[Bigtime]

http://www.economist.com/news/busine...es-soggy-sales

IN RECENT years breakfast cereals seem to have lost their snap, crackle and pop. Many contain things that anxious consumers shun, from carbohydrates and gluten to artificial flavours and genetically modified (GM) grain. Add to this a rising disdain for big brands and adoration of small, “authentic” ones, and large cereal-makers have been suffering soggy sales. The market for “ready-to-eat” cereals shrank by 9% in America between 2012 and 2015, according to Euromonitor, a data firm. In Britain, the second-biggest cereal market, sales fell by 6%.

cereal-makers can take comfort that at least some brands are still thriving. Sales of Kellogg’s Froot Loops and General Mills’ Cinnamon Toast Crunch have risen in recent years