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Kellogg's Froot Loops, 2020 (figure 1)

The scrumptious and sugar-loaded breakfast cereal of Kellogg's "Froot Loops" has been one of my favourites ever since my childhood. With its rainbow "o" shaped cereal bits and its iconic mascot and packaging, its taste is associated with good memories of the past.

According to Snack History, "Froot Loops" was once "Fruit Loops" when it first debuted in 1959. Kellogg's changed its name after receiving a lawsuit claiming that "Fruit Loops" deceived customers into thinking the cereal was made with real fruit. With the name change in 1963, the new brand of Froot Loops became a worldwide known cereal and is still relevant today, almost 50 years later ("Snack History"). The colourful packaging and branding of Froot Loops is a main contributor in its success as it serves as a link to childhood where life was exciting while chomping on some rainbow cereal bits.

Froot Loops 1963

Toucan Sam, packaging from the 1960s/ 1963 (figure 2)

The vibrant and rainbow colours of the box are the first element to catch people's attention. In the past versions of the packaging (figure 2), the box displays an eye-catching and soft colour scheme. It shows the classic 3 colours and flavours of the "o" bits consisting of red for cherry, yellow for lemon and orange for orange, as well as their mascot, Toucan Sam (Snack History). It looks drastically different than present-day Froot Loops packaging (figure 1) where the bright red background of the cereal box is an instant emphasis point when walking down the grocery store isles.

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Canadian Froot Loops, 2020 (figure 3)

The box I purchased (figure 3) displays Toucan Sam smiling while the Froot Loops magically fly around him; this communicates the alluring and visual feeling of what it is like to eat Froot Loops. This makes customers want to purchase it and see for themselves if Froot Loops taste the same way the packaging promotes. Without the exciting graphic design, the cereal could not and would not be able to sell against its competition. The more colourful, the better; the design aims to exaggerate the sweet taste the cereal's fruity taste.

The iconic Froot Loops mascot, Toucan Sam, is an important and vital part of the rebranding. The original character of Toucan Sam was designed by Manuel R. Vega ("Snack History"). In the packaging from the 1960s (figure 2), the aesthetic and feeling of Toucan Sam are softer and calmer. In contrast, today's Toucan Sam is more animated and expressive featuring more human-like features (wings turned into human-like arms) and a wide, open smile (Johnson). It's colourful packaging targets the younger audiences; despite this, many young adults love the cereal because of Froot Loops's successful integration with breakfast when they were young. Kellogg's Froot Loops has done a positive job at intergrading design elements such as colour and relating it to childhood, a time where things were more peaceful and exciting. Thus, making Kellogg's cereals, Froot Loops and more, desired by a wide audience range of ages for the taste, nostalgia and experiences.

Work Cited

"Froot Loops Cereal."Snack History, www.snackhistory.com/froot-loops-cereal.

Johnson, Joshua. "Then and Now: The Evolution of Cereal Mascots."Design Shack, Design Shack, 15 Sept. 2011, designshack.net/articles/graphics/then-and-now-the-evolution-of-cereal-mascots/.

"Kellogg's Froot Loops Cereal."Froot Loops® | Whatever Froots Your Loops | Kellogg's Froot Loops, www.frootloops.com/en_US/home.html.