Cereal makers hope to charm Millennials, not just youngsters

Facing soggy sales overall, breakfast cereal makers are hoping Millennials will go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs and find Lucky Charms magically delicious.

They are trying to expand past the usual kids market when it comes to some of their most sugary morning offerings and going after those who grew up on bowls of Frosted Flakes or Honey Nut Cheerios.

“Millennials are still buying for nostalgia,” said Jason Dorsey, founder of the Austin-based Center for Generational Kinetics. They are “longing for my youth now that I’m oh so old at 28.”

Kellogg’s announced Thursday that it is launching its first new consumer campaign for Froot Loops in a half-century, in part to try to reach Millennials. The new tagline is “Whatever Froots Your Loops.” The company will use the pitch in TV commercials, banner ads and social media as well branded products such as sunglasses.

Froot Loops launched in 1963 with kids in mind, but Kellogg’s officials say the colorful round tidbits have generational staying power.

Millennials “eat Froot Loops, and they eat it when they want to, and we are here to embrace that and tell them that it’s an awesome snack,” said Chris Stolsky, Kellogg’s associate director who handles Froot Loops.

Frosted Flakes and Krave also are popular among people this age, he added.

Only Baby Boomers, at 23%, eat more breakfast cereal than Millennials, at 17%, according to research firm NPD Group. And this coveted demographic isn’t limiting itself to breakfast. Millennials eat cold cereal at other times 18% of the time, compared to 15% of consumers overall.

Eric Perlowitz, 27, of Pleasantville, N.Y., a fan of Frosted MiniWheats, also indulges in Trix, Honey Nut Cheerios and Rice Krispies — the same cereals he devoured as a child. He finds cereal conducive to his jam-packed life.

It’s quick, filling and slow to go to stale.

“If I’ve had an early dinner, I’ll have it as a snack,” Perlowitz said. “Or if I don’t have time to go out and get something, I’ll have a super big bowl.”