Chex
Chex is an American brand of breakfast cereal currently manufactured by General Mills. It was originally known as Shredded Ralston, first produced in 1936 and owned by Ralston Purina of St. Louis, Missouri, then later renamed Chex in 1950. The Chex brand went with corporate spinoff Ralcorp in 1994 and was then sold to General Mills in 1997. Rival cereal company Kellogg's has the rights to the Chex brand in South Korea and Singapore.
The name "Chex" reflects the square checkerboard logo of Ralston Purina.
History
Chex cereal traces its lineage back to Shredded Ralston, which was first produced in 1936. One 1936 grocery store advertisement for the cereal described it as, "ready to eat, made from pure whole wheat... Cooked, shredded, and toasted to a delicious golden brown; new in flavor." Bite-sized Shredded Ralston was described in one early promotional article as whole wheat that had been "shredded and baked into crisp-bite-size biscuits." In addition to being recommended as a breakfast cereal, it was suggested as soup croutons, a snack with melted butter, and as the heart of a homemade candy flavored with honey and lemon.One of the early distinctive characteristics of Chex was its shape. When Rice Chex was introduced in 1950, one advertisement described it as, "Golden-toasted shreds of rice, crisscrossed into hollow, Bit Size waffles. Shaped just right for easy eating." In 1951, Shredded Ralston was rebranded as Wheat Chex, initially stating "We are changing the name of Shredded Ralston to Shredded Ralston Wheat Chex," but often using both the short name and the longer name within the same ad copy. Side by side photos in the early 1950s show that the shape of Wheat Chex was not yet changed to the waffle-shape of Rice Chex, retaining its denser, biscuit-like form. When Corn Chex was released in 1959, it was given the Rice Check "criss-crossed" shape, described as helping it stay crispy in milk.
When Ralcorp sold the Chex Brand to General Mills, the Federal Trade Commission required General Mills to permit the production of private label versions of Chex, including by Ralcorp itself.
Flavors and varieties
- Rice Chex
- Wheat Chex
- Corn Chex
- Honey Nut Chex
- Chocolate Chex
- Cinnamon Chex
- Blueberry Chex
- Peanut Butter Chex
- Strawberry Vanilla
- Carmel Corn Chex
Discontinued varieties
- Raisin Bran Chex
- Sugar Frosted Chex
- Sugar Chex
- Super Sugar Chex
- Oat Chex
- Bran Chex
- Double Chex
- Wheat & Raisin Chex
- Graham Chex
- Honey Graham Chex
- Frosted Mini-Chex
- Strawberry Chex
- Multi-Bran Chex
- Green Onion Chex
- Vanilla Chex
- Apple Cinnamon Chex
Marketing
In its early days, Shredded Ralston was promoted as a cereal for the whole family. One common 1937 advertisement said, "Its flavor knows no limits," and then proceeded to explain with six-year old Bobby and older family members all had a different reason to enjoy the cereal. By 1939, Ralston Purina had begun hoping to entice customers with box-top giveaways, such as a pen and pencil set that was still aimed at the whole family. By 1941, however, while their advertising still hoped to entice mothers and wives, the promotions had begun to be aimed at children, such as Tom Mix comic book give-aways. By 1951, Rice Chex and Wheat Chex were tied up with prized and box-top giveaways squarely aimed at children, such as ripcord helicopter toys.Ralston Purina attempted to redefine the Chex brand in 1956 by running copy on cereal boxes and in some newspapers which declared that they would no longer be putting prizes inside the boxes or targeting children: "This box contains 12 ounces of crunchable, munchable Wheat Chex - the only cereal made on purpose for Grownups."
Even so, later ad campaigns for Chex varieties were not so restrained: "Now in every box of Sugar Frosted Chex, you can get one of nine different prizes. Kids will love the secret agent ring or invisible spy pen..."