When we talk about our childhood, there’s something deeply personal about cereal. Maybe it’s the memory when mom would let us pick one from the grocery store. Or maybe it’s the prizes that we’re our earliest forms of blind boxes. Whatever reason it was, we all mourned when they left the shelves (even as an adult). Let’s take a trip down memory lane as we remember the simple times through these 10 discontinued breakfast cereals.
10. Morning Funnies
This one’s for the kids of the ’80s. This short-lived cereal was the morning paper of kids, as it used to feature familiar comic strips that you could enjoy reading while eating your breakfast. There were these colorful cereals with marshmallows in them. Sadly, they flew off the shelves a few years later due to low sales and parents not liking their high sugar content.
9. Nintendo Cereal System
This dual-cereal box contained two separate bags: one with Super Mario Bros.-themed pieces and another with The Legend of Zelda pieces. Each side had distinct flavors and shapes related to the games. The box itself was designed like a Nintendo game package, which was every kid’s Christmas wish. It was pure marketing genius that actually delivered on taste and fun, as it looks like you’re choosing which game to “play.”
8. Ice Cream Cones Cereal
This ‘80s cereal was our excuse to have “ice cream” for breakfast. They come in two flavors of vanilla and chocolate chip, in ice cream cone-shaped pieces. Yup, it’s actually a replica of an ice cream that we begged mom to get on the way home from school. Sadly, the cereal didn’t even last for a year as it flew off the shelves quickly.
7. Mr. T Cereal
Way before the kids of Cap’n Crunch, there used to be Mr. T’s cereal, which tasted exactly like it. The cereal mascot is easily recognizable as it’s the cartoonized version of the wrestler. It features corn and oat pieces with a crunch that channeled Mr. T’s attitude. Sadly, they were discontinued in 1993. But don’t worry, you can always grab a box of Cap’n Crunch when you miss that familiar taste.
6. Crazy Cow Cereal
This cereal is for the ’70s kids who can’t get enough of strawberry and chocolate flavors. Yup, they come in two varieties, and they were completely revolutionary at their time, as they could change the color of the milk. It’s because of the powder from the round pellets. It was discontinued in the ’80s as it only existed in General Mills’ graveyard of discontinued cereals.
5. OJ’s Cereal
Remember those TV commercials that pair cereals with orange juice? Yup, mom never let us have them for sugar rush reasons. With that, Kellogg’s released the OJ’s in 1985 as a solution that parents would approve of and kids would love. They’re said to contain all the vitamin C kids could get from a 4-ounce glass of orange juice. It also has a citrus taste that would remind you of the fruit-flavored juice. However, they were pulled off the shelves quickly enough by 1986.
4. Ghostbusters Cereal
Released alongside the original Ghostbusters movie, this cereal featured marshmallow ghosts that would “turn” your milk green, just like the slime in the movies. The regular pieces were shaped like the Ghostbusters logo, and the whole experience felt like being part of the movie. The color-changing milk was probably the most exciting thing and one that we can remember until now. Sadly, they were discontinued by the 1990s.
3. King Vitaman Cereal
This cereal has a recent discontinuation in 2019 after it was first released in 1968. King Vitaman was marketed as a nutritious option featuring a king. They were lemon-flavored corn pieces, loved by kids for their tart and sweet taste. While many may have been familiar, it didn’t receive the mainstream popularity it deserved after running for decades.
2. Sprinkle Spangles
This short-lived cereal from the mid-’90s featured frosted corn and oat pieces covered in colorful sprinkles that looked exactly like birthday cake decorations. Each spoonful was like eating a birthday cake, with the sprinkles and sweetness against a grain base. One of its notable features is the cereal turning the milk into rainbow-colored magic, but it disappeared too soon, leaving behind only memories and the occasional blurry commercial on YouTube.
1. Pac-Man Cereal
We’ve come a long way since Pac-Man, but the character has been ingrained in pop culture. Part of its popularity during its heyday was the Pac-Man cereal from 1983. It features a yellow corn cereal that resembles the character. There are also marshmallows in the shapes of his favorite things that he likes to eat, such as Blinky and Clyde. They flew off the shelves by 1988, when more “advanced” games started to emerge.