Post Heritage

In the Beginning

1892

The cereal revolution begins: Lawyer and inventor Henry Drushel Perky's experiments in Watertown, New York with business partner William Henry Ford prove fruitful when they finally succeed in making a machine that shreds whole wheat, creating Shredded Wheat cereal.

1895

Energy for Discovery. This year saw the debut of the motion picture projector, the wireless telegraph, the X-ray, and C.W. Post's cereal company.

The Post Cereals tradition began when C.W. Post made his first batch of "Postum," a cereal beverage, in a little white barn in Battle Creek, Michigan. With that step he entered the brand new retail cereal industry, and became an important part of American breakfast history for over 100 years.

Since then, Post has followed a path of delicious innovation, creating cereals that have defined the breakfast experience for generations of families.

1897

C.W. Post introduced Grape-Nuts cereal, one of the first ready-to-eat cold cereals—believed to be named after the "grape sugar" that formed during the baking process, and "nuts" for its nutty flavor.

1904

He followed that success with a corn flakes product which he called Elijah's Manna, later renamed Post Toasties, in 1908.

The Early Years

1912

Post introduced a refinement of his original product, Instant Postum cereal beverage. C.W. Post used marketing techniques that are now considered industry standard, but which were innovative for their time. These included extensive advertising, coupons, free samples, product demonstrations, plant tours and recipe booklets.

C.W. Post died in 1914, but the Postum Cereal Company followed the formula for success which he had established: selling high-quality, nutritious cereal products through marketing and advertising techniques that appealed to the common man and woman.

1922

Post 40% Bran Flakes cereal is introduced by the Postum Cereal Company.

1925 – 1929

Postum acquired over a dozen companies and expanded its product line to more than 60 products. The name of the parent corporation was changed to General Foods Corporation.

Many more nutritious and delicious Post cereals were introduced under the General Foods Corporation name over the next 60 years.

1932

Grape-Nuts Flakes cereal is introduced.

1942

Post Raisin Bran cereal is introduced.

1949

Golden Crisp cereal is introduced.

1958

Alpha-Bits cereal is introduced.

Bill Dickey, coach of the New York Yankees Baseball Club, recommends the Training-Table Cereal—and it's Post Marked for Happy Eating!

Past 50 Years

1961

The size of the Shredded Wheat Juniors biscuit is made even smaller and relaunched as Spoon Size Shredded Wheat cereal.

1965

Honeycomb cereal is introduced.

1971

Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles cereals are introduced.

1982

Fruit & Fibre cereals are introduced.

1990

Honey Bunches of Oats Honey Roasted and Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds are introduced.

1992

Marshmallow Alpha-Bits, Great Grains Crunchy Pecan and Great Grains Raisins, Dates, Pecans are introduced.

Shredded Wheat celebrates its 100th anniversary.

1994

Post Selects Banana Nut Crunch is introduced.

1995

Post Selects Blueberry Morning is introduced.

1996

Waffle Crisp and Frosted Shredded Wheat cereals are introduced.

1997

Cranberry Almond Crunch and Honey Nut Shredded Wheat spoon size cereals are introduced.

To mark the 100th year of making great cereals for families everywhere, Post Cereals launched a 100-day food drive and summer-long hunger awareness program.

1998

From June 15th through August 2nd, Post Cereals' "Drive Out Hunger" program donated enough cereal to feed over one million people. Post also partnered with local supermarkets that provided a financial donation for every box of Post cereal sold during this timeframe.

Oreo O's cereal is introduced.

Past 10 Years

2002

Honey Bunches of Oats Strawberry is introduced.

2003

Post Selects Maple Pecan Crunch is introduced.

2004

Honey Bunches of Oats Peach is introduced.

2005

Trail Mix Crunch is introduced.

2006

Honey Bunches of Oats with Cinnamon Clusters is introduced.

2007

Honey Bunches of Oats with Vanilla Clusters is introduced.

2008

Honey Bunches of Oats Just Bunches! is introduced.

Timeline

In the Beginning

• 1895 – 1895 Introduction
• 1897 – 1904 first products

The Early Years

• 1912 Innovation
• 1922 cereal boom
• 1932 – 1958 steady growth

Past 50 Years

• 1961 – 1982 niche markets
• 1989 – 1995 big business
• 1996 – 1998 giving back

Past 10 Years

• 1999 – 2008 new horizons