Honeycomb (cereal)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Honeycomb is a breakfast cereal that has been made since 1965 by Post Cereals. It consists of honey-flavored corn cereal bits in a honeycomb shape, and is wheat free. At the end of 2006, Post changed the formula for this popular brand of cereal in order to improve its health content. This change, although tested by Post beforehand to positive reviews, had received mainly negative reviews from consumers.

Following this public outrage, in March 2007, Kraft Foods introduced a new "Improved Taste" version of the cereal, that, the company claimed, would improve "the cereal's taste, texture and appearance while incorporating key nutritional benefits to the product." This was set forth in a letter that was sent to many of the consumers who had complained to Kraft during the early months of 2007. The letter accompanied, in many instances, a complimentary box of the newly reworked Honeycomb.

Two additional variations have also been created, Strawberry Blasted Honeycomb, which has added strawberry flavoring and Chocolate Honeycombs which add a chocolate flavoring to the pieces.

Contents

[edit] Advertising and marketing

Originally, the animated Honeycomb Kid[1] was the cereal's mascot and its jingle was borrowed from the song "Honeycomb" which was a 1957 hit for Jimmie Rodgers.
During the 1980s, television commercials featured a string of visitors to a clubhouse called the Honeycomb Hideout. The visitor would arrive, initially hostile, and exclaim a need for a "big" taste. The kids in the clubhouse would introduce the visitor to the cereal, winning the visitor over, examining the size of the cereal bits with a tape measurer and singing the jingle:

Honeycomb's big,
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's not small,
No, no, no.
Honeycomb's got
A big, big taste.
A big, big crunch
For a big, big bite!

Its mascot became Crazy Craving in 1995, a wild-haired character of an unknown yet rodentesque species that rabidly craves Honeycomb cereal and whom children in the commercials regularly transform into. Unlike many other cereal mascots, Crazy Craving is actually able to obtain the cereal. Crazy Craving is the cereal's current mascot. Prior to Crazy Craving, the cereal's former mascot had been The Honeycomb Kid.

[edit] Honeycomb Hideout

The Honeycomb Hideout is a fictional clubhouse used in American television promotion of Honeycomb cereal during the 1970s and 1980s. The shack was about 8 ft by 8 ft in size and built of scrap lumber. At the Honeycomb Hideout, neighborhood kids would gather, typically two boys and two girls, with the main activity centered on eating Honeycomb cereal. The Honeycomb Hideout was home to a robot. In later commercials, the Hideout would be terrorized by threatening musclemen (the most notorious of them being André the Giant), who would invariably proclaim "My name is big ____, and I want a big cereal!" and attempt to rob the Honeycomb Hideout but would become more amiable after being fed cereal. At some point, the kids would break out into the signature song:

"Honeycomb's big...yeah yeah yeah! It's not small...no no no! Honeycomb's got...a big big bite! Big big taste in a big big bite!"

During the 1980s, a club for children existed. It was titled the Honeycomb Hideout Club in which members received badges, membership cards and the like.

[edit] Bernard, the bee boy

A more recent commercial introduces Bernard, the boy who was raised by bees. He is found and attempted to be socialized. Although he had clearly been a feral child, he apparently can't argue the fact that he is a 'bee' not a 'boy,' but he enjoys honeycombs. In a later commercial, a man gives a safari-like tour for the bee boy, luring him with honeycombs.

[edit] Ingredients

As per the product's ingredient list, it is made of: CORN FLOUR AND BRAN BLEND (CORN FLOUR, WHOLE GRAIN CORN FLOUR, CORN BRAN), SUGAR, WHOLE GRAIN OAT FLOUR, HONEY, SALT, YELLOW 5, BHT ADDED TO PACKAGING MATERIAL TO PRESERVE PRODUCT FRESHNESS. VITAMINS & MINERALS: NIACINAMIDE (B VITAMIN), REDUCED IRON, ZINC OXIDE (SOURCE OF ZINC), VITAMIN B6, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), FOLIC ACID (B VITAMIN), VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D.

Recently, "Bran Blend," defined as whole grain corn flour and corn bran, has been added to the ingredient list. This has tripled the fiber content (from originally 1g to 3g per serving) and put the cereal in Kraft's Sensible Solution program.

Aficionados of Honeycomb cereal were able to immediately taste the difference. Post registered many calls of complaints from Honeycomb fans after the change[citation needed]. While many Honeycomb fans have been assuaged with the following change, some insist the original flavor is superior.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links