Breakfast Cereals – Curing Hunger Pangs Without Adding Inches to the Waist Line

What Are Breakfast Cereals Made Of?

Breakfast cereals are available in different varieties, with the most commonly used ingredient being grains. Some frequently used grains are rice, oats, wheat, corn, and barley. Some hot cereals like oatmeal are devoid of any component, while a few other forms sometimes contain yeast, colouring agents, minerals, salts, sweeteners, food preservatives, and vitamins. The market for granola, hot cereal, and muesli products is expanding at a stunning pace. Hot cereals are oats, wheat bran, porridge, and oat bran. Consumers are increasingly opting for hot breakfast cereals, significantly pushing the hot breakfast cereal category. Oats have garnered the highest acceptance and are enjoying immense popularity out of the different types of hot cereals in the market. Their increased popularity could respond to the surging awareness among consumers about their health benefits.

Palm oil is a crucial ingredient used extensively during breakfast cereals. The primary sweetener utilized in producing breakfast cereals is malt, sourced from brown sugar, barley, corn syrup, and white sugar. Some natural breakfast cereals are sweetened using concentrated fruit juices. Different flavours are added, including chocolate, cinnamon, fruit flavours, and spices, with a few other ingredient types used for flavour enhancement, such as nuts, marshmallows, and dried fruit. Additionally, essential minerals and vitamins replace all the nutrients lost during the cooking process.

Global Breakfast Cereals Market Status Quo

Developing nations note a massive shift in consumers’ buying patterns, affecting their eating habits. The surge in the urbanization rate and the rapidly mushrooming middle-class populace across these economies have led to changes in consumers’ lifestyles while pushing the preference for on-the-go meal options. Breakfast cereals provide a series of health advantages and take less time to prepare. This is one of the top reasons for their heightened demand for worldwide consumers. With changing dietary habits, consumers’ preference for convenience foods has shot up. The convenience food trend first started in Western countries, then spread rapidly to other regions. Given the improving economic standards across Asian economies, the surge in consumers’ purchasing capacity, and the emergence of convenience food trends, the breakfast cereals market will likely remain strong in the coming years as well. Experts believe that convenience food products are witnessing a surge in demand as people are time-pressed and lead a hectic lifestyle, which leaves no time to cook. Consumers are looking for ways to maximize their leisure time, intending to enjoy more activities they consider of value. This is projected to be a highly favourable factor for the breakfast cereals market in the years to come.

In addition to the emerging trend of convenience food products, the importance of easy to consume and high nutritional value has risen. As a result, breakfast cereals have become some of the most appealing food items over the years. On top of that, the blossoming population of working women, especially in developing countries, could be a significant growth booster for the breakfast cereal market. Escalating knowledge about the health benefits of different breakfast cereals further boosts sales. Breakfast cereals have also gained massive popularity within the baby food category because of their considerable nutritional value and ease of preparing the property.Another notable trend in the worldwide market could be premiumization in emerging countries. A surging number of consumers are opting for high-quality products with significant nutritional value instead of regular substandard quality products.

Breakfast Cereal Packaging Market Trends to Look Out For

Use of Sustainable Packaging Materials

At present, most breakfast cereal packaging makes use of plastics, like polyamide, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, ethylene vinyl alcohol, and many more. However, brands now are adopting sustainable materials, which are plant and paper-based, that completely eradicate plastic inner bags. These plastic inner bags are generally found in cardboard packaged breakfast cereals. But currently, many companies are shifting from plastic packaging to sustainable alternatives. This move helps ensure the food’s freshness for a long time while also bringing down the concerns related to plastic waste.

Flexible Packaging

Rapidly infiltrating the global market is the major trend of flexible packaging, overtaking conventional rigid packaging. Flexible, stand-up and resealable bags are slated to be a prevalent breakfast cereal packaging trend, allowing companies to offer convenience and focus on innovation while cutting down the need for materials used during packaging.

Competitive Analysis

The top vendors are focused on enhancing their brand value through aggressive promotional activities. Companies advertise their products on various social media platforms and conduct events to interact with consumers. They demonstrate their new ranges of breakfast cereals to spark the attention of more consumers.

Furthermore, influential brands emphasize research & development activities to launch new products, expanding their product lines. Many firms are also unveiling new breakfast cereals in multiple flavours for higher sales and overall revenue. For instance, in December 2021, Kellogg’s introduced mince pie flavoured breakfast cereal called Mince Pie Wheats. Mince Pie Flavoured Wheats contains a gently spiced, smooth sultana centre, adding to the consumers’ Christmas spirit every morning.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, soaring health concerns combined with escalating cases of obesity, digestive disorders, and diabetes will be facilitating significant growth of the breakfast cereals market in subsequent years. Brands increasingly focusing on different and more appealing packaging styles could result in higher sales over the coming years.