Cocoa Crack and "The Snack Mindset"

[reinhard]

Disturbingly funny article about Kellogg's in the new york times earlier this week: Kellogg Takes Aim at Snack foods.

(I hate to get all paranoid about evil corporations, but boy do these guys make it hard!)

First disturbing/funny aspect, the names they give these sugar cereals, it's like they're marketing to heroin addicts: first there was Sugar smack[s], now "Krave," -- I feel like like "Cocoa Crack" must be next.

Second even more disturbing if somewhat less funny aspect: as if sugar cereal wasn't bad enough, Kellogg is feeling the need to branch beyond it's traditional core competency into sugar snacks because sitting down to an actual meal (however instant) is no longer sufficiently convenient for the modern consumer.

cereal is losing ground to other breakfast options, like frozen food, cereal bars and yogurt. The reason... is that fewer Americans are inclined to sit down with a bowl, milk and a spoon when they start their mornings. The ultimate convenience food — which is how cereal was once billed — is just not convenient enough any more.

Americans might not be buying Corn Flakes the way they did a decade ago, but they love a good snacking occasion, and shoehorning a few more Pop-Tarts, Nutri-Grain bars and Special K Savory Herb crackers into our day is a core mission for the company.

Kellogg's is tapping into what they call "the snack mind-set," especially in foreign markets where there is vastly greater growth potential (snacking + obesity rates have to be topping out here in the states, right? how much bigger can we possible get?).

The third disturbing and not at all funny thing is that I'm not even sure the author gets what the real problem is: not the fact that Kellogg makes junk food, but the "snacking mindset" itself, how inherently destructive it is, and how frightening it is that it is poised to spread even further.

Reinhard

[~reneew]

I agree. Last night I saw a commercial promoting cereal with chocolate chunks as a 9pm snack when that chocolate crave comes along. Ug. But I guess it's better than the bowl of icecream my hubby has then.

[snapdragon]

My husband often eats a bowl of cereal late at night. It is funny though.

[BeingGreen]

American life has become so busy and crazy that people don't have time to sit down for a bowl of cereal and milk?! With obesity rates skyrocketing, I think people need to rethink their priorities. And Kellogg's is not helping the situation!!

[wosnes]

I agree. Last night I saw a commercial promoting cereal with chocolate chunks as a 9pm snack when that chocolate crave comes along. Ug. But I guess it's better than the bowl of icecream my hubby has then.

Seriously, I think it depends on the ice cream -- it could be healthier! I was just thinking this morning that if you see a commercial for some food product on TV, you would be better off not buying it. First, it's probably not really food. Second, it's not good for you.

It's been quite a while since I saw an advertisement for ice cream -- ANY ice cream. Occasionally in the warm months I'll see an ad for whatever the grocery has on sale that week.

I've been chuckling lately at the number of "new" food products I've seen advertised. I guarantee you, none of them will find their way into my grocery cart.

[NoSnacker]

I guarantee you, none of them will find their way into my grocery cart.

When I go shopping these days I might pick it up, look at it and put it back down...

Trying to stay on the outside perimeters of the store!!

[wosnes]

I guarantee you, none of them will find their way into my grocery cart.

When I go shopping these days I might pick it up, look at it and put it back down...

Trying to stay on the outside perimeters of the store!!

There is good food in the center of the store, too. It's just in among the not-so-good stuff.

I don't know about where you live, but my area doesn't have much in the way of bulk bins, except at Whole Foods. So all the grains, nuts, seeds, spices and so on are in the middle of the store. I'm not even tempted by the "edible food-like substances" anymore. Chips will call my name now and again, but while they are food (they're just potatoes, oil and salt -- no weird ingredients) I just don't have them often.

[oolala53]

My family had dessert every night and ice cream later. A small square of cake. One scoop of ice cream. And we had sugared cereals, though we often had Cheerios and Rice Krispies, which are less obvious than the ones I preferred. And we had oatmeal, or eggs, too. Right, Mom didn't work. I wasn't actually overweight--though relatively heavy for my peer group, but not actually overweight, until I went on a diet the year before I left home-- lost ten, gained twenty. And on and up.

But what Kellogg is doing makes them either rogues or fools, and both are dangerous. Yet they wouldn't keep making something that didn't sell. If people buy, they make it. If they don't, like McDonald's valiant try at a veggie burger, they stop. Should there be a tax on processed foods to combat their use, like there is on cigarettes? How are we going to get people to school the producers? Is it possible? Might this weight issue reach a peak and then decline?

I admit I eat my breakfast in the car while I'm on the freeway. I actually take longer to eat then! I'm very good at not spilling the cereal, but I would, if it came to that. I can't imagine having to get kids out the door with me.

[Jennifer24747]

What drives me nuts is the whole "Special K diet" concept that Kellogg's markets. They've got products for every moment of the day if you're on that. Cereal, chips, meal bars, "protein water," snack bars, Special K brownies (which sound vaguely illegal, by the way). You're supposed to have ONE serving of cereal for breakfast, which is 120 calories, about 3/4 cup to 1 cup, and about 12 grams of sugar. So...48 of your 120 calories are from sugar, first thing in the morning? Does that keep ANYONE satisfied? And then you spend the rest of the day shoving sugared Special K junk down your throat every three hours? But I guess all that sugar will keep people addicted and coming back for more, even if they're starving. It drives me nuts because so many of my girlfriends turn to this stupid diet when they're going on vacation or have a wedding coming up or something.

Making real, healthy, delicious foods is not that hard, and it doesn't have to be time-consuming. I wish people could see beyond marketing and realize this! But everyone loves a quick fix. When you can drop a dress size in two weeks, why do anything else? Insert eye roll here.

[Rainman]

This is one more example of where taking in a minimum of media makes you a happier person. We have our meals as a family, without the TV on, keeping us blissfully unaware of innovations at Kellogg. That makes it a lot easier to stick to the No-S rule!

I don't like what Kellogg is doing, but the way to combat it is through millions of people making better choices. A government powerful enough to prohibit Kellogg from doing things I disagree with is likely to micromanage my life in some way I am not too fond of either. Overly tasty snacks is one of the excesses of capitalism, but it beats totalitarianism.

Great post. It helps to know what I need to not know about!