Whether you drown it in milk or snack on it dry, like it super sweet or take it pretty plain, cereal is still loved by millions of breakfast eaters.
But where you live might dictate what type of cereal you're eating ... or at least what you want to try.
In a quest to find the most popular cereals in the country, Food & Wine investigated Google searches over the last 12 months and found that a lot of people are really “oohing and aahing” over Oreo O’s. After 10 years off store shelves, this cookie-inspired cereal by Post made a comeback in June of last year and has since become the most searched cereal in 14 states. (You can buy them now at Walmart for $4.)
Whether this Post cereal of yesteryear gained popularity for the nostalgia aspect or for its perfected cookie transformation, is hard to say. But Google's data and a whole lot of Tweeters have made their position clear.
Oreo O's beat out a lot of morning staples, such as Rice Krispies and Frosted Flakes, which didn't even make the most-searched list (Snap, Crackle and Pop are bummed, too).
But one wholesome classic — Life — won second place as the most searched cereal in 11 states, plus Washington, D.C.
While Oreo O's might be the internet's most buzzy cereal, the reality is that not everyone is actually snapping up boxes. According to IRI, a Chicago-based marketing and data firm, the country's top-selling cereal is Honey Nut Cheerios, which raked in over $656 million for General Mills last year. Post's Honey Bunches of Oats and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes rounded out the top three.
But if you're looking to go beyond honey nut, General Mills proved there's more than one way to eat a Cheerio when it launched its chocolate peanut putter flavor last Halloween.
Other brands have also launched a myriad of creative flavors to keep up with changing tastes (and be more Instagram-friendly), such as Kellogg's Froot Loops.
After much anticipation, the limited-edition Unicorn Cereal — described by the brand as a red, blue and purple version of Froot Loops with "magic cupcake" flavored white crunchlets — will hit shelves this month.
