REVIEW: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars (2020)

Kellogg s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars Boxes

What are Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars?

They’re not the Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal & Milk Bars that were available years ago that I thought were still around. But if you’re not familiar with cereal bars, the concept has been the same throughout the years. Cereal pieces are coated in corn syrup (or some other sticky ingredient) that allows them to stick together. Then their bottoms are dipped in a sweet confection.

According to Kellogg’s, the amount of cereal in each bar equals a half serving of cereal (by weight).

How are they?

Kellogg s Frosted Flakes Cereal Bar

The Frosted Flakes one, oddly, doesn’t instantly remind me of Frosted Flakes. Although, the original Frosted Flakes Cereal & Milk Bars also apparently didn’t taste like the cereal. My first bite reminded me of a sugar cone, but I couldn’t replicate that flavor with subsequent tastes.

The combination of the frosting on the corn flakes, corn syrup, and the white confection at the bottom of every bar make these taste sugar-heavy. I imagine it’s what Xtreme Frosted Flakes would taste like. It’s hard for the corn flakes’ flavor to come through. Occasionally it does, and when that happens, the bar tastes more like Frosted Flakes. But for the most part, it’s hard to pinpoint these as Frosted Flakes bars.

Kellogg s Froot Loops Cereal Bar

Fortunately, that’s not the case with the Froot Loops version. When I opened the wrapper, I expected a toucan to land on my shoulder and say, “I followed my nose” because the aroma of eau de parfroot filled my nostrils. And, with every bite, there’s no mistaking these are made with the iconic fruity cereal.

But the bars are a bit more fragile than the Frosted Flakes one. I imagine that’s the case because they’re made with loops instead of flakes, which means less surface area to allow the corn syrup to its job. Speaking of the corn syrup coating, it might’ve also softened the cereal loops ever so slightly, which didn’t happen with the corn flakes.

Kellogg s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars Bottom

Anything else you need to know?

Along with these 6-count boxes, the bars are also available in 18- and 36-count offerings.

Conclusion:

Both bars are sweet, tasty, portable, and convenient ways to consume these iconic parts of a complete breakfast. But because it’s hard to tell the Frosted Flakes version is made with Tony’s cereal with all the sugar components, I have to say I enjoy the Froot Loops one more. That’s a bit odd for me to say since I prefer Frosted Flakes over Froot Loops when it comes to breakfast cereal.

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the products. (Thanks, Kellogg’s!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6 bars
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s (available now at retailers nationwide)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Frosted Flakes), 7 out of 10 (Froot Loops)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) Frosted Flakes – 100 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein. Froot Loops – 90 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Limited Edition Mashups Frosted Flakes + Froot Loops Cereal

Kellogg s Limited Edition Mashups Frosted Flakes + Froot Loops Cereal

What is Kellogg’s Limited Edition Mashups Frosted Flakes + Froot Loops Cereal?

This cereal is a mixture of Kellogg’s favorites Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops. I like to imagine it as an answer to the question: “What hijinks would ensue if Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam were best friends?”

How is it?

Kellogg s Limited Edition Mashups Frosted Flakes + Froot Loops Cereal 2

I haven’t seen any promotional material elaborating on the question posed above, thus robbing me of the opportunity to see the two mascots exchange sparkling dialogue such as “You got your Froot Loops in my Frosted Flakes!” and “You got your Frosted Flakes in my Froot Loops!” However, this imagined scenario essentially delivers the main idea of what Kellogg’s Mashups offers: equal parts of crispy, lightly sweet corn flakes, and sugary fruit-flavored hoops.

The strong scent of Froot Loops emanating from the bag foreshadowed the taste experience to come. Dry, the cereal’s flavor was dominated by the Froot Loops, but the Frosted Flakes amped up each bite’s crunchiness. My sample appeared to contain a 1:1 ratio of each cereal, so the experience was pretty consistent from bite to bite.

When eaten separately, the Frosted Flakes still taste like their sweet, corny selves, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a mashup, doesn’t it?

Kellogg s Limited Edition Mashups Frosted Flakes + Froot Loops Cereal Milk

With milk, the disparity in texture became more apparent, because the Froot Loops approached soggy territory much faster. For this reason, I am not a huge fan of Froot Loops in milk, so the Frosted Flakes improved the experience by maintaining a much-needed crunch.

Anything else you need to know?

In dreaming up the hypothetical adventures of Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam, my yearning was less about advertising and more about answering the question at the heart of this product: Why? Why, after Kellogg’s limited edition All Together cereal and General Mills’ Lucky Charms with Frosted Flakes, did Kellogg’s choose to combine two familiar brands when consumers could easily buy two boxes and do the work themselves?

My theory is that Kellogg’s knows there are two kinds of cereal lovers in this world: 1) those who are too lazy, busy, and/or frugal to become cereal mashup engineers and 2) those who will be inspired to buy multiple boxes, searching for the ideal cereal combination. Either way, Kellogg’s drums up business, and I get my heart set on a bowl of Strawberry Rice Krispies with Special K Red Berries.

Conclusion:

Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes pair well in texture, although the Frooty taste dominates. If mixing cereals is your thing, Kellogg’s Mashups saves you time and money, but it seems uninspired compared to other (real or imagined) combinations.

Disclosure: I received a free sample of this product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 9.8 oz. box

Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/4 cup – cereal only) 160 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Limited Edition Banana Creme Frosted Flakes

Kellogg s Limited Edition Banana Creme Frosted Flakes

Banana Frosted Flakes is one of my favorite cereals of all time. ALL TIME. I miss it dearly.

So much so that I’ve written about them and have a recurring dream where I fight Tony the Tiger to enter the discontinued cereals vault, which he is guarding, so that I can eat another bowl of my beloved cereal. But he always defeats me and right before the knockout blow he says, “You’re gr-r-reatly mistaken that I’ll allow you to enter this vault.”

But now, there’s Limited Edition Frosted Flakes Banana Creme. Will it be the reason why I no longer have to write cereal odes or fight Tony the Tiger in my sleep? Unfortunately, the written and violent pleas will have to continue.

The flakes have a faint pleasant banana aroma mixed with the familiar scent of Frosted Flakes. They’re coated with a layer of frosting that makes them look similar to the original variety. There aren’t any dried fruit bits on them or the word “banana” in the ingredients list.

Kellogg s Limited Edition Banana Creme Frosted Flakes Closeup

There’s an adequate amount of banana flavor at first. But, by the fifth or sixth spoonful, it changes into something different from the first few dips into the cereal bowl. The fruitiness takes a backseat, and the frosting’s sweetness takes control. This happened whether I ate them dry or with milk. But those first spoonfuls brings a smile to my face.

While there’s sufficient flavor, I can’t help but think Kellogg’s could’ve added more, which might’ve helped make it a little more lasting. It could’ve taken the dried fruit from its Banana Raisin Bran (one of my favorite cereals of 2018) and added them to this. That addition might’ve made this one of my early favorites of 2019. But they weren’t so this ends up being a little disappointing to me.

If I weren’t a child of the 80s and 90s who got to experience the Golden Age of Breakfast Cereal that included Banana Frosted Flakes, I’d probably like this more than I do.

I do like it because I LOVE banana flavored products and there are traces of it. But its lack of a lasting flavor makes me go bananas.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup w/o milk) 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 30 milligrams of potassium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Cinnamon Frosted Flakes

Kellogg's Cinnamon Frosted Flakes

As far as I’m concerned, Tony the Tiger is going through something of an identity crisis. Not only has Kellogg’s changed his look to be more “accessible” (like a talking Tiger was accessible to begin with), but his parent company has been rolling out all kinds of flavor variations.

On one hand, I guess Cinnamon Frosted Flakes shouldn’t surprise us. Both Tigers and Cinnamon are native to Bangladesh, and having already cycled through marshmallows, chocolate, and marshmallows and chocolate, it makes sense for Kellogg’s to hit us with a subliminal geography lesson. I wasn’t crazy about Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows, nor did scream gr-r-reat! for the now-defunct Frosted Flakes with Energy Clusters.

So I’ve got good reason to be skeptical of the addition of cinnamon to Frosted Flakes. I say this with 28 years of cereal eating under my belt, literally. Despite the popularity of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, cinnamon-only flavored cereals don’t have a good track record. Cinnamon Burst Cheerios lasted for all of two seconds, while Cinnamon Jacks, Cinna-Crunch Pebbles, and a host of other cinnamon cereals have been relegated to the lonely eulogies written on MrBreakfast.com.

I do not join these individuals in mourning.

Kellogg's Cinnamon Frosted Flakes 2

If anything, cinnamon can be overpowering if applied in the wrong context, which is exactly the case with Cinnamon Frosted Flakes. The cinnamon flavor is floral and spicy, somewhere between the flavor of cinnamon gum and the aroma of a cinnamon-scented candle. The weird thing is that it takes a second to activate, and when it does, it’s more of an aroma and sensation than a taste.

And boy is it strong.

The characteristic sweetness of Frosted Flakes is still there, but before the sweetness dissipates, it’s overwhelmed by the authentic cinnamon flavor. The problem isn’t that it doesn’t taste like cinnamon; the problem is that it tastes too much like cinnamon, so much that the malted sweetness and slight corn flavor that are present in Frosted Flakes get lost.

Kellogg's Cinnamon Frosted Flakes 3

The effect is not so extreme in milk, but that in and of itself doesn’t make Cinnamon Frosted Flakes desirable. There’s a decent cinnamon run-off into the milk, and the trademarked soggy corn sweetness of Frosted Flakes is still there, but the flavors of frosted flakes and cinnamon just don’t go together.

Clearly, something isn’t working in the grand scheme of Tony the Tiger’s life. The thing is, I have no idea why this is, except to suggest that this is some kind of mid-life cereal crisis that doesn’t need to be. We can all agree that Frosted Flakes are gr-r-reat!, but frankly, the new flavors, including Cinnamon Frosted Flakes, are really just “oh-oh-oh-kay.”

(Nutrition Facts – 29 grams – 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 150 mg of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 10 grams of sugars, and 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: $3.98
Size: 26.8 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: Authentic and floral cinnamon flavor in every spoonful. Better than the now defunct Simply Cinnamon Corn Flakes. Subliminal geography lessons.
Cons: Cinnamon flavor dominates the subtle malt and corn flavors of the flakes. Like eating a cinnamon-flavored candle. More an aroma than a true flavor. Lacks the buttery “toasted” flavors of Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Cinnamon Chex.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Limited Edition Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows

Kellogg’s Limited Edition Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows

Kellogg’s Limited Edition Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows remind me of my fourth grade Stormtrooper Halloween costume.

Like eight-year old Adam in awe of the theatrical release of the Stars Wars Special Edition movies, Tony the Tiger’s latest creation sets out to trick-or-treat with only the utmost respect for the ethos of Halloween.

Problem is, there’s some stiff competition. In my case, it was Luke, who ironically decided to trick-or-treat as a Stormtrooper the same year I did (Like, really? Your name is Luke and you decide to go as a Stormtrooper?)

Anyways, Luke’s costume kicked the crap out of mine. He was the kid with the lights and sound enhanced Stormtrooper carbine, specially crafted armor, and an actual helmet like those people who go to ComicCon. I, meanwhile, had a mask attached with a string, a cheap white smock with some black lines on it, and (because my parents hated weapons) a pillowcase stuffed with candy as my only armament.

In other words, Luke was the Count Chocula to my Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows, which, while okay, are quickly defrocked as an imitator to the chocolaty standard of limited edition Halloween cereals.

Kellogg’s Limited Edition Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows 2

To Kellogg’s credit, Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows get the job done as a snacking cereal. There’s a savory and sweet thing that goes on with the cocoa-glazed flakes, which still have that crunchy, malted corn aftertaste of original Frosted Flakes. But the cocoa flavor is mild and varies from flake to flake, while the marshmallows are just bad. Sure they look cool; a deconstructed skeleton beats the ambiguously-shaped blobs that Count Chocula claims are bats, but the Frosted Flakes marshmallows lack a sturdy texture ideal for snacking or a long soaking in milk.

And it’s in milk that Tony the Tiger’s Halloween cereal is stripped of its chocolate costume. The cocoa quickly flows off the flakes, but the end-milk, while darkly colored like a Halloween night, tastes nothing like the cocoa-infused milk left behind by Count Chocula, Cocoa Puffs, or other tier one chocolate cereals. Combined with the marshmallows, it’s just a hyper sweet bowl of milk with faraway (far, far away) notes of cocoa powder.

Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows are an okay novelty cereal that will do in a pinch, but like that flimsy Stormtrooper mask and loose-fitting “armored” smock that I wore for Halloween as a kid, the cereal is too easily unmasked. And with the chocolate covered spirit of Halloween in good and cocoa-powder stained hands with Count Chocula, Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows probably won’t be making a repeat appearance in my pantry next year.

(Nutrition Facts – 30 grams – 100 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 150 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 10 grams of sugars, and 1 grams of protein..)

Purchased Price: $2.74
Size: 9.5 oz. box
Purchased at: United Supermarket
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Enjoyable cocoa and milled corn flavor when eaten as a snack. Marshmallows provide a needed textural contrast to the crunchy frosted flakes. Creative use of a marshmallow artwork.
Cons: Not as chocolaty as Count Chocula and leaves nonexistent chocolate end-milk. Marshmallows aren’t as sturdy as Count Chocula. Wait, are the skeletons from people Tony the Tiger ate? My stupid fourth grade Halloween costume.