Rice Krispies

Rice Krispies (known as Rice Bubbles in Australia and New Zealand) is a breakfast cereal produced by WK Kellogg Co for the United States, Canada and the Caribbean and by Kellanova for the rest of the world. Rice Krispies are made of crisped rice. When milk is added to the cereal the rice tends to collapse, creating the characteristic "snap, crackle and pop" sounds.[1]

Rice Krispies cereal has a long advertising history with the elf cartoon characters Snap, Crackle and Pop touting the brand.

Background

Rice Krispies was released to the public by the Kellogg Company in 1928.[2]

The original patent called for using partially dried grain, which could be whole or broken, that would have 15–30% moisture which could then be shaped by existing processes for cereal production that include rolling, flaking, shredding, etc. After being processed to the desired shape the grain is dried to around 5–14% moisture content at which stage the grain will expand when subjected to a high temperature creating a light, low-density product that is crisp and easy to chew.

Variants

Present day

The names of other products within the Rice Krispies family vary depending on where they are sold: Many generic versions of Rice Krispies (including frosted and chocolate variants) have been produced by other manufacturers under many different names.

Cocoa Krispies (called Coco Pops in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Greece and Italy), a chocolate flavored version (sold worldwide)
Rice Krispies with Vanilla Flavor, sold in Canada[8] and South Africa[9]
Rice Krispies Treats Cereal, contains bunches of krispies fused together by a marshmallow coating (introduced in March 1993)[10]
Kellogg's Strawberry Krispies[11]
Kellogg's Rainbow Krispies[12]

Discontinued

In the late 1990s, Kellogg's sold Halloween versions of their regular cereal. This included Halloween Rice Krispies which featured a variety of orange krispies.

Frosted Rice Krispies (called Ricicles in the UK and Ireland)
Rice Krispies with dehydrated miniature marshmallows (Marshmallow Rice Krispies, also known as Marshmallow Krispies, along with a tropical version, Fruity Marshmallow Krispies), were sold briefly in the United States and Canada.[13] Despite surviving longer in Canada than the United States, they were discontinued during the late 1990s.[14]
Rice Krispies with strawberry flavor included 1983's Strawberry Krispies and 1997's Strawberry Rice Krispies. Australia had Strawberry Pops, a strawberry version of Rice Bubbles, which was discontinued in the mid-1970s, along with other similarly coloured and sweetened foods, due to concerns about the additives causing cancer. Banana-flavored Rice Krispies, including Banana Bubbles and Banana Krispies, have also been sold in the past.
Razzle Dazzle Rice Krispies, an extremely sweet, artificially-colored cereal, was sold from late 1997 to 1999.

Rice Krispies Treats and similar sweets

In 1939, Kellogg's employee Mildred Day concocted and published a recipe for a Camp Fire Girls bake sale consisting of Rice Krispies, melted marshmallows, and margarine. It has remained a very popular snack dubbed Rice Krispies Treats. Kellogg's themselves have now produced commercial varieties of both marshmallow and chocolate-based treats under the name Rice Krispies Squares in Canada[16] and the UK, as well as versions under the original Rice Krispies Treats name sold in the United States.[17]

Kellogg's also produces commercial versions of Rice Krispie treats known as Rice Krispies Squares,[16] cereal bars, and a multi-grain cereal known as Rice Krispies Multi-Grain (formerly Muddles[18]) sold on the UK market. Primarily aimed at children, Multi-Grain contains a prebiotic and is claimed by Kellogg's to promote good

South Africa

In 2018, the South African branch of Kellogg's replaced the classic Rice Krispies with Rice Krispies Vanilla, thereby discontinuing the production of the original Rice Krispies in the country. This change was met with a lot of public complaints.[21] The new Rice Krispies Vanilla now contained 21.7 g sugar for every 100 g, up from only 9 g previously, and the taste was very poorly received. Despite the public's dislike of the new product, Kellogg's initially decided to continue replacing the original Rice Krispies with the new Rice Krispies Vanilla.[21] In 2020, Kellogg's returned the original product to shelves, but decided to import it from the UK as they determined it could no longer be produced locally.[22] Import-related costs made the product more expensive for South African consumers.[22]

type	Cereal of crisped rice
currentowner	WK Kellogg Co (US, Canada, Caribbean) Kellanova (rest of world)
origin	United States
introduced	1928
previousowners	Kellogg Company (1927–2023)
markets	Worldwide
website	ricekrispies.com

Background

Ingredients

Health claims

Variants

Present day

Discontinued

Rice Krispies Treats and similar sweets

South Africa

Marketing history

Cartoon mascots

"Snap, crackle and pop" sound

Prizes and premiums

See also

External links

References