Product 19 was a breakfast cereal made by Kellogg's. Introduced in 1967, it consisted of lightly sweetened flakes made of corn, oats, wheat, and rice, marketed as containing all required daily vitamins and iron. The product was discontinued in 2016.
Origin of name
editThe name has been explained in two ways: as the 19th version of the cereal or Kellogg's 19th product in development that year.[1][2]
Product history and marketing
editKellogg's introduced Product 19 in 1967 in response to General Mills' Total, which claimed to contain the entire daily nutritional requirement of vitamins and minerals.[2] Like Total, Product 19 was fortified with the US recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals.[3] Unlike Total, Product 19 was a multi-grain cereal. It was packaged in a relatively plain red and white box, originally with charts and text, and was marketed to older consumers and the health-conscious.[2] The original slogan was "Instant Nutrition - New cereal food created especially for working mothers, otherwise busy mothers and everybody in a hurry."
In the early 1970s, advertising for Product 19 featured the former American football player, Tom Harmon. Towards the end, boxes depicted a person doing yoga.[2] Within Kellogg's range of cereals, it was targeted to customers seeking to lose weight.[4] In response to lackluster sales, Kellogg's limited distribution of Product 19 in the 2010s, and announced in 2016 that it had been discontinued.[2]
References
edit- ^ Bruce, Scott; Crawford, Bill (1995). Cerealizing America: The Unsweetened Story of American Breakfast Cereal. Boston: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-19851-1.
- ^ a b c d e Grundhauser, Eric (November 7, 2016). "The Long Death of Product 19, the Most Beloved Cereal You've Never Heard Of". Atlas Obscura.
- ^ Warner, Melanie (2013). Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal. New York: Scribner. p. 71. ISBN 9781451666731.
Product 19 cereal.
- ^ Michman, Ronald D.; Mazze, Edward M. (1998). The Food Industry Wars: Marketing Triumphs and Blunders. Westport, Connecticut: Quorum. pp. 114, 124. ISBN 9781429473064.
Product 19 cereal.
External links
edit- "Kellogg's Product 19 Cereal". Archived from the original on May 7, 2016.
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