Corn Pops

Last updated
Corn Pops
Corn Pops logo.svg
Kellogg's Corn POPS - Sweetened Corn Cereal, with milk.jpg
Kellogg's Corn POPS – Sweetened Corn Cereal, with milk
Product type Breakfast cereal
Owner WK Kellogg Co
CountryU.S.
Introduced1950;74 years ago (1950)
Previous owners Kellogg's (1950-2023)
Website kelloggs.com/cornpops

Corn Pops is a puffed grain breakfast cereal made by WK Kellogg Co, described by the company as "crunchy sweetened popped-up corn cereal." The cereal was introduced in 1950 as "Corn Pops". [1] In 1951, the name was changed to "Sugar Corn Pops" [2] and later[ when? ] to "Sugar Pops". It was the sponsor for The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok radio and television show. The name was changed back to 'Sugar Corn Pops' in 1978, and finally returned to 'Corn Pops' in 1984, a time when many cereals dropped the word "sugar" from their titles for marketing reasons. In January 2006, the name of the cereal was changed to 'Pops', but after a few months of poor reception was changed back to Corn Pops.

Contents

In mid-2007, Corn Pops launched its first line extension in many years called "Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops". In 2012, "Cinnamon Corn Pops" were introduced.

Overview

Corn Pops are made from milled corn. Though the name of the cereal is 'Corn' Pops, since January 2004, [3] its ingredients have included wheat starch, essentially making the cereal multigrain. By 2007, coconut oil was added to the US ingredients. [4]

The American version features an irregular, flattened, smooth elliptical, shape; Canadian Corn Pops look very different; they are uniformly spherical and have a porous surface, similar to Kix. The taste and texture of the Canadian and American versions of the cereal differ considerably despite sharing the same name and manufacturer. Kellogg's says this is due to raw ingredients and the regulatory agencies that exist in a particular country, and that its cereal differs by country also by virtue of marketing and culture. Research is done in different countries to determine preferences, and the formula for the cereal is changed accordingly, affecting the texture, color, and nutrition. The fat, cholesterol, and protein content is the same.

Unlike the vast majority of breakfast cereals, Corn Pops in the USA was packaged in a foil-lined bag until the mid-2010s. This helped to prevent the Pops from going stale and from secreting a sticky substance that caused the corn pops to stick together (a problem caused by the method by which the cereal is processed). [5] Honey Smacks, another Kellogg's puffed grain cereal, used the same bag Corn Pops used. However, the Canadian version of Corn Pops had long been packaged in a standard plastic cereal bag, now used for American Pops as well.

Ingredients

Although the cereal contains partially hydrogenated fats, it is marketed as trans-fat free since the amount of trans fat per serving is less than the threshold 0.5 grams/serving. [6] [7] The cereal also contains monoglycerides and diglycerides, used to bind saturated fat, and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a preservative. [8]

Marketing

Mascots and spokespeople

Guy Madison, the star of The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok television show, appeared on the box from 1951 through 1958, occasionally replaced by sidekick Jingles played by Andy Devine. Between 1959 and 1967, the mascot was Woody Woodpecker. The next mascot for the cereal was "Sugar Pop Pete", a prairie dog dressed as a cowboy with two "six-shooters" with red and white spiral-striped barrels. Pete and the other actors in the commercial sang the jingle: "Oh, the Pops are sweeter and the taste is new. They're shot with sugar, through and through... Sugar Pops are tops!" [9] From 1968 to 1977, the mascot was the "Whippersnapper", a live-action, whip-cracking cowboy. 1979-80 introduced the mascot "Big Yella", a cartoon cowboy in a huge yellow ten-gallon hat, yellow chaps, boots, shirt and vest who tried to trade his collection of giant yellow objects for a bowl of Corn Pops. From 1980 to 1983, a porcupine named "Poppy" represented the cereal. Poppy carried around a yellow suitcase which contained a complete breakfast setting, meeting the by-then industry-standard "part of a complete breakfast" tagline. In early 2009, a live actor dressed up as a Corn Pops puff became the new mascot of Corn Pops. Then, in mid-2009, Kellogg's introduced an alternative mascot named the "Sweet Toothasaur", consisting of the upside down bottom half of an actor's face, with a green felt cap with googly eyes and red paper horns on the actor's chin.

Outside the USA

Canada and France

Unlike the American Corn Pops, in Europe and Canada the cereal consists of small, spherical, uniform balls. Both versions are crunchier and have a different taste than the American version. [10]

United Kingdom

In 1993, Corn Pops were introduced in the United Kingdom but by 2004, they were no longer available. The tagline used in the UK was different: "You can't stop a corn popper popping more corn." Corn Pops sponsored UK boy band Take That's 1994 tour, known as "The Pops Tour".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breakfast cereal</span> Processed food made from grain

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cap'n Crunch</span> American breakfast cereal made by the Quaker Oats Company

Cap'n Crunch is a corn and oat breakfast cereal manufactured since 1963 by Quaker Oats Company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo since 2001. Since the original product introduction, marketed simply as Cap'n Crunch, Quaker Oats has since introduced numerous flavors and seasonal variations, some for a limited time—and currently offers a Cap'n Crunch product line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corn flakes</span> Type of breakfast cereal

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Froot Loops</span> Breakfast cereal made by WK Kellogg Co

Froot Loops is a sweetened, fruit-flavored breakfast cereal produced by WK Kellogg Co for the United States, Canadian, and Caribbean markets and Kellanova for the rest of the world. The brand was solely owned by the original Kellogg Company before it spun off its North American cereal division as WK Kellogg Co in late 2023. The fruit-flavored cereal pieces are ring-shaped, with a variety of bright colors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frosted Flakes</span> WK Kellogg Co brand of sugar-coated corn flakes

Frosted Flakes or Frosties is a breakfast cereal, produced by WK Kellogg Co for the United States, Canada, and Caribbean markets and by Kellanova for the rest of the world, and consisting of sugar-coated corn flakes. It was introduced in the United States, in 1952, as "Sugar Frosted Flakes". The word "sugar" was dropped from the name in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple Jacks</span> Breakfast cereal made by WK Kellogg Co

Apple Jacks is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is produced by both successors to the original Kellogg's—WK Kellogg Co in the United States, Canadian, and Caribbean markets and Kellanova in the rest of the world. It was introduced to the U.S. as "Apple O's" in 1965 after being invented by college intern William Thilly. In 1971 the name "Apple Jacks" was put into action by advertisers. The product is described by Kellogg's as a "crunchy, sweetened multi-grain cereal with apple and cinnamon." Apple Jacks is one of the top four cereal brands marketed within stores and is most heavily marketed on Kellogg's internet platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crispix</span> Breakfast cereal made by WK Kellogg Co

Crispix is a brand of breakfast cereal, introduced by Kellogg's in 1983. It was created specifically to compete with Ralston Purina's Chex family of cereals, which had about $125 million in annual sales and no significant competition. By 1987, Crispix had sales of about $65 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice Krispies</span> Breakfast cereal made by WK Kellogg Co and Kellanova

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinnamon Toast Crunch</span> General Mills breakfast cereal

Cinnamon Toast Crunch (CTC), known as Croque-Cannelle in French Canada and Curiously Cinnamon in the UK, and as a variant called Cini Minis in other European and Latin American countries, is a brand of breakfast cereal produced by General Mills and Nestlé. First produced in 1984, the cereal aims to provide the taste of cinnamon toast in a crunch cereal format. The cereal consists of small squares or rectangles of wheat and rice covered with cinnamon and sugar. The cereal is puffed and when immersed in milk, it makes a "snap" noise, similar to Rice Krispies. In most European countries and North America, the product is sold in boxes, but in Poland and Russia the cereal is sold in bags. The product was originally marketed outside Europe with the mascot of a jolly baker named Wendell. Wendell was replaced as a mascot by the "Crazy Squares", sentient Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares that often eat each other in commercials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trix (cereal)</span> Breakfast cereal made by General Mills

Trix is an American brand of breakfast cereal made by General Mills in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the North American market and by Cereal Partners elsewhere in the world. The cereal consists of fruit-flavored, sweetened, ground-corn pieces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quisp</span> Cereal brand, and name of its mascot

Quisp is a sugar-sweetened breakfast cereal from the Quaker Oats Company. It was introduced in 1965 and continued as a mass-market grocery item until the late 1970s. Subsequently, the Quaker Oats Company marketed Quisp sporadically, and with the advent of the Internet, began selling it primarily online. Quisp made its return to supermarkets as a mass-market grocery item in late 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony the Tiger</span> American advertising cartoon mascot

Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon anthropomorphic tiger mascot for Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. After the original Kellogg Company spun off its North American cereal business in late 2023, the mascot is owned by WK Kellogg Co in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean markets and by Kellanova in the rest of the world. Tony has also been the mascot for related cereals such as Tony's Cinnamon Krunchers and Tiger Power. Since Tony's debut in 1952, the character has spanned several generations and has become a breakfast cereal icon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honey Smacks</span> Breakfast cereal made by Kelloggs

Honey Smacks is a sweetened puffed wheat breakfast cereal made by Kellogg's, noted for its high sugar content. It was introduced in the early 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Crisp</span> Breakfast cereal made by Post Cereals

Golden Crisp, also known as Sugar Crisp in Canada, is a brand of breakfast cereal made by Post Consumer Brands that consists of sweetened, candy-coated puffed wheat and is noted for its high sugar content. It was introduced in the United States in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puffed grain</span> Type of food

Puffed grains are grains that have been expanded ("puffed") through processing. They have been made for centuries with the simplest methods like popping popcorn. Modern puffed grains are often created using high temperature, pressure, or extrusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honeycomb (cereal)</span> Breakfast cereal made by Post

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eggo Cereal</span> Breakfast cereal made by WK Kellogg Co

Eggo Cereal is a multigrain breakfast cereal introduced in 2006 and reintroduced in 2019. It is manufactured by WK Kellogg Co, a spin-out of Kellogg's. It resembles Eggo waffles, a brand of frozen waffles produced by Kellanova and shares much of the same branding.

Mini Swirlz was a brand of frosted cereal produced by the Kellogg Company. The first flavor, Cinnamon Bun, was introduced in 2005, and was successful enough that two temporary flavors followed, Fudge Ripple and Peanut Butter. The cereal was made mainly with sweetened cornmeal, whole oat grain, and whole wheat grain, with a flavored topping that corresponds to the variety. The pieces in each version are shaped to resemble cinnamon buns. In 2009 Mini Swirlz was discontinued by Kellogg's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nesquik</span> Brand of products made by Nestlé

Nesquik is a brand of food products made by Swiss company Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a drink mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestlé Quik in the United States; this was released in Europe during the 1950s as Nesquik.

References

  1. Advertisements for Kellogg's Corn Pops exist in newspapers published in 1950 including the Long Beach Independent May 5, 1950, Long Beach, California and Bakersfield Californian, May 10, 1950, Bakersfield, California.
  2. In the beginning of the December 16, 1951 episode "Wheels of Doom" of the radio show The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, Andy Devine noted the new name change to Sugar Corn Pops.
  3. "Kellogs Corn Pops (WHEAT ALERT)".
  4. "InteliHealth". Archived from the original on 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  5. "The Straight Dope Mailbag: The Straight Dope Mailbag: Why do Corn Pops come in a silver bag?". www.straightdope.com. Archived from the original on 2000-04-08.
  6. "Kellogg Canada Inc. - Products". Archived from the original on 2003-07-14. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  7. "Kellogg's". Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  8. 24/7 Wall St. Ten Brands That Will Disappear In 2012, 24/7 Wall St., 22-07-2011, access date 28-12-2011
  9. Dotz, Warren; Morton, Jim (1996). What a Character! 20th Century American Advertising Icons. Chronicle Books. p. 106. ISBN   0-8118-0936-6.
  10. "Review: Corn Pops Cereal (American vs. Canadian) - Cerealously". 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2022-05-02.