pies Cereal, a rumored Cosmic Brownie companion was right there from the start.

This is the video that kicked everything off. Cosmic Brownies Cereal didn’t have box art at the time, so it was easier to overlook, but excitement over the fudgy, rainbow-sprinkled treat’s breakfast adaptation quickly dissolved when Kellogg’s formally announced OCP Cereal and OCP Cereal alone. I even pressed a PR contact about it, only to be told CBC “is not launching at this time.”

So hindsight is 20/20. Reading that, at the time, made me think the idea could’ve gotten axed. But reading it now, it’s so clear this was just PR speak for “we can’t talk about it, but if you read between the lines, yeah it’s coming.”

And let’s thank our lucky supernovas that Cosmic Brownies Cereal is real. Or, well, maybe we shouldn’t judge too soon, because, yes, the box is gorgeous and the rainbow-sprinkled brownie puffs look cute enough to eat at the same suprahuman rate I’d inhale a real Cosmic Brownie—but since the sprinkles likely won’t add much flavor, and the puffs sure don’t look filled Krave style, Cosmic Brownies Cereal will only be as strong as its most cocoa-powdered corn cuboid.

On one hand, General Mills’ similar Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch tasted identical to its spherical sibling, and as a result was kind of disappointing. At the same time, these brownie bites could be closer to the pillowy delights in Smorz Cereal. That would be wonderful!

But this is all speculation, and if I’ve learned one thing as a cereal blogger, it’s that we should expect the big corporations behind a cereal like this to cheap out on ingredient quality, like they so often do. That way, we’re either pleasantly surprised, or right.

Cosmic Brownies Cereal will hit stores this May.

Review: Cinnamon Roll Frosted Mini-Wheats

New Cinnamon Roll Frosted Mini-Wheats Review Box

BRB, changing the name of my site to Curmudgeonously.

Why? Because the longer I write about cereal, the harder it gets for a new cereal to excite me. Don’t get me wrong, my heart still yearns and burns (figuratively) for cereal, but after reviewing 450+ breakfast products, the next plain ol’ chocolate, vanilla, or cinnamon-flavored cereal has to do a lot different to capture my attention. At a certain point, my trusty cartful of adjectives starts to get stale.

That was my mindset going into this newest flavor of Frosted Mini-Wheats. Not that Cinnamon Roll is really new territory for the brand. There were Cinnamon Streusel Mini-Wheats in 2007, and Cinnamon Roll Little Bites in 2012. The only thing 2021’s Cinnamon Roll Frosted Mini-Wheats have that the others don’t is….a kinda ugly box. The grey-blue is uninspiring, the cinnamon roll watermarks make it look like an off-brand DUPLO, and, well, I’ve already voiced my distaste for the redesigned Mini-Wheats mascot many times.

But all hesitations notwithstanding, I must go into this review unbiased. Even if I want to punt the mascot with a pair of steel-toed boots. Continue reading

Review: Special K with Blueberries

New Special K with Blueberries Review Box

The fruit-to-artificial-imitation pipeline is really interesting to me. You’ve got fake flavors like green apple that, while not anything like eating a Granny Smith, at least sort of makes sense, as the artificial version still puckers one’s lips with hyped-up juiciness. But then you have the candied bananas, strawberries, and blueberries of the world. These range anywhere from “okay, I could see it, maybe in a sweet smoothie” to “why must humans play God?”

Blueberry is fascinating to me because, though I love Kellogg’s blueberry Fruity Snacks and Boo Berry, I’m not under any impression that those reflect reality. In all honesty, I’m not the biggest fan of plain blueberries. I’m much more of a strawberry fella, even (and especially) when it comes to jelly. Don’t even get me started on Grape PB&Js.

Oh man, I got so off topic there. The point is that the dried blueberries—something I’ve never had before—in Kellogg’s new Special K with Blueberries cereal strike an interesting balance between fresh and highly concentrated blueberry flavor. And they’re huge! Continue reading

News: Pink Lemonade Pop-Tarts Return

New Lemon Groove Pink Lemonade Pop-Tarts Box

Pink lemonade is the oddest concept to me—you’re saying most of the stuff just adds red food coloring to normal lemonade? And that it’s mostly just homemade versions that actually add strawberry, because most commercial versions just call it, you know, Strawberry Lemonade? Talk about disappointing. The best thing pink lemonade ever got me was a Princess Peach tip card cut from the back of a Pink Lemonade Hi-C juice box. This one, to be specific:

Hi-C Peach Tip Card

And now Pink Lemonade Pop-Tarts are returning to reignite my pink lemonade delusions. Yes, Pink Lemonade Pop-Tarts first came out in 2016. And they were pretty good, albeit a little weird. A sour Pop-Tart is a bit unconventional—and it’s a concept that can be done extremely poorly—but PL Pop-Tarts strike a fun balance of puckering and sweetening.

So while I have mixed feelings about pink lemonade as a concept, I’ll be glad to see these on shelves again, even if I am a bit sad Kellogg’s pivoted away from the vibrant pink frosting in favor of the “Printed Fun” designs that have become more common lately. Not that these are bad, but sometimes they can be printed on the pastry cruddily, making the whole thing look like a discount brand paper towel.

Oh well: whatever it takes to bring a little summer warmth to my cold Midwest winter. You can check for Pink Lemonade Pop-Tart availability near you on Walmart.com.

Quick Review (x2): Kellogg’s Froot Loops & Frosted Flakes Cereal Bars

New Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes Cereal Bars Review

“Hop to it, wee one!” — Dotty, of Animal Crossing fame.

Ever since I read this quote in-game, it has played in my head during laborious moments of great urgency. And covering every new cereal hitting shelves this January, by the end of January? That’s no wee effort. Thus, I must get hopped up on sugar to  review what I already have, as fast as I can.

Many a bowl’s work ahead of me, I’m starting with a straightforward new release. These Froot Loops & Frosted Flakes Cereal Bars are already out, but are they worth squaring off with at breakfast-time? I’ll make it clear: yes and no. That is, these Froot Loops Cereal Bars are wonderful, while the Frosted Flakes version leaves a lot to be desired. Allow me to elaborate: Continue reading