Milk and cereal is usually a sacrosanct breakfast combination that most wouldn't dare or even want to mess with. A long-running internet joke calls filling one's morning cereal with beer or soda a metaphor for one's failed choices in life.
Even so, the PepsiCo (PEP)-owned juice brand Tropicana is trying its luck with a product that asks people to put something other than milk in their cereal.
This Cereal Is Not Meant For Milk
You heard that right. To celebrate National Orange Juice Day on May 4, Tropicana is launching a cereal meant to be mixed with OJ instead of milk. Tropicana Crunch is a granola-based cereal with whiffs of almond and honey.
But more importantly, the granola base makes it sturdier and better suited to withstand the acid from the citrus that, if eaten as intended, will soak into and soften the cereal pieces when you pour orange juice over it for your morning breakfast.
The optimistic-sounding motto is "sip your sunshine and eat it, too."
Tropicana
Prior to launching the new cereal, Tropicana asked over 1,000 adults whether they ever put orange juice into their breakfast cereal to confirm earlier findings that 15 million Americans already had — while that number is just a few percent of the national population, Tropicana decided that a "made for OJ" cereal could tap into an underserved market.
"Half of the adults who poured OJ over their cereal did so because they thought it looked like it would taste good and more than 1 in 3 (36%) who tried it did so because they love OJ and thought it would be a good combination," Tropicana said in its announcement of Tropicana Crunch.
The product will not be for sale but available on TropicanaCrunch.com (go on the site to get a box for free while supplies last) from May 4.
Growing Market or Marketing Opportunity?
Breakfast cereal, particularly the sugary ones, are for many people now a nostalgic experience that can bring back memories of childhood.
This nostalgia is a powerful marketing opportunity that Tropicana is far from the only brand to seize upon. Just this week, Krispy Kreme (DNUT) released three donuts with the flavor of classic childhood cereal Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
These types of "they combined what?!" products are often designed not to drive sales but specifically as a marketing strategy meant to get people talking about the company. Under Tropicana's Instagram posts, people are already arguing about whether orange juice is a fit for cereal.
In this case, the product isn't for sale but a limited-edition release that will be sent out to those who want to try it.
"These are part of a long tradition of companies creating new, slightly outrageous, fast food and snack food combinations – more cheese, more meat, more layers," food historian Ashley Rose Young told BBC in 2019.
Tropicana is the first to admit that the cereal is meant to get people talking about its juices (and, of course, the question of whether putting orange juice in your cereal is genius or deranged.)
"Whether you loved it or loathed it, at least you can say you tried it, and we’re asking consumers to share their thoughts once they’ve put it to the test using #TropicanaCrunch and tagging @Tropicana_Juices on Instagram or @Tropicana on TikTok," the company said.
