 | |
 Post Original grape-nuts cereal, with milk | |
| Product type | Breakfast cereal |
|---|---|
| Owner | Post Consumer Brands |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1897 |
| Previous owners | |
| Website | www |
Grape-Nuts is a brand of breakfast cereal made from flour, salt and dried yeast, developed in 1897 by C. W. Post, a former patient and later competitor of the 19th-century breakfast food innovator Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Post's original product was baked as a rigid sheet, then broken into pieces and run through a coffee grinder.
Grape-Nuts was initially marketed as a natural cereal that could enhance health and vitality, and as a "food for brain and nerve centres." [1] Its lightweight and compact nature, nutritional value, and resistance to spoilage made it a popular food for exploration and expedition groups in the 1920s and 1930s. In World War II, Grape-Nuts was a component of the lightweight jungle ration used by some U.S. and Allied Forces in wartime operations before 1944. [2]
A 1939 ad campaign by cartoonist Walter Hoban continued his Jerry on the Job comic strip in Woman's Day magazine and daily newspaper comics pages. [3] General Foods also marketed Grape-Nuts through a comics-style advertising campaign (a trailblazer in this regard) featuring a character named Little Alby, who gained inordinate strength after consuming a bowl of Grape-Nuts. [4]
During the 1940s, comic books from various companies featured one-page comic-strip ads starring Volto from Mars, a finned red helmet-clad alien superhero visiting Earth, who, like all Martians, recharged his magnetic powers (his left hand repels, his right attracts) by eating "cereal grains", with him quickly developing a particular fondness for Grape-Nuts Flakes which he proclaimed "the best I ever tasted!" [5]
In the 1960s, advertising promoted Grape-Nuts as the cereal that "fills you up, not out". Brand users, particularly mother/daughter look-alikes, were shown engaged in fitness activities such as tennis, horseback riding, skiing, and swimming. Also appearing during the "fills you up, not out" campaign were Rob Steffens and Peter Steffens as the characters from The Peter and Bobert Show, as well as Andy Griffith and Don Knotts as Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife.
This ad campaign produced one television commercial, which aired on television in 1968, that featured a catchphrase that became a target for numerous sketches and satirical mentions in media. Spanning the ensuing two decades and beyond, "Oh no, Mrs. Burke! I thought you were Dale!" was parodied on television variety show sketches, in the film The Kentucky Fried Movie, and in many episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Fans continue to discuss the origin of this "riff" and have even developed products that feature the text, "I thought you were Dale."
A subsequent ad campaign generated another catchphrase, as Euell Gibbons became the spokesperson for the brand, promoting Grape-Nuts as the "Back to Nature Cereal.” The line "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible" drew attention to the product from consumers, as well as from comedians. [6]
Grape-Nuts is credited as the first widespread product to use a coupon in sales promotion when C.W. Post Company offered a penny-off coupon to get people to try their cereal in the late 1890s. [7]
Until recent years, Grape-Nuts packaging set it apart from other cereals, in that no sealed film bag was used. It was sold in a cardboard box, with perforations similar to cardboard laundry detergent powder boxes, perforations could be broken to form a small opening for pouring, near the intersection of one of the narrow side faces and the top surface, rather than featuring lightly glued interlockable flaps at the top which could be separated to open the top face completely (for flake cereal).
At one time, Grape-Nuts was the seventh-most popular cold breakfast cereal, but sales declined as Post was sold from one company to another. Around 2005, it held less than 1% of the market. About this time, the formula was changed; the husks from milled grain were ground into the flour and the cereal was pitched as "whole grain", albeit at the cost of roughening the cereal's texture and detracting significantly from mouthfeel.[ citation needed ] The addition of vitamins and minerals allowed it to qualify for food-stamp programs. [8]
There are two versions of the Grape-Nuts name's origin. One is that Post thought that what he referred to as “grape sugar” (glucose) was created when the product was baked. Since the product has a nutty flavor, he is said to have combined the two into "grape nuts." The second version is that the product resembles grape seeds, or grape “nuts.” [9]
Grape-Nuts sponsored Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s 1933 expedition to Antarctica, which resulted in the first two-way radio transmission. Maps of Admiral Byrd's expedition appeared on Grape-Nuts boxes at the time. [9] During World War II, Grape-Nuts were included in the Allied Forces jungle rations on missions to Panama and various other tropical locations. [9] In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay brought Grape-Nuts along on their trek to the peak of Mount Everest when they became the first to reach the mountain's summit. [9]
Due to production issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic Grape-Nuts were temporarily discontinued in 2021 before returning in mid-March. [10]
Modern-day original Grape-Nuts contain whole grain wheat flour, malted barley flour, salt, dried yeast, and the following added vitamins and minerals: iron, vitamin B3, zinc oxide, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, and folic acid. Grape-Nuts Flakes contain sugar as well. [11]
Grape-Nuts ice cream is a popular regional dish in the Canadian Maritimes, the Shenandoah Valley, Panama, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and New England. One origin story is that it was created by chef Hannah Young at The Palms restaurant in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, in 1919. She created it when she ran out of fresh fruit to add to ice cream and decided to throw in some cereal. It proved popular at the restaurant and the Scotsburn Dairy company began mass-producing the ice cream variety, and it sold across the region. [12] Variations of ice cream with Grape-Nuts are also called brown bread ice cream. [13]
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat, or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge and congee is a savoury variation of porridge of Asian origin.
Breakfast cereal is a breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in Western societies.
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company originally gained fame for being a large flour miller. It is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.
Corn flakes, or cornflakes, are a breakfast cereal made from toasting flakes of corn (maize). Originally invented as a breakfast food to counter indigestion, it has become a popular food item in the American diet and in the United Kingdom where over 6 million households consume them.
Weetabix Limited, trading as Weetabix Food Company, is a food processing company that is responsible for the production of breakfast cereal brands, including Weetabix, Alpen, Crunchy Bran and Ready Brek. The company also produces Puffins cereal and Snackimals snacks through their Barbara's Bakery division.
Muesli is a cold Swiss breakfast dish, the primary ingredient of which is rolled oats. Traditionally, it is set to soak overnight and eaten the next morning. Additional ingredients, such as grains, nuts, seeds, and fresh or dried fruits are sometimes added, along with milk or cream, a small amount of citrus juice, and honey to add sweetness. Yoghurt, other milk products, or milk substitutes are now commonly added to both homemade and commercially packaged muesli recipes.
Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat kernels instead of ground corn. It was first manufactured in the United States in 1893 by wheat millers in Grand Forks, North Dakota and debuted at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.
Raisin bran is a breakfast cereal containing raisins and bran flakes. Raisin bran is manufactured by several companies under a variety of brand names, including the popularly known Kellogg's Two Scoops Raisin Bran, General Mills' Total Raisin Bran, and Post Cereals' Raisin Bran. Though Raisin Bran is generally perceived as a healthier alternative to more sugary cereals, most popular brands of raisin bran contain high amounts of sugar.
Nutri-Grain is a brand of breakfast cereal and breakfast bar made by Kellanova since 1976. In Australia and New Zealand Nutri-Grain is a breakfast cereal made from corn, oats, and wheat. The pieces are shaped like bricks.
Granola is a food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until crisp, toasted and golden brown. The mixture is stirred while baking to avoid burning and to maintain a loose breakfast cereal consistency. Dried fruit, such as raisins and dates, and confections such as chocolate are sometimes added. Granola is often eaten in combination with yogurt, honey, fresh fruit, milk or other forms of cereal. It also serves as a topping for various pastries, desserts or ice cream. Muesli is similar to granola, except that it is traditionally neither sweetened nor baked.
Rice Krispies is a breakfast cereal produced by WK Kellogg Co for the United States, Canadian, and Caribbean markets and by Kellanova for the rest of the world. Rice Krispies are made of crisped rice. When milk is added to the cereal the rice tends to collapse, creating the characteristic "snap, crackle and pop" sounds.
Alpen is a line of muesli varieties manufactured by the Weetabix cereal company of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England.
Post Consumer Brands is an American consumer packaged goods food manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota.
Granula was the first manufactured breakfast cereal. It was invented by James Caleb Jackson in 1863. Jackson and many of his contemporaries believed that the digestive system was the basis of illness. He therefore began experimenting at his upstate New York health spa with cold cereal as an illness cure; the development of Granula was the outcome of his experiments.
Pebbles is a brand of breakfast cereal introduced in the United States by Post Consumer Brands on October 20, 1971 featuring characters from the animated series The Flintstones as spokestoons. The product line includes Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles.
Honeycomb is a breakfast cereal first released in 1965, owned by Post Holdings. It consists of honey-flavored corn cereal bits in a honeycomb shape.
Honey Bunches of Oats is a breakfast cereal owned by Post Holdings and produced by its subsidiary Post Consumer Brands. Created by lifelong Post employee Vernon J. Herzing by mixing several of Post's cereals together and having his daughter taste them, Honey Bunches of Oats was introduced to markets in 1989 after three years of development. The cereal is made up of three kinds of flakes and oat clusters baked with a hint of honey. It is marketed as a source of whole grain. Other varieties have almonds or fruits added into the mix.
Dorset Cereals is a British manufacturer of breakfast cereals, based in Poole in Dorset, England. The company was founded in 1989 by Terry Crabb and manufactures muesli, porridge, and granola. Its products are exported to more than 70 countries.
Bagrrys India Limited is an Indian multinational FMCG food-manufacturing company which manufactures the high-fiber breakfast cereals and health foods, headquartered in New Delhi, India. The company has two food brands in its portfolio ‘Bagrry's’ and ‘Lawrence Mills’.
most famous quote from the father of modern foraging, the late, great Euell Gibbons, who spoke those words in a Grape Nuts commercial back in the 1970s
Since C.W. Post distributed the first grocery coupon for a penny off his new Grape Nuts cereal in 1895, coupons have grown into a staple in U.S. households
| Post Consumer Brands |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Weetabix Ltd. | ||
| Private brands | ||
| Other | ||
| Former | ||
| Related | ||
