Frosted Mini-Wheats
Encyclopedia
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
manufactured by Kellogg's consisting of shredded wheat cereal pieces and frosting.
History
Kelloggs introduced Frosted Mini-Wheats in the United States in 1972 as a large size portion that was available in regular and brown sugar/cinnamon flavor, which would later be followed by a bite-size portion that was introduced in 1980. The original large size Mini-Wheats would later be renamed "Big Bite" by the 1990s.Internationally, Frosted Wheats were available from the 1980s until the early 1990s in the United Kingdom under the Toppas name. They subsequently disappeared from shop shelves but were reissued several years later under the Frosted Wheats brand, similar to that used elsewhere in the world. The new cereal uses far smaller pieces of frosted wheat parcel than the original Toppas and contains beef gelatine. Initially Kellogg's Mini Wheats were available without the sugar frosting and with raisins or blueberries in the center. The Mini-Wheats recipe when produced in Canada or the United States was slightly different; however, Canadian-produced (London ON) Mini-Wheats are no longer available in Canada and are now imported from the US. Since January 2008 Canadian-produced (New plant in Belleville,ON) Mini-Wheats are available in Canada and are now imported into the US.
US
Frosted Mini-Wheats are marketed variously. They tolerated a short stint on television advertisements with a series of commercials about one Frosted Mini-Wheat with "split personalities;" the sweet (frosted) side and wheat (shredded grain) side argued over who was more popular. When the new MyPyramidMyPyramid
MyPyramid, released by the United States Department of Agriculture on April 19, 2005, is an update on the American food guide pyramid that was used until June 2, 2011, when the USDA's MyPlate replaced it. The icon stresses activity and moderation along with a proper mix of food groups in one's diet...
debuted, launching the whole grain
Whole grain
Whole grains are cereal grains that contain cereal germ, endosperm, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. Whole grains can generally be sprouted while refined grains generally will not sprout. Whole-meal products are made by grinding whole grains in order to make...
craze, it enjoyed another short-lived advertising stint as a fiber-conscious cereal. These advertisements involved a man walking around, asking "Have you had your fiber today?", then handing unsuspecting, confused people a bowl of the cereal. However, these ads have discontinued. Meanwhile, in the early/mid-1990s, several ads aired showcasing conflict between children raving about the frosting and adults raving about the whole grain wheat. The best-known of all ads feature adults turning into children and kids turning into adults (actress Marcia Wallace
Marcia Wallace
Marcia Karen Wallace is an American character actress, comedienne and game show panelist, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies...
appears in one of those "Kid in Us" spots).
Current advertising involves a new Frosted Mini-Wheat helping children in various childhood situations. In one, a girl in a spelling bee retracts a letter after speaking it and passes, despite the fact that it is against the rules in an actual Spelling Bee competition. Another has the Mini-Wheat helping a girl keep time to a dance in a school play. It promotes eating breakfast in general. The tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
says, "Keeps 'em [your kids] full, keeps 'em focused." The Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
found fault with Kellogg's claims that Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal improved kids' attentiveness by nearly 20%. The consumer protection agency said that Kellogg's had misrepresented a study and violated federal law.
In 2009, Kelloggs introduced a "Little Bites" spinoff of the Mini-Wheats brand. This version had smaller squares and came in two flavors; Chocolate and Honey Nut.
In 2011 Kelloggs introduced Frosted Mini-Wheats with Fruit In the Middle, which features strawberries and blueberries in the center. These are similar to the original Strawberry Mini-Wheats that Kellogg's sold in the 1990s which contained strawberry filling in the middle.
Canada
An ad for Mini-Wheats that aired in Canada in the mid-1990s featured an animated "Mr. Mini-Wheat" (voiced by John Stocker) about to go on a blind date. After experiencing some pre-date anxiety, a disembodied voice convinces Mr. Mini-Wheat that between his wholesome wheatiness and his frosted side, he has much to offer. Now quite confident, Mr. Mini-Wheat sets off for his date, proclaiming that "She'll be my love slave forever!". This line was quickly changed to "She'll be my true love forever!" for later airings.More recently, an advertisement for Vanilla flavoured Mini-Wheats featured an animated Mr Mini-Wheat singing and dancing to a tune based on "Agadoo
Agadoo
"Agadoo" is a novelty song recorded by the band Black Lace in 1984. "Agadoo" peaked at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and spent 30 weeks in the top 75. It went on to become the eighth best-selling single of 1984 in the UK....
" by Black Lace
Black Lace (band)
Black Lace is a British Euro pop band, best known for novelty party records, including their biggest hit, "Agadoo". The band first came to the public eye after being selected to represent the UK in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, in which they finished seventh with the song "Mary Ann"...
. The success of the commercial prompted several more in this series:
- Strawberry Flavour. Mr Mini-Wheat sings with a 1960s rock-and-roll band.
- Whole Wheat. Mr Mini-Wheat sings in a 1970s disco club.
- Blueberry Muffin. Mr Mini-Wheat sings to the tune of Galop Infernal.
Varieties
- Frosted Mini-Wheats Strawberry Delight
- Bite Size Frosted Mini-Wheats with Brown Sugar
- Bite Size Frosted Blueberry Muffin
- Bite Size Frosted Cinnamon Streusel
- Bite Size Frosted Chocolate
- Bite Size Frosted Maple and Brown Sugar
- Bite Size Frosted Strawberry Delight
- Bite Size Frosted Vanilla Crème
- Frosted Mini-Wheats Big Bite
- Unfrosted Mini-Wheats
- Little Bites Original
- Little Bites Chocolate
- Touch of Fruit in the Middle Mixed Berry
In the 1980s, Kellogg's made "Apple Frosted Mini-Wheats". In the 1990s, Kelloggs sold "Strawberry Mini-Wheats" which contained strawberry filling in the middle. Although discontinued, and most people colloquially refer to "Frosted Mini-Wheats Strawberry Delight" as "Strawberry Mini-Wheats" now, the new "Touch of Fruit in the Middle Mixed Berry" mini-wheats very closely resemble the original "Strawberry Mini-Wheats".