Breakfast Cereals-AMERICAN EATING TRENDS REPORT 2012

CONSUMPTION DEMOGRAPHICS

According to Euromonitor, U.S. retail sales of breakfast cereals stood at US$9.9 billion in 2010, up from US$9.3 billion in 2001, and are forecast to reach US$10.4 billion by 2016. However, these trends are due primarily to higher unit prices, as total consumption of breakfast cereals dropped from 5.1 kg per capita in 2001 to 4.5 kg in 2010 and are projected to decline further, to a total in 2016 of 4.2 kg per person. A maturing market, the unhealthy image of children’s cereals, and competition from foodservice for the hot cereal market are contributing factors (Euromonitor 2012).

According to NPD, ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals account for the bulk (78.5%) of all breakfast cereal eatings, while hot cereals account for the remaining 21.5%. Within RTE cereals, all family cereals represented more than half of all eatings, while pre-sweetened cereal eatings accounted for slightly more than one-quarter. NPD reports that between November 2001 and November 2010, the number of eating occasions of ready-to-eat, pre-sweetened cereals dropped from 25% to 22%, while eatings of family cereals increased from 41% to 44%. Eatings of natural/bran cereals remained constant at 11%. As a percentage of total consumption, hot cereals increased from 18% to 22% in the same time period.