For Frosted Flakes, the road to success is paved with chocolate and cinnamon.
First there were traditional Frosted Flakes. Last year, a cinnamon version debuted. And Chocolate Frosted Flakes are next on the list, coming in November. Cinnamon, followed by chocolate, were the top two flavors fans were asking for, says Brad Schwan, senior director of marketing for Kellogg's morning foods division.
Frosted Flakes appears to be doing well despite the soggy overall ready-to-eat cereal category. It has posted its highest growth in more than three years, says Schwan. While he wouldn't quantify just how well Cinnamon Frosted Flakes have done in their first year, Schwan calls them "the category's largest innovation in the last year in terms of market share."
Chocolate Frosted Flakes hit stores next month, with marketing to begin running in January that shows Tony the Tiger and will include video, digital, and social. Kellogg's U.S. media spending on Frosted Flakes fell 17 percent to nearly $29.9 million in 2016, according to the Ad Age Datacenter. But on an August conference call, Kellogg executives said Frosted Flakes, along with another "taste-oriented" brand, Froot Loops, would keep getting marketing support.
The target consumers of Chocolate Frosted Flakes are dads and 9- to-14-year-olds. Consumption of the brand is pretty much split evenly between kids and adults, he says.
Wait, your taste buds might say. Aren't Chocolate Frosted Flakes already a thing? Yes, Chocolate Frosted Flakes with marshmallows are already out, but those are a limited-time deal. Or you might be thinking of Choco Zucaritas, which were developed for Latin America and have more of a dark chocolate taste than the new Chocolate Frosted Flakes. These ones have a "chocolatey frosting … for the U.S. market's taste preference which favors more milk chocolate notes," says Schwan.
