New Product Review:

Strawberry Delight Frosted Mini-Wheats

Reviewed by Mr Breakfast on 2/22/2006

Over the last week, I've taken a box of Strawberry Delight Frosted Mini-Wheats to various homes and apartments to get an idea what people think of the new cereal.

Here's a collection of comments:

"It smells a lot like strawberry Starbursts (candy) - like scratch-and-sniff strawberry."

"The strawberry flavor is very artificial."

"It's super sweet... a lot sweeter than regular Frosted Mini-Wheats."

"The strawberry sugar is very reminiscent of the frosting on a Kellogg's Pop-Tart."

"It tastes like cardboard coated with strawberry Bubblicious (bubble gum)."

"I wouldn't buy it again. It may be the worst cereal I've ever eaten."

"It's kind of like if you poured strawberry milk over original Mini-Wheats... which is something I just wouldn't do."

These comments seem a bit extreme, but the general tone of dissatisfaction with the strawberry flavor was universal. Certainly, the comments might be different if the respondents were talking to a relative or a friend in the comfort of a morning breakfast, as opposed to being confronted by large bald breakfast expert with a box of cereal and a shirt that says "breakfast".

Personally, I don't think this cereal is quite as bad as some of the tasters made it sound. The "strawberry" is certainly more of a candy strawberry flavor than a nature-made berry taste. But let's face it: that's a norm in cereals right now. The freeze-dried strawberry pieces that have appeared in several cereals over the last three years have a more authentic taste. But the Frosted Mini-Wheats people went the other direction. Was it the wrong decision? Probably. I'd like to see them try a more natural approach and see how it goes.

At its core, this is the Frosted Mini-Wheats we know with the same texture. But like a friend on dope, the personality of the cereal becomes unrecognizable when a potent new flavor is added.

Kellogg's used to know the appeal of their original Frosted-Mini Wheats. It was part of their advertising for years. Frosted Mini-Wheats are cereal biscuits that are frosted on side and plain on the other. In the ads, the two sides would talk to each other. One side was silly and the other side was serious. In short, it was a cereal that appealed to people that wanted to eat a seemingly healthy breakfast, but still have some of the kid-like flavor fun that sugar provides. By beating us over the head with the artificial strawberry flavor, they've lost the personality of the original cereal. They've ignored what made Frosted Mini-Wheats special.

The Bottom Line: If you're crazy about artificial strawberry flavor (some of us are), give this a try. Otherwise, skip it. Try original Frosted Mini-Wheats with fresh strawberry pieces. If you have to have flavored Mini-Wheats, go for the superior Maple & Brown Sugar Frosted Mini-Wheats.

The price we paid: $3.99