Peekage CPG Insights: Everything you need to know about cereals!

🥣 During covid pandemic, breakfast had a resurgence and became a standard part of the morning routine for most Americans. A lot of on-the-go consumers switched to in-home options like cereals. In fact, more than 80% of Americans consume cereals. But, how often do they eat them? which cereal brands/products do they use the most? which flavors/tastes do they like more? And which factors affect their cereals shopping choice? In this Peekage CPG insights report, we will review some of the consumers’ cereal-related behavior and preferences.

🗓️ Nearly two-fifths of cereal consumers eat them regularly

• ~81% of people consume cereals.

• ~38% of consumers eat cereals more than 3-4 times a week

• ~58.5% of consumers eat cereals at least once a week.

• ~22.5% are occasional cereal consumers.

🤩 Taste and healthiness are the most important factors

• Taste-related factors (Taste, flavor, and crunchiness) are the most important factors for ~41% of consumers when buying cereals.

• Interestingly, having healthy ingredients and low-sugar content of cereals were the most important factors of ~31% of consumers.

• Price is an important factor for 19.7% of consumers buying cereals.

• Appearance and having toys are important for less than 10% of cereal consumers.

🌅 Breakfast is not the most common time of day when people consume cereals!

• ~40% of cereal consumers want their cereals as afternoon snacks

• ~30% of consumers eat cereals as breakfast

• ~30% of consumers eat cereals whenever they like

😋 People prefer less strong flavors in their cereal.

• Cinnamon, fruity, and honey flavors are the top three favorite flavors liked by cereal consumers.

• Sugary taste is the least (~11%) liked flavor of cereals.

🎨 What color do the cereal consumers like for their cereals?

• Interestingly, ~50% of cereal consumers don’t care about the color or want it to be a natural cereal flake’s color.

• Chocolate brown is the most liked (~15%) color for those who want it to be colorful.

🌟 What shape do consumers want their cereal to be?

• 35% of consumers prefer the classic circle 🟤 cereals.

• Cereal shape does not matter for approximately one-third of consumers.

🔝 Top-of-mind cereal brands

Kellogg’s, General Mills, Post, Cheerios, and Special K are the top 5 brands consumers remembered when asked about buying cereals.

🔝 Top-of-mind healthy cereal products

• when we asked the health-conscious cereal consumers (~31% of cereal consumers) of what names come to their mind when buying healthy cereals:

  • Love Grown Original Power O’s, Barbara’s Puffins, and KIND Granola Oats and Honey were the top 3 healthy products

👦🏼🧓 Age differences

• Younger consumers liked chocolate, honey, and sugary flavors more than senior consumers.

• Cinnamon, fruity, and plain flavors were more liked by senior consumers.

• Younger consumers care more about the appearance and price of cereals.

• Low-sugar content is more important for senior consumers.

• Colorful cereals (i.e., Pink, Red, Yellow, and Green) are more liked by ≤ 20 yrs consumers.

• Senior cereal consumers (≥ 60 yrs) liked normal cereal flakes color, red, and chocolate brown more than other age groups.

• Consumers ≤ 20 yrs want their cereals mostly in circles, triangles, and squares; but less prefer a mix of shapes or ovals.

• Consumers aged between 40 and 60 yrs want their cereals to be circles (>40%), significantly more than other ages (<30%).

• Cereals being consumed as an afternoon snack is more common (~45%) among ≤ 20 yrs and 40-50 yrs consumers.

• Senior consumers (40%) and 20-40 yrs consumers (≥30%) eat cereals in their breakfast more than other age groups.

🚺 🚹 Gender differences

• Price is a slightly more important factor for men (~23.%) in buying cereals than women (19%).

• Women care about the crunchiness (~12%) of cereals slightly more than men (~9%)

Women like their cereals to be the color of normal cereal flakes (~32%) significantly more than men (~24%).

• A mix of shapes and triangles are significantly more liked by men (~25%) compared to women (~15%).

• The shape of cereals is more important for men (~75%) than women (~66%).

🔑 Highlights

Cereal Consumption Frequency and Timing

• ~81% of people in North America consume cereals, of whom, ~38% eat cereals more than 3-4 times a week, and ~58.5% of consumers eat cereals at least once a week.

• ~40% of cereal consumers want their cereals as afternoon snacks, ~30% as breakfast, and ~30% of consumers eat cereals whenever they like.

• Cereals being consumed as an afternoon snack is more common (~45%) among ≤ 20 yrs and 40-50 yrs consumers.

• Senior consumers (40%) and 20-40 yrs consumers (≥30%) eat cereals in their breakfast more than other age groups.

Contributing factors for buying Cereals

• Taste, flavor, crunchiness, low-sugar content, and healthy ingredients are the most important factors for the ~70% of consumers when buying cereals.

Cereals Flavor and Taste

• People prefer less strong flavors in their cereal.

• Cinnamon, fruity, and honey flavors are the top three favorite flavors liked by cereal consumers.

• Younger consumers liked chocolate, honey, and sugary flavors more than senior consumers, and care more about the appearance and price of cereals.

• Low-sugar content is more important for senior consumers.

• Women care about the crunchiness (~12%) of cereals slightly more than men (~9%).

Cereals Color

• Interestingly, ~50% of cereal consumers don’t care about the color or want it to be a natural cereal flake’s color. Chocolate brown is the most liked (~15%) color for those who want it to be colorful.

• Colorful cereals (i.e., Pink, Red, Yellow, and Green) are more liked by ≤ 20 yrs consumers.

• Senior cereal consumers (≥ 60 yrs) liked normal cereal flakes color, red, and chocolate brown more than other age groups.

• Women like their cereals to be the color of normal cereal flakes (~32%) significantly more than men (~24%).

Cereals Shape

• Cereal’s shape does not matter for approximately one-third of consumers. 35% of consumers prefer the classic circle 🟤 cereals.

• The shape of cereals is more important for men (~75%) than women (~66%). A mix of shapes and triangles is significantly more liked by men (~25%) compared to women (~15%).

• Consumers ≤ 20 yrs want their cereals mostly in circles, triangles, and squares; but less prefer a mix of shapes or ovals.

• Consumers aged between 40 and 60 yrs want their cereals to be circles (>40%), significantly more than other ages (<30%).

Cereals top-of-mind brands

• Kellogg’s, General Mills, Post, Cheerios, and Special K are the top 5 brands consumers remembered when asked about buying cereals.

• Love Grown Original Power O’s, Barbara’s Puffins, and KIND Granola Oats and Honey were the top 3 healthy products that came to mind of our health-conscious cereal consumers (~31% of cereal consumers).

Pricing

• Price is only important for 19.7% of consumers when buying cereals.

• Price is a slightly more important factor for men (~23.%) in buying cereals than women (19%).

Do you want to read more CPG insights? Check out Peekage’s blog!

About Peekage

Peekage is an insightful product testing platform that provides affordable and fast consumer insights for CPG brands by collecting data through targeted at-home product testing and retail sampling.

Marketing teams leverage Peekage to boost awareness, drive sales, and increase retail velocity, and product and innovation teams use Peekage to run deep in-home product testing to optimize products, packaging, positioning, and messaging.