Breakfast Cereals - UK - August 2019
Overview
 
What you need to know 
The breakfast cereals market continues to see volume sales decline, continuing the recent trend. The struggles of the dominant RTE cereals segment, under pressure from sugar concerns and competition for the breakfast occasion, have dragged the market down. The growth of the much smaller hot cereals segment on the back of its health halo and natural image has not been enough to offset this.

Consumer concern and government targets make sugar reduction the central challenge for the market to tackle also going forward. While users want reformulation, this inevitably requires a cautious approach. Meanwhile, however, the market can look to mine functional benefits to keep breakfast cereals on the menu, given high interest among users. 

While the market has largely escaped the scrutiny on plastic packaging waste, this is on the radar for many users, highlighting it as an area that cannot be ignored. Promisingly, smaller players are already demonstrating that there are alternative packaging materials available.

Products covered in this Report
This Report examines the UK retail market for breakfast cereals. It excludes sales through foodservice channels.

For the purposes of this Report, breakfast cereals are segmented into RTE cereals and hot cereal products. The former comprises any cereals that are served without heating them, such as corn flakes or muesli. The hot cereal segment consists of porridge, oatmeal and instant hot oat products.

Cereal bars and other breakfast products are excluded from the scope of this Report, but reference to them is made where relevant in the light of their role as competing products.