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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/01/ricicles-victims-millennials-peculiar-tastes
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| Ricicles are the latest victims of millennials’ peculiar tastes | Ricicles are the latest victims of millennials’ peculiar tastes |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| Spin, spin sugar. Kellogg’s has announced it is discontinuing Ricicles from January, as part of its commitment to offer customers a slightly healthier breakfast. Coco Pops have survived the cull, but it’s thought that their sugar content will be cut by 40%. Frosties packets will no longer contain free gifts aimed at children, as Kellogg’s says that adults form the largest part of its UK market. They’re for grrr-own-ups! | Spin, spin sugar. Kellogg’s has announced it is discontinuing Ricicles from January, as part of its commitment to offer customers a slightly healthier breakfast. Coco Pops have survived the cull, but it’s thought that their sugar content will be cut by 40%. Frosties packets will no longer contain free gifts aimed at children, as Kellogg’s says that adults form the largest part of its UK market. They’re for grrr-own-ups! |
| Think the millennials have it tough? For Generation K life’s even harsher | Think the millennials have it tough? For Generation K life’s even harsher |
| The news takes on an extra poignancy as we begin December. Ricicles are a staple of variety packs, the multipack selections of small boxes of cereal that are an odd but necessary Christmas breakfast staple. This year, thousands of 20-, 30- and 40-somethings will rush down to breakfast on Christmas morning and pour milk over the dusty contents of a tiny box that seems to contain about 80% air, knowing that next year they will have to ladle sugar over the Rice Krispies, and it won’t be the same, no matter what our mums say. It feels like the end of an era, even though I’m not sure I could name anyone who has bought a full-size box of Ricicles since 1992. | The news takes on an extra poignancy as we begin December. Ricicles are a staple of variety packs, the multipack selections of small boxes of cereal that are an odd but necessary Christmas breakfast staple. This year, thousands of 20-, 30- and 40-somethings will rush down to breakfast on Christmas morning and pour milk over the dusty contents of a tiny box that seems to contain about 80% air, knowing that next year they will have to ladle sugar over the Rice Krispies, and it won’t be the same, no matter what our mums say. It feels like the end of an era, even though I’m not sure I could name anyone who has bought a full-size box of Ricicles since 1992. |
| I wonder whether that’s part of the problem. When every brand, from Coco Pops to Coca-Cola, is claiming to be serious about reducing its sugar content, a slightly healthier version of Ricicles would have been easy enough to make. However, millennials don’t eat cereal – in 2015, a Mintel survey found that 40% of respondents said it was “an inconvenient breakfast choice” because you had to wash your bowl afterwards. (Presumably we’ll only get our hands dirty if there’s an avocado on offer.) Kellogg’s may well be committed to getting us to eat less sugar, but I don’t think they’re simply doing it for the good of our health. They’re following a trend, and the way we eat breakfast has been changing significantly over the last few years. | I wonder whether that’s part of the problem. When every brand, from Coco Pops to Coca-Cola, is claiming to be serious about reducing its sugar content, a slightly healthier version of Ricicles would have been easy enough to make. However, millennials don’t eat cereal – in 2015, a Mintel survey found that 40% of respondents said it was “an inconvenient breakfast choice” because you had to wash your bowl afterwards. (Presumably we’ll only get our hands dirty if there’s an avocado on offer.) Kellogg’s may well be committed to getting us to eat less sugar, but I don’t think they’re simply doing it for the good of our health. They’re following a trend, and the way we eat breakfast has been changing significantly over the last few years. |
| I’ve always believed cereal to be the staple of the Gen Xer. The most prolific cultural cereal eater I can think of is Jerry Seinfeld who, in his eponymous sitcom, kept an array of cereals on his kitchen shelf, and tucked into them at all times of day. He even ordered cereal as an entree when he ate at Monk’s, the diner he frequented. Cereal seemed to be the signature meal of the proud slacker, and its demise makes me wonder whether most millennials are a bit too earnest and sensible to really enjoy it. | I’ve always believed cereal to be the staple of the Gen Xer. The most prolific cultural cereal eater I can think of is Jerry Seinfeld who, in his eponymous sitcom, kept an array of cereals on his kitchen shelf, and tucked into them at all times of day. He even ordered cereal as an entree when he ate at Monk’s, the diner he frequented. Cereal seemed to be the signature meal of the proud slacker, and its demise makes me wonder whether most millennials are a bit too earnest and sensible to really enjoy it. |
| Wispa is a chocolate bar that has had more comebacks than the Rolling Stones | Wispa is a chocolate bar that has had more comebacks than the Rolling Stones |
| While the research might claim that we’re too lazy to do our own washing up, my Instagram feed is packed with elaborate millennial meals. We’re smoking our own tofu and crafting carbs from kale. We eschew dairy for cashews. Admittedly, we might be our own worst enemies when it comes to the ratio of deliciousness to effort expended, but when we’ve spent a whole day slogging our guts out milking nuts, we’re not likely to tip the results over a bowl of Sugar Puffs, no matter how moreish they might be. | While the research might claim that we’re too lazy to do our own washing up, my Instagram feed is packed with elaborate millennial meals. We’re smoking our own tofu and crafting carbs from kale. We eschew dairy for cashews. Admittedly, we might be our own worst enemies when it comes to the ratio of deliciousness to effort expended, but when we’ve spent a whole day slogging our guts out milking nuts, we’re not likely to tip the results over a bowl of Sugar Puffs, no matter how moreish they might be. |
| Although precise definitions differ, broadly speaking millennials are those people born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s. They are so called because they turned 18 in or after 2000. They are also collectively known as Generation Y | Although precise definitions differ, broadly speaking millennials are those people born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s. They are so called because they turned 18 in or after 2000. They are also collectively known as Generation Y |
| It’s easy to mock millennials, but our eating habits seem to be triggering a broader change, and that might not be a bad thing. This November, it was found that the UK is the most obese country in western Europe. Most nutritionists agree that reducing the sugar we eat has demonstrable health benefits, and starting your day with a bowl of it isn’t the best way to refuel and sustain your energy. It’s easy to get sentimental about the products we associate with our childhood, but if losing Ricicles is part of the price we must pay for longer, healthier lives, perhaps it’s time to let them go. While it might seem churlish to ban an occasional treat, we might look back and wonder why we gave these cereals to our children in the first place. That sounds dramatic, but I suspect my great grandmother eventually felt the same way about the single cigarette she allowed her children on Christmas Day. | It’s easy to mock millennials, but our eating habits seem to be triggering a broader change, and that might not be a bad thing. This November, it was found that the UK is the most obese country in western Europe. Most nutritionists agree that reducing the sugar we eat has demonstrable health benefits, and starting your day with a bowl of it isn’t the best way to refuel and sustain your energy. It’s easy to get sentimental about the products we associate with our childhood, but if losing Ricicles is part of the price we must pay for longer, healthier lives, perhaps it’s time to let them go. While it might seem churlish to ban an occasional treat, we might look back and wonder why we gave these cereals to our children in the first place. That sounds dramatic, but I suspect my great grandmother eventually felt the same way about the single cigarette she allowed her children on Christmas Day. |
| The struggle is ce-real: how Kellogg’s killed the hipster breakfast trend | The struggle is ce-real: how Kellogg’s killed the hipster breakfast trend |
| I’m not entirely convinced that we’ve seen the last of Ricicles. Look at the Wispa, the chocolate bar that keeps being cancelled and brought back due to “popular demand”. It’s had more comebacks than the Rolling Stones. Similarly, Lucky Charms, a cereal that was enormously popular with my sisters and me during the 90s because it contains marshmallows, was briefly withdrawn from sale, as it contained genetically modified ingredients. However, it returned to the UK via some of London’s more exclusive department stores, and it’s currently on sale in Tesco for a fiver a box. Nostalgia is a lucrative market. Perhaps cereal sales will follow a similar pattern to the vinyl revival. No one wants to buy it now, but in 10 years, maybe an old-fashioned fondness for sugar will creep in and bring our appetites back. | I’m not entirely convinced that we’ve seen the last of Ricicles. Look at the Wispa, the chocolate bar that keeps being cancelled and brought back due to “popular demand”. It’s had more comebacks than the Rolling Stones. Similarly, Lucky Charms, a cereal that was enormously popular with my sisters and me during the 90s because it contains marshmallows, was briefly withdrawn from sale, as it contained genetically modified ingredients. However, it returned to the UK via some of London’s more exclusive department stores, and it’s currently on sale in Tesco for a fiver a box. Nostalgia is a lucrative market. Perhaps cereal sales will follow a similar pattern to the vinyl revival. No one wants to buy it now, but in 10 years, maybe an old-fashioned fondness for sugar will creep in and bring our appetites back. |
| • Daisy Buchanan is a freelance columnist and features writer covering arts, entertainment and women’s issues | • Daisy Buchanan is a freelance columnist and features writer covering arts, entertainment and women’s issues |
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