Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam was an American breakfast-cereal brand known for its toasted whole-wheat flakes mixed with whole flaxseed.
Last updated August 25, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Uncle Sam was an American ready-to-eat breakfast-cereal brand whose signature product combined toasted whole-wheat flakes with whole flaxseed. The brand was established in 1908 by Lafayette Coltrin through the Uncle Sam Breakfast Food Company in Omaha, Nebraska. Its original cereal was built around a relatively simple formula: whole wheat berries were steamed, rolled, and toasted into flakes, then blended with flaxseed. This formulation gave the product a distinctive nutritional profile, including substantial dietary fiber and a notable amount of plant-based omega-3 fatty acid from the flaxseed. The brand emerged during an era when cereal companies frequently promoted breakfast foods using broad health and medicinal claims. In 1909, Coltrin and Ambrose H. Lee patented the cereal. In 1910, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Chemistry brought an action against the company over advertising that allegedly overstated the cereal’s health benefits. The company was fined and barred from making medicinal claims. After that episode, its marketing became more narrowly associated with digestive regularity and constipation relief, although later descriptions have noted that clinical support for the brand’s broader laxative positioning was limited. Uncle Sam developed a strong connection with North Omaha, where its production facilities were located in the Belt Line railway industrial area. The plant was expanded in 1913, and a cement grain elevator was added in 1914. During the First World War, the company also produced a barley-based cereal intended to reduce pressure on wheat supplies, allowing more wheat to be directed toward military and overseas needs. The brand remained part of Omaha’s industrial history even as its corporate operations later moved elsewhere. The company’s business expanded beyond its flagship cereal. In 1926 it manufactured Skinner’s Raisin Bran for the Skinner Macaroni Company of Omaha. Uncle Sam later acquired the rights to Skinner’s Raisin Bran in 1964, and by 1985 that product reportedly outsold the original Uncle Sam cereal. The flagship product nevertheless retained a niche identity among consumers interested in high-fiber, minimally sweetened, whole-grain foods. In later decades, the company relocated from Omaha to Needham, Massachusetts. Attune Foods, a San Francisco-based natural-foods company, acquired Uncle Sam Cereal in 2009. Post Foods acquired Attune Foods in 2013, bringing the brand into the Post portfolio. Uncle Sam continued to be associated with health-conscious eating and was mentioned in several diet and nutrition books, including The Engine 2 Diet, Belly Fat Cure, Sugar Busters, and The South Beach Diet. Its appeal centered on its long history, low sugar content, whole-grain ingredients, fiber, and flaxseed rather than on extensive product variety or mass-market flavor innovation. Post Foods discontinued Uncle Sam cereal in December 2024. As a result, the brand is treated as defunct for this dossier, although its historical products and legacy remain relevant to the development of high-fiber and natural-positioned breakfast cereals in the United States.
History
Uncle Sam’s history began in 1908, when Lafayette Coltrin established the Uncle Sam Breakfast Food Company in North Omaha, Nebraska. The company’s facilities stood at North 28th Avenue and Sahler Street within the Belt Line railway industrial area, giving the cereal business access to regional transport and grain-handling infrastructure. The original product was a whole-grain breakfast food made from wheat berries that were processed into flakes and combined with flaxseed. Its identity was therefore tied from the beginning to simple ingredients, fiber, and a functional nutritional proposition rather than sweetness or flavor variety. Coltrin and Ambrose H. Lee patented the cereal in 1909. At the time, food manufacturers often promoted products using claims that extended beyond what modern labeling standards would permit. In 1910, the USDA Bureau of Chemistry, an institutional predecessor of the modern Food and Drug Administration, sued the company for allegedly misleading consumers about the cereal’s health effects. The company was fined ten dollars and was prohibited from making medicinal claims. The dispute influenced the brand’s subsequent presentation: rather than promising a broad cure for multiple ailments, Uncle Sam became more closely associated with digestive relief and regularity. Later accounts have cautioned that evidence for strong laxative claims was limited, but the association remained part of the product’s historical positioning. The Omaha facility also functioned as a point of public interest. In 1912, more than one hundred visitors taking part in an Omaha economic tour visited the plant, received bowls of Uncle Sam cereal, and were given local souvenirs. The production site was expanded to twice its previous size in May 1913. A cement elevator was added in 1914, and the structure was still reported as standing in the twenty-first century. During the First World War, the company produced a barley cereal designed to conserve wheat. The product allowed more wheat to be directed toward troops overseas while reducing the need for wheat production on American farms. Lafayette Coltrin died in Long Beach, California, in 1917. The company later broadened its commercial activities. In 1926 it manufactured Skinner’s Raisin Bran for the Skinner Macaroni Company of Omaha. Uncle Sam acquired the rights to Skinner’s Raisin Bran in 1964. By 1985, the raisin-bran product was reported to outsell the company’s original flagship cereal, demonstrating that the business had become more than a single-product operation. Even so, Uncle Sam Original remained the product most closely associated with the brand name and its whole-wheat-and-flaxseed formula. The original Omaha site experienced vandalism in May 1968, when more than fifty windows were smashed. Sometime after the 1970s, the company relocated to Needham, Massachusetts. The move separated the brand’s operating base from its historic Nebraska manufacturing setting, although its Omaha origins continued to be documented by local historians. Ownership changed again in the twenty-first century. Attune Foods, a San Francisco natural-foods company, acquired Uncle Sam Cereal in 2009. Post Foods acquired Attune Foods in 2013, making Uncle Sam part of the Post corporate portfolio. Under this ownership, the cereal continued to appeal to consumers seeking whole grains, very low sugar, high fiber, and flaxseed-derived omega-3. Its profile also attracted attention from dietitians, nutrition writers, and diet books, including The Engine 2 Diet, Belly Fat Cure, Sugar Busters, and The South Beach Diet. Uncle Sam Original consisted of toasted whole-wheat flakes mixed with whole flaxseed. A reported three-quarter-cup serving contained 220 calories, 10 grams of dietary fiber, and less than one gram of sugar, along with significant amounts of several B vitamins and minerals. These characteristics distinguished it from sweeter mainstream cereals, but also confined it to a relatively specialized market. Post Foods discontinued the cereal in December 2024. The discontinuation ended the brand’s active commercial life after more than a century, leaving Uncle Sam as a historically notable American cereal brand associated with whole grains, fiber, flaxseed, and early twentieth-century food-marketing regulation.
- 2024
Cereal discontinued
[1]Post Foods discontinued Uncle Sam cereal in December 2024.
- 2013
Became part of Post Foods
[1]Post Foods acquired Attune Foods and assumed ownership of the Uncle Sam brand.
- 2009
Acquired by Attune Foods
[1]Attune Foods acquired Uncle Sam Cereal.
- 1964
Rights to Skinner’s Raisin Bran acquired
[1]Uncle Sam acquired the rights to Skinner’s Raisin Bran, expanding its cereal portfolio.
- 1926
Skinner’s Raisin Bran manufactured
[1]The company manufactured Skinner’s Raisin Bran for the Skinner Macaroni Company of Omaha.
- 1914
Cement grain elevator added
[1]A cement elevator was added to the Omaha facility and remained a notable surviving feature of the site.
- 1914
Barley cereal produced during the First World War
[1]The company produced a barley cereal intended to conserve wheat for wartime and overseas use.
- 1913
Omaha plant expanded
[1]The company expanded its North Omaha plant to approximately twice its previous size.
- 1910
Federal advertising case
[1]The USDA Bureau of Chemistry challenged the company’s health advertising, resulting in a fine and restrictions on medicinal claims.
- 1909
Cereal patent granted
[1]Lafayette Coltrin and Ambrose H. Lee patented the cereal formulation.
Products and positioning
A traditional, minimally sweetened, high-fiber breakfast cereal positioned around whole grains, flaxseed, digestive regularity, and nutritional density.
Ready-to-eat breakfast cereal · 1908
Uncle Sam Original
The brand’s signature cereal consisted of whole-wheat berry kernels that were steamed, rolled, and toasted into flakes, then combined with whole flaxseed. It was marketed as a high-fiber, low-sugar cereal with a low glycemic index and a substantial amount of plant-based omega-3 associated with the flaxseed. The product’s plain, dense, minimally sweetened profile made it especially relevant to consumers pursuing whole-grain and diet-oriented eating patterns. It was discontinued in December 2024.
Barley breakfast cereal
Uncle Sam Barley Cereal
A barley-based cereal produced during the First World War. Its reported purpose was to reduce demand for wheat so that more wheat could be directed to troops overseas and wartime needs. Detailed information about the product’s later availability and formulation is not documented in the supplied material.
Raisin bran cereal · 1926
Skinner’s Raisin Bran
A raisin-bran cereal manufactured by the Uncle Sam company for the Skinner Macaroni Company beginning in 1926. Uncle Sam acquired the rights to the product in 1964. By 1985, Skinner’s Raisin Bran was reported to outsell the company’s original Uncle Sam cereal, making it an important part of the business’s historical product portfolio.
Controversies
1910
Federal challenge to health claims
The USDA Bureau of Chemistry sued Uncle Sam over advertising that allegedly overstated the cereal’s health benefits. The company was fined ten dollars and barred from making medicinal claims. The case illustrates the regulatory scrutiny faced by early packaged-food marketers.
Brand decisions
2024
Post Foods discontinues Uncle Sam cerealStrategyBackground
After more than a century of commercial availability, Post Foods ended production of the Uncle Sam cereal.
Action taken
Post Foods discontinued the product in December 2024.
Aftermath
The brand ceased active commercial operations and is classified as defunct in this dossier.
2013
Post Foods acquires Attune FoodsM&ABackground
Post Foods acquired Attune Foods, whose portfolio included Uncle Sam Cereal.
Action taken
Post Foods assumed ownership and control of the Uncle Sam brand.
Aftermath
Uncle Sam remained a niche cereal within the Post portfolio until its eventual discontinuation.
2009
Attune Foods acquires Uncle Sam CerealM&ABackground
The historic cereal brand was acquired by Attune Foods, a San Francisco natural-foods company.
Action taken
Attune Foods took ownership of the brand and incorporated it into its natural-food portfolio.
Aftermath
The brand later transferred to Post Foods when Post acquired Attune Foods in 2013.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/uncle-sam · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled