Cocoa Puffs is an American brand of chocolate-flavored puffed grainbreakfast cereal, manufactured by General Mills.[1] Introduced in 1956, the cereal consists of small orbs of corn and rice flavored with cocoa. Cocoa Puffs have the same shape as Kix and Trix cereal.
Cocoa Puffs are sold in Canada, Latin America, and Europe under the Nesquik brand, via the Cereal Partners Worldwide agreement between Nestlé and General Mills.
Ingredients
On several occasions, the cereal used Hershey'scocoa in its recipe, and this aspect was heavily promoted in Cocoa Puffs boxes and commercials.[2]
In December 2009, General Mills announced that it would cut the sugar in 10 kinds of cereal, including Cocoa Puffs, to less than 10 grams per serving. This could represent a 25% decline in the sugar content from the original level and 18% from the 2009 level of 11 grams per serving.[3]
In 2020, General Mills bought back the retro recipes for four ready-to-eat cereals: Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Cookie Crisp, and Trix, claiming, "Cocoa Puffs now delivers more chocolatey taste."[4]
Legal issues
In August 2024, two class-action lawsuits were filed alleging that Cocoa Puffs cereal contains elevated levels of lead. The complaints, seeking $5 million in damages, cite a recent study by George Washington University researchers that found lead in 43% of 72 consumer cocoa products analyzed. The study, conducted over eight years, identified lead levels exceeding established guidelines in many products. These findings align with a 2023 Consumer Reports analysis that detected high levels of lead or cadmium in 16 of 48 tested chocolate products.[5]
Flavors and variants
A cereal bar of Cocoa Puffs has been made. A layer of dried, sweetened condensed milk is added to the bottom and marketed as a substitute for a bowl of milk and cereal.
In the summer of 2008, a new addition was introduced: Cocoa Puffs Combos, which consists of the recognizable chocolate puffs combined with vanilla puffs.
Besides Cocoa Puffs Combos, there are varieties of popular cereals. One such example was Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch in 2011. The front of the box described that cereal as "naturally and artificially flavored sweetened chocolate squares."
Advertising
The mascot of Cocoa Puffs, Sonny, an orange Cuckoo bird, was introduced in 1962. In most commercials, Sonny attempts to stay away from his favorite cereal, mostly by doing a different activity, but ends up coming across some reference to the cereal in the act (usually described by the adjectives "munchy," "crunchy," and "chocolatey"), causing him to burst in energy, exclaiming his catchphrase "I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!" when he's reached his limit. [6] Sonny was voiced by Chuck McCann from 1962 to 1978, and has been voiced by Larry Kenney since 1978.[7]
The line "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" has entered the vernacular as a term for somebody who is irrational.[8]
Sonny's name comes from the original format of the commercials, in which he was paired with his grandfather (also voiced by McCann). When the grandfather was dropped from the ads, "Sonny" remained the character's name. In 2010, Gramps returned to the Cocoa Puffs ads, with McCann reprising his role as Gramps and Kenney continuing to voice Sonny.
Sonny was designed by Gene Cleaves. Animation pioneer "Grim" Natwick (of Fleischers' Betty Boop team) also contributed to the early images of Sonny and Gramps, according to then-contemporaries who collaborated with Natwick.[9]
Sonny was initially depicted as wearing a pink-and-white striped shirt. In 1995, he was redesigned, this time wearing 1990s "extreme" clothes and being given a more Disney-esque appearance. In 2004, he was redesigned more simplistically, this time without clothing.
