46 replies to this topic

[Judyin Philly]

I can't remember which one i saw but one of the gluten-free ones has peanut flour in it
Judy

[FMcGee]

Sigh. Are there any good, reasonably inexpensive, reasonably healthy cereals out there? I'm not into Kix and coco puffs and that kind of thing (cinnamon Chex is about as far down that path as I'll go) but I can't afford EnviroKids all the time either.

[taweavmo3]

I would love to know thier manufacturing process too.....as for us, we aren't buying any more. My dd was acting glutened for weeks, and I could not figure it out. I finally just quit buying Chex all together, even the Rice Chex that I thought she was fine with at first.

She has been her old self again, it's so nice to have my sweet little girl back! I do think it was the Chex, it was the only thing I cut out of our diet, and I waited forever to do it b/c I thought for sure that couldn't the culprit. She is now eating other whole grains just fine, which I originally thought was the problem instead of the cereal itself. So, I don't hink you are crazy for thinking it's the Chex!!!

[Judyin Philly]

I thought they said that they had dedicated lines and a room just for the gluten-free cereals b/c that's what the people wrote and said they wanted
I'll try to find the article i read.
found this article just now but guess it didn't address the cc issue
does anyone know if they wrote this somewhere else?
shoot........know i read it some where.

[Social Media Allows Giants to Exploit Niche Markets

General Mills No Longer Needs Huge Budgets to Talk to Specific Segments
By Emily Bryson York

Published: July 13, 2009

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- The package-goods model has always been a no-brainer: Create a mass-appeal product; distribute it nationally; stoke demand with big-budget, shotgun-style advertising to spray the widest possible market; and hope sales hit the magical $100 million first-year benchmark.


HOT TOPIC: News of product spread fast.
But in this age of personalized web pages, super-sophisticated direct marketing and social-media tools that allow like-minded consumers to share and promote products, that traditional model is evolving at major marketers like General Mills. The $14.7 billion package-goods giant is now offering gluten-free baking products aimed at the 2% of the population with Celiac disease (which is characterized by an intolerance to gluten), and the additional 10% interested in avoiding gluten -- a niche the industry would once have dismissed as too small to target profitably.

"The classic new-product-development model was all around finding costs to pay for TV advertising," said Ann Simonds, General Mills' president-baking. But while TV is still the best way to generate mass trial and awareness, it's "not the only way anymore." Especially to reach consumers who require gluten-free foods, who are, of necessity, savvy social networkers.

But it's not just 88-year-old Betty Crocker adopting a more forward-thinking marketing recipe when it comes to package foods. Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert said the major industry players aren't just looking to develop billion-dollar brands anymore. "Just like fragmentation of TV viewing, we're seeing the same thing on supermarket shelves," he said. "It's not just about coming up with a product and selling a $1 billion or $100 million. They have to carve out these niches that very own-able and brand reliant." He added that package-food companies have grown increasingly responsive to consumer requests, removing high-fructose corn syrup, antibiotics and growth hormones whenever it makes financial sense.

Moreover, in many cases, package-goods players are developing their own niche products rather than relying on the old model of waiting to see if an upstart niche brand will be successful and then snatching it up, much like Coca-Cola did when it purchased the now-mass Vitaminwater. "For a while, the larger companies said, 'We'll let someone else do it, and then buy them if they're any good,'" said Bill Bishop, chairman of consulting group Willard Bishop. "Now it's become evident that you give up too much in opportunity by letting it get developed by the smaller players."

More variety
But what about the second key ingredient to product success, mass distribution? After all, gluten-free products would appear to run counter to the trend of retailers decreasing their product assortment counts 15% or more. But Mr. Bishop said stores are really shedding duplication, such as dozens of kinds of olive oil, and that frees up room for new products that target a need.

"What we're finding is the stores aren't really getting smaller; the retailers are saying, 'We're going to take the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 brands and our store brands, and that's it,'" Mr. Lempert said. "So there's more shelf space available than a year ago, and it allows for more [varieties] of the No. 1, No. 2 and probably No. 3 brands and store brands."

In the past year, gluten-free baking products became the most consumer-requested item at General Mills, a fact Ms. Simonds said was partly gleaned from social media as the company has more and deeper conversations with consumers. What was once a call to the consumer hot line or a two-paragraph letter is now an in-depth conversation about feelings and need states.

"The combination of talking to our own employees who have this challenge and the consumer requests we've been receiving -- the number there were, their depth and the passion -- was really compelling," Ms. Simonds said. "The fact that it happens to be a niche or smaller group of people than we traditionally serve didn't faze us, because we have this vehicle in the internet that allows us to reach those folks."

General Mills launched a gluten-free version of Chex cereal last year, and gluten-free Betty Crocker baking mixes hit the shelves last month. The platform is launching with mixes for chocolate-chip cookies, brownies, devil's food cake and yellow cake.

Passionate interest
Dena Larson, marketing manager-baking products at General Mills, said while consumers with Celiac disease are a small percentage of the population, they are well-connected. She said rumors that General Mills was developing gluten-free baking products spread across Twitter like wildfire.

Since the audience was already clamoring for gluten-free news, General Mills knew consumers would carry the message. "We felt that this was a product that was going to be marketed almost entirely digitally," said Kelli Ask, interactive-marketing manager at General Mills. "We knew this was a group of very passionate consumers, always talking to each other and looking for solutions."

The company has partnered with the major Celiac disease foundations, and invested in search-engine optimization. That's a logical move, since Ms. Ask said once a person gets a Celiac diagnosis, "the first thing they do is turn to the search engine to figure out what they can eat." And when they do, "We want them to enter 'gluten-free' or 'Celiac' and be directed to our website."


Advertizing Age Mag.

[dilettantesteph]

Gluten free doesn't mean absolutely no gluten. It just means under some certain amount. Soon to be set at 20 ppm, I think. Some of us might be sensitive to smaller amounts. That might have something to do with why the gluten free amount is set to under 5 ppm in Australia and New Zealand.
When I ate rice chex I seemed to get a gluten reaction too.

[Glutenfreefamily]

I have ate two boxes of the honey nut gluten free without a problem. My reaction is pretty obvious too that is distinctive to gluten. I havent tried the cinnamon yet as we dont eat milk.

[larry mac]

I rotate between the rice, corn, and honey nut every morning now for months. Have also had the strawberry, chocolate, and cinnamon. Haven't had any problems with any of 'em.

best regards, lm

[Ahorsesoul]

When this topic of problems with the Cinnamon Chex posted I thought to myself, "well, they don't bother me". But then I got to thinking I'd only eaten the Rice and Honey Nut gluten-free cereal.

So last week, being out of cereal, I pull out the Cinnamon Chex that said gluten free across the front. I've eaten it three different times within the last week. Once in early morning, once late afternoon and now today about 30 minutes ago.

I can hardly keep my eyes open. I was fine when I got up this morning, filled with energy and ready to go. Have had great sleep habits for several weeks. I figured it was a good time to check the chex.

All three time I've become overly tired when eating the Cinnamon Chex. Next I'll make something with cinnamon, probably Crock-pot pumpkin pudding to see if it's the cinnamon making me tired. This is the recipe I use. I just substitute my gluten free flour for the Bisquick. I've never noticed before getting this tired after eating cinnamon.
http://myallrecipes....umpkin-pudding/

[msmini14]

When this topic of problems with the Cinnamon Chex posted I thought to myself, "well, they don't bother me". But then I got to thinking I'd only eaten the Rice and Honey Nut gluten-free cereal.

So last week, being out of cereal, I pull out the Cinnamon Chex that said gluten free across the front. I've eaten it three different times within the last week. Once in early morning, once late afternoon and now today about 30 minutes ago.

I can hardly keep my eyes open. I was fine when I got up this morning, filled with energy and ready to go. Have had great sleep habits for several weeks. I figured it was a good time to check the chex.

All three time I've become overly tired when eating the Cinnamon Chex. Next I'll make something with cinnamon, probably Crock-pot pumpkin pudding to see if it's the cinnamon making me tired. This is the recipe I use. I just substitute my gluten free flour for the Bisquick. I've never noticed before getting this tired after eating cinnamon.
http://myallrecipes....umpkin-pudding/

mmm the pumpkin pudding sounds really good. Can I use soy instead of the milk? I eat pumpkin in the morning for breakfast hehehe

[Ahorsesoul]

I'm sure soy will work.

Soy Evaporated Milk recipe here:
http://www.godairyfr...-Recipes-I.html

[Mskedi]

Add me to the list of folks not reacting well to Cinnamon Chex (and, yes, I double and triple checked that it's the gluten-free one). I've been feeling glutened for three days now (when I started eating it), and I chalked it up to having gone out to eat a few days ago and there being CC. This morning, though, I threw up immediately after eating the Cinnamon Chex. That's a totally new reaction (this is only the 4th time in my life that I've vomited... no fun), and it must be linked to the Chex since everything else I'm eating I've had over and over. Blech. I have no idea what I could be reacting to in it. I really don't like the idea of possibly being sensitive to something else.

[Ahorsesoul]

Home Testing Results

The cinnamon chex does make me sleepy but not the Honey nut or the plain Rice Chex. All boxes were labeled gluten-free on the front.

I tried just the cinnamon and also mixing the cinnamon with the plain rice: always was extremely fatigued within 30 minutes.

I tried just the honey nut and then mixing it with plain rice and tried just eating the plain rice chex: no extreme fatigue.

[eringopaint]

I'm not going to try them as I've heard a few people who have bought the boxes clearly marked gluten-free and still got ill.
Not worth taking a chance.

[okalcantara]

I was ecstatic when I unexpectedly saw the Gluten-Free Chex in the grocery store. I immediately bought the Rice Chex and the Corn Chex. I have been eating a bowl of Chex (either one, but usually Rice Chex) every a.m. with Lactaid for the last few weeks. I started noticing intermittant GI problems (diarrhea, bloating, etc.) right away, but I knew there was nothing with gluten in my diet, so I didn't change my chex intake.

It's been three weeks now, and I am now in full-blown Celiac mode. Completely exhausted & fatigued, unbelieveable worst-case scenario G.I. trouble... Pretty much can't eat anything right now without having terrible symptoms.

I am so disappointed. I am wondering if someone might test the Chex? There MUST be something wrong! I have not changed my diet in any other way. I have gone back and re-checked all my normal medications and supplements, (Synthroid, Ortho-Cept, Viactiv, etc.), and nothing has changed. I even investigated in detail pharmaceutical mfrs to see if a new filler might have been added somewhere.

It must be the Chex. AAARGH!

[Ahorsesoul]

Hmmmm, I'm beginning to think it's the Chex too. Yesterday I made 'Chex mix' with corn chex and gluten free pretzels. Something is bothering me. I'll skip the chex mix for a few day and try it again.

I haven't been eating Chex for breakfast for a few weeks since I knew something was not right about my digestive system. Just a little off. Knowing about his topic got me to think it might be the Chex's. I think they will go off my shopping list too.