The General Mills Cereal Dressing Up As Nostalgia For Halloween
There's nothing quite like spreading out a beach towel, slathering on sunblock, and stretching out on the sand to daydream about Halloween. Sure, it's still summer, but for fans of the year's spookiest holiday, the countdown begins long before the leaves start to change color. While Halloween candy is one compelling cause for excitement (Mars has already announced some of its festive offerings), there's even a treat in store for those whose favorite section of the grocery store is the cereal aisle.
Get ready to start your morning with a serving of spookiness, as Monster Cereals are once again returning to store shelves. According to Brand Eating, the playful seasonal lineup from General Mills is getting a makeover with inspiration from the "vintage styling of the original boxes" thanks to KAWS, an American artist known for creating toys, paintings, prints, and installations often featuring characters with Xs for eyes (via artnet). 2022's Monster Cereal lineup will include the classic Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo-Berry varieties, and, as Brand Eating reveals, one type that hasn't been around in several full moons.
Frute Brute will be in this year's Monster Cereal roster
It's been a long wait for fans of Frute Brute, but the Halloween cereal has finally returned. Brand Eating reports the cereal, which features a werewolf on the box and a "howlin'-good taste of fruit," has been reincarnated for the first time since 2013. This might be particularly good news to cereal box collectors. According to Comic Book, Frute Brute is "considered by many collectors to be the most sought-after vintage cereal" due to its appearance in various hit 90s movies. (A Reddit post helpfully points out where the cereal appears in both "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction.")
Collectors also might be interested to learn that each box of Monster Cereal comes with more than just Monster Marshmallows inside. Over on Instagram, General Mills revealed each box offers a chance to win a set of Monsters toys designed by KAWS. On the Kaws Monsters website, customers can enter the contest by inputting a product code from their cereal box or a free code found in the official rules. For KAWS, working on the retro cereal may have been a prize in itself, as the artist tells Comic Book he's "been a big fan of the cereals since [he] was a kid."
As for the fans, one person lamented on General Mills' post about another missing Monster: "Sad there's no Yummy Mummy, but stoked to see the return of the Brute!" Fortunately for them, there's no predicting what products could come back to life next.