What you need to know
The hot and cold cereals market continues to see sales declines similar to recent years, mostly driven by the cold cereal segment, with many consumers believing offerings are too processed and not convenient enough. The only growth occurring is in hot cereal, albeit from a small base. To grow the category, manufacturers will need to focus on developing more natural, better-for-you offerings that can be prepared and consumed easily on the go.
Definition
For the purposes of this report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
RTE (ready-to-eat) cold cereal is any cereal (eg corn flakes, shredded wheat, toasted oat cereal) that is usually consumed dry or with dairy/non-dairy milk.
Hot cereal is defined as cereal that must be cooked (on the stovetop or in the microwave oven) before eating, including oatmeal, instant oatmeal, hot wheat, and other grain products.
Not included in this report are:
Cereal bars and other breakfast products, such as Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts, are excluded from the scope of this report, but their importance to overall demand for breakfast cereal is discussed where appropriate.
