Breakfast Cereal Companies Need To Grapple With Some Key Factors Dampening Their Sales

Market researcher Rabobank says five key factors are contributing to the nationwide slide in breakfast cereal consumption. At the top of the list is the trend toward eating breakfast out, followed closely by the trend toward snacking – “snackfast – as Americans seek convenience and portability. Other factors contributing to the problem: the growing popularity of protein-packed yogurt; the perception among nutrition-conscious consumers that cereals contain added sugars and are heavily marketed to children; and the realization that a declining birth rate is eroding a key market demographic: kids. Cereal companies need to pursue new strategies to keep up, Rabobank says: focus on innovation and spend more money on healthy ingredients.