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Clif Bar & Co expands further into the cereal aisle

Clif Bar & Co, which is primarily known for its protein bars, launched its first clean label cereal called Clif Cereal. Its four flavors: Blueberry & Almond Butter, Apple Cinnamon & Almond Butter, Honey & Peanut Butter and Chocolate & Peanut Butter offer 7g of both protein and fiber per serving as well as 30% to 40% less sugar than other leading cereal brands, according to the company.

Over the last few years, Clif has steadily been moving from the bars space and into the snacking category. However, when Sally Grimes stepped in as the company’s new CEO last year – she came from Tyson Foods where she led the company’s prepared foods business – it was clear that more innovation was on the horizon for the health food company that rose to fame with its Clif Bars.

Earlier this year, Grimes noted that the company would look to increase its number of SKUs on offer in order to ramp up the brand’s sales to reach $2 billion. This release of Clif Cereal is the first step on that journey.

While recent years have seen Clif bring snacks like Clif Thins and Pop’n Crunch Clusters to supermarket shelves, it is interesting to note that this launch is in the breakfast aisle. While the company already has Clif Energy Granola, which it launched in 2018, it has not invested in further innovation in the breakfast space for years. However, the onset of the pandemic changed that.

Breakfast exploded in popularity in 2020. Cereal sales, in particular, grew 11% from 2019 to 2020, according to GlobalData. With double-digit growth propelling the category forward and many experts expecting breakfast at home to remain a fixture in households in the future, it makes sense for Clif to try to grab some of that market share.

Not only is Clif relying on its clean label to set it apart from other cereal options, but it has also invested in packaging its new product in a way that meets the company’s goal of having 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025. This detail is sure to attract shoppers that are continuing to look for products that are preferencing sustainability. In a 2021 survey from Trivium Packaging, two-thirds (67%) of consumers consider whether the products they are purchasing are in recyclable packaging because it is important to them.

Clif Cereal became available for purchase on July 6 at Walmart stores across the U.S. and will also be available via the company’s website.