Britons have gone off breakfast cereal, says Shreddies maker
Britons are going off breakfast cereal in favour of protein-heavy morning meals, leaving the maker of Shreddies and Cheerios poised to axe 300 jobs because of the demand slump.
Cereal Partners UK & Ireland, which also makes Cookie Crisp and Nesquik, has put forward proposals to shut a major factory in Merseyside, moving production of breakfast brands to a different factory in Staverton, Wiltshire.
At the same time, it said it will stop producing own-label cereals for supermarkets.
A spokesman for the company blamed the decision on a 'significant decline owing to the changing habits of UK and Irish consumers and greater competition from alternative breakfast options'.
It comes after volume sales of Shreddies in UK supermarkets fell by 15.8pc last year, while those of Cheerios suffered a 4.1pc drop, according to data firm NIQ published in The Grocer magazine.
Combined, the UK's top ten cereal brands sold 10.1m kg less over the year to Sept 7.
Though ready-to-eat breakfast cereal is still a £1.2bn market, according to Kantar, demand for traditional breakfast cereals has been dented by negative perceptions around health and the rising popularity of more protein-heavy breakfas t options.
Jonny Bingham, co-founder of food development company Bingham & Jones, said: 'It's perceived as not being healthy and not terribly filling. There's been a lot of press over the last ten years about breakfast cereal and how much sugar is in them.
'It almost feels like parents have a guilt complex when it comes to getting cereal and sticking it in the cupboard.'
He said this was despite widespread industry efforts to reduce salt and sugar in products over recent years. 'There's no doubt whatsoever that most of those cereals have moved heaven and hell just to try and make it as healthy as they possibly can.'
He added that more people were skipping breakfast altogether as a method of controlling their weight with so-called intermittent fasting, while others were gravitating towards more protein-heavy breakfast options.
'More and more stuff that we are developing for [customers] for early morning is all about being protein-rich or protein-heavy.'
While the closure of Cereal Partners' Merseyside factory could see up to 314 jobs cut, the company said it planned to spend £74m on expanding the Wiltshire factory and 60 new jobs.
The spokesman added: 'CPUK&I regrets the potential impact on employees and the immediate priority is to work together to review the proposals while supporting people through this process with care and sensitivity.'
They said the company was open to 'alternative solutions' such as a sale of the facility or a spin-off of its supermarket own-label business if a buyer could be found for it.
News of the proposed closure was met with outrage from unions representing the factory's staff.
Matt Denton, the regional organiser for trade union GMB, said: 'For three decades, CPUK has been at the heart of this community, providing good jobs and supporting countless businesses. Three hundred skilled workers facing an uncertain future is simply unacceptable.
'We demand urgent talks with management and call on the company to engage with us to make sure workers' voices are heard, and livelihoods are prioritised.'
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