The big news in breakfast cereal and snack bars in 2023 wasn’t on the new product front—it was on Wall Street. That’s where Kellogg spun off its North America cereal division into a new company, WK Kellogg. Meanwhile, Kellogg renamed itself Kellanova to focus on snacking with brands including Pringles and Cheez-It.

With a standard bearer like Kellogg making moves like this, it is not surprising that cereal and snack bar innovation was a little soggy in 2023. US launches were down 10.5% in 2023, compared to 2022, per Innova Market Insights. Hot cereal laid the biggest egg, with launches down 26.4% in 2023, followed by cold cereal and its 12.5% launch decline. Even cereal & energy bars were down, by 4%. Bars had been a bright spot as recently as 2022, but that ended in 2023.

Better Bars

That’s not to say there wasn’t innovation in the bar space. General Mills used consumer insights to guide new bar product development. According to the company, 63% of Americans have a strong preference for savory or salty snacks. General Mills’ goal was to poach salty snack sales with some of the first new snack-focused flavors in cereal bars. General Mills extended its Nature Valley line with new Nature Valley Savory Nut Bars in varieties such as Everything Bagel, and Smoky BBQ.

Bakery, beverages and fruit also influenced innovation. General Mills launched Nature Valley Berry Blend Protein Smoothie Breakfast Bar—aimed at smoothie drinkers. Also targeting fruit were California’s Nature’s Bakery, Pasadena; and Once Upon a Farm, Berkely. Nature’s Bakery targeted kids with new Fig Bar Minis in Raspberry and Blueberry flavors. Once Upon a Farm also aimed for kids with new Refrigerated Oat Bars in three varieties: Strawberry, Banana Chocolate and Apple Cinnamon.

Elsewhere, breakfast pastries inspired new offerings such as KIND Soft Baked Squares, Atkins Soft Baked Energy Bar, and Nature Valley Soft-Baked Muffin Bars. Sweet bakery and dessert flavors also drove the popular protein bar category. 1440 Foods extended its Pure Protein bar line with new Galactic Brownie and Caramel Churro flavors. Bloom Nutrition launched Bloom Protein Bars with four flavors: Blueberry Crumble, Raspberry Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Cookies & Cream. Glanbia Performance Nutrition bolstered its think! line-up with Boston Crème Pie and Chocolate Mint varieties.

Peanut Butter & Jelly also was a popular flavor. Last spring saw ONE Brands, (The Hershey Co.) extend its high protein bar line with ONE Peanut Butter & Jelly. Alani Nu, Louisville, Ky., introduced three Alani Protein Bars last June, including Peanut Butter & Jelly, Rocky Road and Caramel Crunch. Each is packed with up to 17g of protein and just 220 calories or less. Also making its plant protein bar debut was PB2 Foods, Tifton, Ga., which launched PB2 Performance Plant Protein Bars in Chocolate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Almond flavors. Also taking the chocolate route (not surprisingly) was Hershey, which introduced FULFIL Nutrition bars billed as a “craveable protein and vitamin bar that tastes like your favorite chocolate bar.” Each bar has 15g of protein, 20% of the DV of 8 vitamins, 1g of sugar, and 3g or less of net carbs.

Lastly, some bars took a decisively more functional approach. This new year saw plant-based peptides supplier Nuritas Ltd. (Dublin, Ireland; Wilmington, Del.) partner with third-party developer Step Change Innovations, Solon, Ohio, and launch PEP Bars. It’s billed as a “daily longevity bar … to renew and retain muscle strength, aid in faster recovery after exercise, and support healthy aging to maintain active lifestyle living.” Three varieties include Berry Bliss, Chocolate Fudge, and Honey Nut and each features Nuritas’ PeptiStrong, a fava bean ingredient. This January also marked the launch of the Brain Omega 3 Bar from Nutrient Survival, Reno, Nev. Officials say their patent-pending formula combines 1,948mg of Omega 3s, 40 essential nutrients including 27 vitamins and minerals, naturally occurring flavonoids and 8g of protein. Varieties include Fig & Dark Chocolate and Fig & Roasted Peanut. Each features rolled oats, organic rice crisps, milled flax and hemp seeds.

Let’s Go Bowling

Ready-to-eat cold cereal innovation was paced by General Mills. New Cheerios Veggie Blends, an early 2024 launch, offers one-quarter cup of fruit and vegetables per serving and comes in flavors like Blueberry Banana.

Smaller also was better for General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, and Lucky Charms brands—which all debuted Minis cereals in 2023. Sweet flavor innovation also was paced by KitKat Cereal from General Mills, inspired by the confectionery brand. Tres Leches (three milks) Toast Crunch Cereal – also from General Mills – was inspired by the eponymous light and airy sponge cake.

Maple flavors were hot. Examples here include Kellogg’s Maple Flavor Raisin Bran and General Mills’ Maple Brown Sugar Chex as well as a Maple Cinnamon Cheerios Hearty Nut Medley. Bakery and beverage flavors also crossed over with Catalina Crunch Pairings Blueberry Muffin Cereal and Kellogg’s Special K Strawberry Cheesecake Flavored Flakes. Magic Spoon Inc., New York, N.Y., introduced a “Cookie Classics” line with two new cereal varieties: Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Oatmeal Cookie. Purely Elizabeth, Boulder, Colo., also blurred the lines by introducing Cookie Granola, a snackable granola cluster in three varieties: Double Chocolate, Oatmeal Raisin, and Chocolate Chip. Frozen drinks also inspired Magic Spoon’s Strawberry Milkshake flavor as well as Kellogg’s Icee Mixed Berry Cereal.

Better-for-you cereal innovation takes many forms. This January, WK Kellogg Co. introduced Eat Your Mouth Off, a vegan cereal with 22g of plant-based protein, 0 grams of sugar, and 2g of net carbs or less per serving. There are other interesting entries, such as General Mills’ Wilde Terra Cereal with a “well-curated selection of high-quality, wholesome ingredients” like almonds, dried cherries, dried cranberries, etc. Granola clusters and rice crisps are headline ingredients for Quaker Chewy Granola, the Quaker Chewy brand’s first breakfast cereal.

Cereal is often enjoyed as a snack, and cereal makers would love more consumers to enjoy it that way. The latest advance here is General Mills’ Go Box, sold in three compartment, multi-tray packs. There are four varieties and the Golden Grahams flavor offers cereal, dried cherries, and honey granola bites.

Look for indulgence to drive 2024 cold cereal innovation. General Mills has high hopes for its “Loaded Cereals” platform where brands like Trix and Cocoa Puffs will feature cream filled cereal pieces. Indulgence and comfort also figure for Post Consumer Brands bringing back its Mega Stuf Oreo O’s and Chips Ahoy! Cereals for a limited time.

Hot cereal introductions went cold in 2023, although protein and fruit were rallying points. Quaker Protein Instant Oatmeal delivers 10g of protein per serving while Bob’s Red Mill Protein Oats and Kodiak Peak Oatmeal are also on-trend, the latter with 20g of protein per serving “for peak performance.” Quaker Fruit Fusion Instant Oatmeal offers fruit flavor blends like Blueberry Blackberry, to outflank private label offerings.

Sustainability will be a key issue in 2024. Companies like Wildway and its Planet Friendly Oats show the way. Featuring “oats that go beyond sustainable,” the brand is climate neutral, regenerative organic certified, and certified plastic neutral. PF