Real men eat muesli

Researching the AQA GCSE Bus case study on Kelloggs tonight I spent a little time looking for new product developments in the cereal market. By luck (aka Google) I came across something which I now realise I have missing these last few months. The product? Macho Muesli.

I’m a big fan of breakfast - at any time of the day, or night. And until tonight I was a little embarassed to admit a fondness for muesli.

Muesli? No, not the sugar-filled Alpen nonsense, where the only fruit and nuts you will find are on the front of the package.

I’m talking about home-made muesli. A box of oats, mixed in with packet after packet of dried fruit of every kind. A genuinely power-packed start to a day - assuming you can be organised enough to buy all the ingredients.

Unfortunately, I rarely get round to making enough home-made muesli, and when I do, it disappears quickly.

So I’m pleased to have come across a new product launch from Jordans, which market researcher Mintel tells me is the UK’s fourth largest manufacturer of breakfast cereals.

It will be interesting to see whether Macho Muesli is able to establish itself in a highly competitive market.

Jordans will be hoping it is a success. A long-established family business, Jordans is now dwarfed in size by the big three cereal manufacturers - Kelloggs. Nestle (Cereal Partners) and Weetabix.

Until recently, the Jordan family fiercely protected the ownership of the business. However, late last year Associated British Foods (ABF), the international food, ingredients and retail group, acquired a 20% stake in Jordans. This kind of stake is usually just a precursor to a full takeover, suggesting that the big three will soon be facing a much better resourced and aggressive competitor for market share in the cereals market.