Top 10 Breakfast Cereal Logos

Cheerios may not have the most original brand logo, but it is a very appropriate one for this straightforward cereal with multigenerational appeal. The name is displayed in black letters in a simple black font, with a Cheerio dotting the ‘I’, in case you don’t know what this iconic cereal looks like. From this logo alone, it’s easy to see that Cheerios is not one of the bright, sugary cereals that is targeting children, but rather a healthier choice.

Honey Smacks is about as different from Cheerios as one can get, and the brand logo expresses this beautifully. The name is in a bold, golden hue that is reminiscent of honey, while the letters of the word ‘honey’ drip viscously at the bottom. The font is a happy medium, neither a serious one with serifs nor a friendly, rounded one. This cereal logo portrays the flavor it is known for while maintaining a straightforwardness that appeals to parents.

Life is a healthy cereal option that is nonetheless sweet and crunchy enough to appeal to children (like the top 10 children logos), who are the main target of most breakfast cereals. The brand logo expresses this perfectly in bright, primary colors reminiscent of primary school along with a font that has sharp corners to maintain a little seriousness. The diagonal placement of the logo on the box gives the sense of a headline, adding an air of importance.

This sweet and sassy cereal knows that young people are its main audience, and it really pulls out the stops in making this brand logo appealing to them. The colors are bright and attractive, while pieces of the equally brightly colored cereal make up the ‘O’s’ in the name. The other letters are white, which stands out against a red and yellow background. Red and yellow are both colors that make people feel hungrier, so this color palette is common in the cereal industry and the food industry in general.

Kix is another cereal that has managed to balance a reasonable amount of healthy ingredients that appeal to mothers along with the sweetness and crunch that children want. The brand logo uses a classic, bright blue and bold letters with newsy serifs to show its serious side. A red rectangle below the cereal name holds the cereal tagline: Kid-Tested, Mother Approved. The ‘I’ is dotted with a round cereal piece to tie this healthier, more parent-friendly image in with the product itself. Pleasing both kids and parents is a difficult task, but this logo is a success because it manages to appeal to both groups.

Frooty Pebbles are a cereal that many adults will remember from their childhood. The cereal has long used the once-popular cartoon characters from the Flintstones as spokespeople, and the brand logo ties these prehistoric favorites in as well. The letters appear to be carved from rock, which is significant for the Stone Age cartoon. However, it is brightly colored rock that catches the eyes of our youngest consumers. This cereal doesn’t even try to appear healthy, which may be appropriate considering the many sweeteners and artificial colorings that give it its distinctive appearance and taste.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch can be recognized easily even without the box because it has a very different shape from most children’s cereal: a square. A square is a very serious, adult shape, so the brand logo of this cereal needs the lightening up that the primary colors lend. A golden square is in the background, reminding consumers of the element that makes this cereal a little different from its many competitors.

Apple Jacks don’t even taste like apples, but they manage to tie their name into their cereal with a brand logo that relates to both. Instead of the bright colors that dominate the industry, the wording is bold and black with an angle that makes the letters appear to be coming out at the viewer. In the background is a stylized apple as well as a cinnamon stick that communicates the main flavor of this enigmatically named cereal.

A cereal that looks and tastes like a chocolate chip cookie? Clearly, Cookie Crisp is very different in flavoring and appearance from other cereals. The brand logo does a great job of expressing this difference. Shades of brown express the main ingredient—chocolate chips—while pieces of the cereal itself are used as letters. No attempts are made at a healthy image—and none are needed. The appeal of eating cookies for breakfast is portrayed well enough.

This cereal has a winning brand logo because it shows exactly how this cereal is different from most others. An inclusive circular shape in a healthy blue holds the cereal name in blocky white letters. The circle is serrated to look like a blue ribbon, the symbol of first place. Almonds and honey are in the middle of the circle, showing the two main ingredients in a straightforward way that appeals to adults.

As you can see, even major brands have to use the best principles of branding to tell consumers in a glance about their product. This need is not limited to breakfast cereals, however; every business can benefit from a solid brand image and a logo that compliments it.