General Mills Begs Millennials to Pretty Please Eat Cereal Again by Bringing Back ’80s Formulas

The “retro recipes” aim to lure 80s kids back to cereal with nostalgia, and artificial colors

Cereal was one of the first things millennials murdered on their endless killing spree into adulthood. Either they were too enamored with avocado toast, too put off by the sugar, or too busy to eat breakfast at all. For a while major cereal brands tried to appeal to their health-conscious tastes by removing artificial ingredients, but that didn’t work, so now General Mills is reversing course. The company is rereleasing Trix, Golden Grahams, Cookie Crisp and Cocoa Puffs with a “permanent return of the 80s taste.”

In a press release, Jennifer Jorgensen, vice president of marketing for General Mills cereal said “Our fans crave a taste of nostalgia — and, while these four cereals have always remained popular, we’ve answered their requests and brought back the taste they remember from childhood.” With these new old recipes, Trix will go back to having wacky fruit shapes, Golden Grahams will again be made with actual honey, and Cookie Crisp and Cocoa Puffs will have more “chocolate taste,” whatever that entails. Food Dive notes that millennials are increasingly driven by nostalgia as they round into middle age. Extra-sugary Trix — along with General Mill’s upcoming partnership with Saved by the Bell’s Mario Lopez — is as good a distraction as any for the fact that they’ll never be able to afford to retire.

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