ROCKVILLE, Md., April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A perfect
storm of cultural, culinary and demographic trends has led to a
stubborn weakness in the breakfast cereal market. As all-day
snacking replaces sit-down meals for on-the-go Americans, an
increasing number of consumers treat breakfast as an on-the-run,
away-from-home eating occasion rather than an at-home, sit-down
meal. Many Americans are increasingly turning away from
breakfast cereal and embracing alternatives such as cereal bars,
bagels and yogurt, according to market research publisher Packaged
Facts.
In an effort to get their beleaguered businesses back on track,
the major marketers of breakfast cereal—Kellogg Company, General
Mills and Post Foods—have intensified their efforts to return
cereal to the breakfast table at home and expand its presence at
breakfast occasions away from home. One tack they have taken
is to follow in the footsteps of smaller marketers of breakfast
cereals. These niche players continue to generate excitement
and raise the bar for major marketers with a wide range of
innovative and healthy-ingredient cereals.
Cold and Hot Breakfast Cereals in the U.S.,
a Packaged Facts report, shows how major marketers of breakfast
cereals are picking up the challenge from smaller marketers by
making their products more attractive to health-conscious
consumers, a move that is particularly vital to capturing the
growing number of aging Boomers. However, data from Packaged
Facts' January/February 2014 consumer
survey highlighted in the report suggest that marketers may
encounter unexpected behavior on the part of breakfast cereal
buyers with healthy eating on their minds.
For example, women have traditionally been a prime target for
breakfast cereal marketers because of their influence on what their
families eat and their perceived concern about providing healthy
foods for their children as well as themselves. Yet, one
potentially surprising finding of the Packaged Facts survey is that
when deciding which cereal to buy men are more likely than women to
be mindful of healthy ingredients such as high fiber and high
protein. Men also are more concerned about whether the
breakfast cereal they purchase is vitamin-fortified or non- or
low-fat.
The Packaged Facts survey also uncovered some intriguing
consumer reactions to the "free-from" culinary trend that has begun
to heavily influence the breakfast cereal category along with other
segments of the packaged food industry. Based on the
perceived expectations of healthy-eating consumers, breakfast
cereal marketers have begun to define "good-for-you" as "not
including ingredients that are bad for you," such as gluten and
genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Consequently, major
marketers of breakfast cereal have set out to offer some of their
flagship brands in non-GMO varieties.
Paradoxically, however, these efforts may not necessarily result
in a direct and noticeable impact on retail sales, although they
may have a broad positive impact on consumers' perceptions of
corporate images and brands. Packaged Facts survey data show
that when buying a cold breakfast cereal only a tiny percentage of
cereal purchasers assign a high level of importance to whether the
product is non-GMO or gluten-free. A much higher percentage
of cereal buyers are impressed by more traditional
healthy-ingredient claims such as no/low sugar, vitamin-fortified,
high protein, low calorie and low sodium.
Cold and Hot Breakfast Cereals in the U.S.
analyzes the U.S. market for cold, or ready-to-eat, breakfast
cereal and hot breakfast cereal. The report highlights trends
shaping the market; identifies key opportunities available for
companies active in the market for breakfast cereals; provides an
estimate of U.S. retail sales of cold and hot breakfast cereals for
the 2008 through 2013 and a projection of U.S. retail sales through
2018; analyzes the strategies of major competitors in the market;
identifies marketing and new product trends; and provides an
in-depth look at the tastes and preferences of today's cereal
consumers. For more information on the report visit:
http://www.packagedfacts.com/redirect.asp?progid=87378&productid=8056897.
About Packaged Facts – Packaged Facts, a division of
MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range
of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and
shopper insights, consumer financial products and services,
consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet
products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full
range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at
www.PackagedFacts.com and are also available on
www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.
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Press Contact:
Daniel Granderson
240.747.3000
dgranderson@marketresearch.com
Sales Contact:
Larry Finkel
lfinkel@marketresearch.com
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SOURCE Packaged Facts