General Mills just made a big decision to make its cereal products more … well, like real food.
It’s a pretty huge move for the company, which sells a ton of cereal (like, more cereal than any other company in the U.S.), and it was prompted by one simple fact: Americans are demanding better.
“We’re simply listening to consumers and these ingredients are not what people are looking for in their cereal today,” Jim Murphy, president of General Mills’ cereal division, explained.
The cereal giant announced that it’s aiming to have artificial flavors and colors removed from every last one of its cereal brands by the end of 2017.
Cool! But wait, will my breakfast taste less delicious?
You really don’t want to mess with a man and his breakfast cereals. Image via Thinkstock.
According to General Mills, “The goal is to match the taste that consumers love.”
Phew. Image via Thinkstock.
Over the next two years, they’ll replace artificial products with more recognizable and familiar ingredients (aka foods you can actually pronounce).
Take, for instance, everyone’s favorite kids-only cereal, Trix.
To keep those bright hues in what’s arguably the tastiest cereal around, General Mills will swap in things like fruit and veggie juice and turmeric extract (OK, so “turmeric” might not be the easiest to pronounce, but at least it’s something that grows in the ground).
Image via General Mills, used with permisson.
General Mills isn’t flying solo in switching things up to meet America’s evolving taste for natural ingredients.
This year alone, fast-food giants Taco Bell, Subway, and Chipotle and others announced sweeping changes to rid their menus of artificial products, too.
The adjustments shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone paying attention. Nielsen’s 2015 Global Health and Wellness report found that to roughly 30% of North Americans, it’s “very important” an item doesn’t have artificial colors or flavors when they’re making decisions at the grocery store.
So bravo, General Mills, for helping breakfasts all over America go au naturel, one bowl at a time.
