Kids in charge: Kellogg’s launches kid-friendly fruit and vegetable breakfast cereal

20 Jan 2020 --- “By kids for kids” is the inspirational force behind Kellogg’s newly created plant-based breakfast cereal, called WK Kellogg By Kids. With children themselves appointed as the taste-testers of the cereal line, the cereal launch includes fruit and vegetables and is touted as being a “healthy, kid-friendly choice for finicky eaters, all without adding extra sugar, artificial colors, sweeteners or flavors.”

“The opportunity to develop our first no-added-sugar extruded cereal was exciting and challenging all at the same time. We worked with our suppliers to explore possible options and invented a coating that delivers on texture and taste without using added sugar – truly innovative as it has never been done before at Kellogg’s,” Susann Heinz, WK Kellogg Brand Manager, tells NutritionInsight. 

A crucial part of the cereal’s development process was to hear straight from those who would primarily be eating it: the children. Both they and their parents participated in each step of creating W.K. Kellogg by Kids from concept, to taste and even the pack’s design. In total, 1,050 children were involved, accompanied by 1,500 parents who also had their say in the process, the spokesperson explains.

Choosing from two different offers, the cereal line consists of carrot and beetroot balls, apples stars and strawberry hoops. As kids are becoming more experimental with their eating, the company aimed to provide a combination of flavors and shapes to offer an appealing breakfast choice. 

Beetroot for breakfast?
Maintaining the natural beetroot and carrot flavors were a focal point of the breakfast endeavor. “We kept to our WK Kellogg roots with simplicity and specifically selected beetroot and carrots for their natural sweetness and gentle earthy tones. These vegetables work together with the sweet and tangy notes of the fruits to create two great tasting unique flavored cereals.” Heinz says.

Kellogg’s also collaborated with “fussy eating” expert Ciara Atwell, Founder of children’s nutrition blog My Fussy Eater, to create a tasty but nutritionally balanced breakfast option. “Parents often can’t find nutritious breakfast options that their children actually enjoy eating, so Kellogg’s involving kids in the creation of this cereal is a great idea and helps to introduce a balanced cereal for children and the whole family,” she says.

Children’s health spotlighted
With breakfast long touted as the “most important meal of the day,” parents are often mindful of providing children with a healthy morning meal. The correlation between children’s breakfast choices and their obesity rates continues to spike, with food products’ reformulation “at scale” called for in a European Commission report from last October. The report also highlighted that between half and two-thirds of breakfast cereals, but also ready meals, processed meat, processed seafood and yogurts, are too unhealthy to market to children. 

Meanwhile, technology may be a helpful avenue to address the age-old issue of picky eating in children. Based on the evidence that children who are exposed to pictures of vegetables are more likely to eat them, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food is funding the See & Eat project, which includes free e-books for children and families. 

Indeed, research has demonstrated that positive experiences and exposure with healthy eating can have a lasting effect on children’s food and snack choices. Regarding the packaging on breakfast cereals, research conducted by food retailer Lidl found that over half of UK parents believe cartoon characters on cereal packaging encourage pester power from their children while shopping, with three-quarters of parents’ children engaging in feisty behavior in stores. 

In response, Lidl GB is set to stop displaying cartoon characters on its own-brand cereal ranges by spring 2020 to help parents tackle pester power in the supermarket aisles and encourage healthier choices.

“One factor of success must be peer pressure – there has been a bigger shift, for example, across the whole breakfast cereal brands to move to healthier options. Breakfast cereals have been in the spotlight for health campaigners. We’ve seen broader adoption of front-of-pack traffic light labeling, and retailers also wanting healthier breakfast options on shelves as part of their own health commitments,” adds Barbara Crowther, Coordinator at Children’s Food Campaign, a UK-based Sustain project. 

WK Kellogg’s By Kids cereal is currently available on shelves in UK retail stores.

By Anni Schleicher