Cap'n Crunch Cereal Forced into Retirement

Cap'n Crunch, once the top choice for breakfast cereal, is going to disappear. According to DailyFinance, Quaker is no longer actively marketing the cereal.

Just one serving of the cereal contains a whopping 12 grams of sugar -- a fact that has driven health activists and the White House to make some changes. A year ago, PepsiCo, Quaker's parent company, said it would "reduce added sugar per serving by 25 percent and saturated fat by 15 percent in its products over the next ten years." Already, sales of the Cap'n Crunch cereal were down in 2010 by 6.8 percent.

Jennifer Harris, of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, said "PepsiCo is no longer marketing Cap'n Crunch cereal directly to children. In a sense, you could say that they have retired Cap'n Crunch, and that's a good thing."

Let's hope that other cereals that are excessively high in sugar content follow suit.

According to research by the Rudd Center, when compared to cereals adults eat, "children's cereals contain 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber and 60 percent more sodium."

While parents can most directly impact what their children eat, winning the battle against advertising on television can be tough, especially with a screaming child by your side. The fact that PepsiCo has decided to stop marketing Cap'n Crunch cereal is definitely a step in the right direction, toward healthier eating habits in children.

Comments: 4

Paul Nealy Mar 10, 2011, 6:10pm UTC

You should check your sources more carefully. Your article does not cite anyone at Quaker, but the columnist actually contacted Quaker for the this article: http://adage.com/article/news/cap-n-crunch-quaker-oats-cereal-icon-staying-put/149318/

Lisa Jaklitsch Mar 10, 2011, 7:04pm UTC

Actually, my sources are fine. Both of our articles are correct. Cap,n Crunch, as states is "going into a retirement of sorts" meaning, while the cereal will still be around, there won't be nearly as much emphasis toward the advertisement of this particular cereal towards children, specifically. Thanks for your article.

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Kolton Mayberry Apr 6, 2011, 12:28pm UTC

Quaker was cited as saying the opposite, Lisa.

"No, Cap'n Crunch is not retiring, lost at sea or anything like it. He's here to stay, says Quaker Oats, responding to rumors that the PepsiCo unit was doing away with the sugary-cereal icon. "

"Reports of Cap'n Crunch's demise are greatly exaggerated," Quaker said in a statement to Ad Age. "In fact, we just launched an official Facebook page for Cap'n Crunch. Now that our Cap'n Crunch brand is in the social-media space, our adult consumers can stay up to date on all things Cap'n Crunch."

It's true that the Cap'n is not on Quaker's umbrella site, which lists multiple brands. The company said: "Quaker has a very large and diverse product portfolio, and not all of our brands are featured on the quakeroats.com website. ... Consumers are more apt to search for information by the brand vs. the parent company."

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Richard Smith Jun 12, 2011, 5:30pm UTC

Here's my two cents: the article stated, "Jennifer Harris of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, said "PepsiCo is no longer marketing Cap'n Crunch cereal directly to children. In a sense, you could say that they have retired Cap'n Crunch, and that's a good thing." I don't believe Lisa said that Cap'n Crunch is disappearing altogether...it's only "in a sense" that you could say that. They are merely advertising to parents more than children now. In fact, it is illegal for someone under the age of 13 to have a Facebook page, so that bit of info just backs up my previous statement. And honestly, does anyone actually need a quote from Quaker...we can see the evidence with our own eyes rather than having to hear it from a biased spokesperson from a company.

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Cap'n Crunch Cereal Forced into Retirement

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