In response to the growing trend towards organic and natural foods, General Mills has announced that it will be committed to removing artificial flavours from the rest of its cereals.
More than 60 per cent of the company’s cereals are already without artificial colours and flavouring, including Cinnamon Toast Crunch and original Cheerios. Now the focus has shifted to Trix, Reese’s Puffs, and Lucky Charms.
“Trix will now use ingredients like fruit and vegetable juices and spice extracts such as turmeric and annatto to achieve the fun red, yellow, orange and purple colors,” said a company news release. “Reese’s Puffs will continue to use peanut butter and cocoa and incorporate natural vanilla flavor to achieve the same great taste that adults and children have always enjoyed.”
The new and improved Trix and Reese’s Puffs are expected to hit the shelves this winter, but the Lucky Charms development may prove to be more elusive. The marshmallows rely on preservatives so finding another way to keep it tasting delicious without going stale is proving difficult.
“We have a lot of hard work ahead of us and we know some products will present challenges as we strive to uphold the taste, quality and fun in every spoonful of cereal,” said Kate Gallager, General Mills cereal developer, in the release. “Cereals that contain marshmallows, like Lucky Charms, may take longer, but we are committed to finding a way to keep the magically delicious taste as we work to take out the artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources.”
At the behest of General Mills, Nielsen conducted a survey that found 49 per cent of households are attempting to avoid artificial flavours and colours. If cereals can’t change with the trends and become healthier, there’s a chance they may get left behind. The cereal giant Kellogg’s is already feeling the encroaching health trend as it recently reported a 16 per cent decrease in profits last August.
In that sense, General Mills seems to be gaining on them with their healthy component commitments. According to their news release, in 2005 the company converted their line of Big G cereals to include “at least eight grams of whole grain per serving. Today, a whole grain is the first ingredient in all General Mills Big G cereals.”
“At General Mills cereals, we have been upgrading the nutrition and ingredients in our cereals for years to meet people’s needs and desires,” said Jim Murphy, president of the General Mills cereal division, in the release. “We’ve continued to listen to consumers who want to see more recognizable and familiar ingredients on the labels and challenged ourselves to remove barriers that prevent adults and children from enjoying our cereals.”
General Mills Canada is aligned with their United States counterpart and will be following the same timeline.
