Wheaties Fuel set for release today
You probably haven’t thought about Wheaties recently — you haven’t thought about the 1984 Olympics either, which was when Wheaties probably peaked. But General Mills is hoping to change all that with today’s introduction (at 1 p.m., according to the Facebook page) of Wheaties Fuel — an athlete-tested, souped-up version of the standard cereal.
It’s a radical move for “The Breakfast of Champions,” which seemingly hasn’t changed since that slogan was introduced in 1933. Those who are nostalgic for the athletes featured on the box lamented the generic orange boxes that seemed to sit on grocery store shelves in recent years.
In light of a 14 percent drop in box sales, General Mills wants to jump-start the flagging franchise by marketing Wheaties Fuel as a way to improve athletic performance. And the target market is men, making this the first time a cereal has gone after the male demographic (with the notable exception of John Belushi’s Little Chocolate Donuts).
