Available in two flavors - strawberry and blueberry – Tiny Toast are small toast-shaped pieces of cereal that will be sold in 11.1 oz/314 gram boxes with a recommended retail price of $3.99.
In line with General Mills' ongoing efforts to make its cereal products more appealing to health-conscious consumers, Tiny Toast has no artificial flavors or colors from artificial sources and no high-fructose corn syrup. The strawberry and blueberry flavors come from “real fruit,” said the company, which is manufacturing the cereal in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
A serving contains 9g of sugar and at least 13g of whole grain, according to the brand website.
Search for options with wholesome ingredients
“Consumers’ tastes continue to evolve, but they remain steadfast in their search for options with wholesome, pantry-friendly ingredients,” said General Mills senior marketing manager Alan Cunningham. “This inspired our development process, and we went where few brands in the cereal category have gone before, using real fruit.”
The company said Tiny Toast was its first cereal brand launch in 15 years – excluding new flavors of existing cereals and those brought to market through licensing or partnerships.
General Mills 'bullish' about category
The launch comes three months after General Mills told analysts it was feeling “bullish” about its prospects for cereals growth in 2016.
Despite announcing a 2% year-on-year decline in both its cereals and snacks sales in its third-quarter results in March, the company said retail sales trends were improving in the cereal market.
The company’s chief operating officer for US Retail, Jeff Harmening, said product innovation and effective marketing activity had returned General Mills cereals to dollar share growth following a 0.7% decline in the first half of fiscal 2016.
“I am bullish on our prospects for cereal growth,” he stated at the time. “We will continue to expand the impact of our renovation and new product news, and will invest in higher levels of advertising in the fourth quarter.”
Cereal brands relaunched
In April – following the relaunch earlier this year of seven of its cereal brands with no artificial flavors, no artificial colors and no high-fructose corn syrup – the company reported 77% of its Big G cereal portfolio now used no flavors or colors from artificial sources.
Recent General Mills launches have included breakfast cereals under the Annie’s brand.
General Mills is supporting the launch of Tiny Toast with activity through Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, and with in-store advertising.