We've all been there.
It's Monday morning, you're running late to work and quickly nab your coat from the hallway to rush out of the door, having completely disregarded the need for breakfast, only to find your stomach rumbling like a Flinstone as you sit in a mid-morning meeting.
A quick dash to the local coffee shop and you're back at your desk, a large tube oats, fluffy pastry or yoghurt pot in hand before heading off to your next meeting.
But, have you ever considered this habit of eating breakfast on-the-go or having the excuse to stretch your legs on the walk to the local cafe is resulting in sales of the beloved breakfast cereal to decline?
Unsurprisingly, sales cereals like corn flakes, muesli and wheat cereal biscuits are down by a whopping £78 million in the last year.
According to new reports, the drop in people eating cereal is equivalent of nearly 3,700 tons, or eight million lbs less cereal eaten in 2016 compared to 2015 thanks, in part, to our tendency to choose cereal bars or takeaway snacks from nearby coffee shops and cafes.
So, which of our favorite cereal brands is suffering the most due to our obsession of local breakfast options (*cough* Pret A Manger)?
Well, apparently its Quaker Oats – yes, those lovely oaty flakes you had as a kid in winter before school – with sales down nearly 11 per cent, followed by Special K, Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Crunch Nut.
Childhood favorites such as Kellogg's Coco Pops, Shredded Wheat, Cheerios and All Bran have also taken a hit too.
Basically, we're killing the Coco Pop. How does that make you feel?
But, when there's a drop in cereal, there's a drop in milk too, with sales of milk down by £240 million in the past two years.
According to The Grocer, 'Less people are giving their morning meal a miss with 600,000 fewer Brits skipping breakfast on a weekly basis. Trouble is, makers of cereals are yet to see any benefit.
'It hasn't helped that more Brits are starting their day with an on the go option rather than sitting down for brekkie. Unfortunately cereal brands have been slow to respond,' it added.
As a result, several cereal brand have been forced to develop alternative breakfast foods such as drinks, protein varieties, free-from options and portable cereal packets to raise sales and meet the increasing concern of buyers' health needs, given the high levels of sugar and salt in many cereal brands.
Look, we like a warm tub of porridge oats and a freshly baked croissant just as much as the next person but we shouldn't forget daily consumption of coffee-shop bought breakfast is making a serious dent to our bank balances and is murdering the breakfast cereal industry.
So how can you help the breakfast cereal? Set your alarm five minutes earlier in the morning, grab a bowl and spoon and feast on the glory that is a typical British breakfast cereal before heading off to work.
2017 goals, anyone?
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
