We have come to a time in our culture where sitting down at the table and pouring a bowl of cereal is considered an inefficient start to the day. The Washington Post reported this past week that the overall market for breakfast cereals has been declining over the past year and a half (6 business quarters of declining profit reports) They write that,
“Breakfast cereal just isn’t the morning mainstay it once was, crowded out by other options such as yogurt, snack bars and breakfast sandwiches. And families aren’t sitting down to breakfast as often. Overall, cereal sales are down 6 percent since their peak in 2009, and they are projected to continue falling through at least 2019.”
It seems clear that breakfast people in general are seeking a more convenient mode of eating the first meal of the day. While I doubt that cereal businesses will ever really go out of business, it seems to me that they would do well to better identify the pain of their target marget and respond accordingly.
BoweryJE22
When looking for the next big thing, you need to think about what is not popular any more and why. Cereal isn’t popular because morning are getting more and more rushed. We, as humans, are losing our ability to plan ahead. We forget how long it takes to eat a bowl of cereal so by the time we are at that point in our morning routine we grab a granola bar and run out the door.
It is so interesting that sales for cereal are dropping. It makes sense because I know that I would prefer to sleep in than eat breakfast. My family is usually running around in the mornings trying to get my sister ready for school. Companies need to identify that people are more busy in the mornings and market some of their breakfast bars. I know that I used to love the cereal bars that companies used to make but they are not marketed well anymore, if they even make them anymore.