IMPORTANT NEWS: Pandemic Puts Grape-Nuts in Short Supply

 

Cereal maker hopes to have shelves fully stocked by spring

At grocery stores across the United States, consumers looking for Grape-Nuts are finding empty shelves and out-of-stock notices. But fear not, as the cereal maker has no plans to stop making the breakfast mainstay and expects that the shortage will be over by spring.

"First and foremost, we want to make sure that Grape-Nuts fans know that we have absolutely no plans to discontinue Grape-Nuts cereal,” Kristin DeRock, Grape-Nuts brand manager at Post Holdings, said in a statement. “People may continue to see shortages and temporary out-of-stocks on Grape-Nuts as we continue to work through supply constraints and higher cereal demand amid the pandemic."

DeRock noted that Post has struggled to boost production of Grape-Nuts because it is manufactured using a proprietary process that isn't easy to replicate.

"We apologize for any frustration and inconvenience this has caused. Grape-Nuts has been a much-beloved brand since its introduction in 1897, and we appreciate fans’ loyalty. Please know that we are working hard to get Grape-Nuts fully back on store shelves, which we expect to be this spring."

Grape-Nuts contains neither grapes nor nuts but is made of wheat and barley. It was created in 1897 by Charles William “C.W.” Post, who used a coffee grinder to turn a flat sheet of the baked cereal into tiny kernels that resembled grape seeds (or nuts). The name may have also been inspired by the glucose formed in the baking process that Post referred to as “grape sugar,” according to the cereal maker's website.

Grape-Nuts was one of the first boxed cereals available to U.S. consumers and is among a handful of these early varieties that remain popular, including Shredded Wheat, granola and Corn Flakes.

Post came up with Grape-Nuts after being a patient at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, which was run by John Kellogg. Around 1881, Kellogg developed granola for patients suffering from bowel problems. In making the cereal, he also discovered how to make cereal flakes. His brother, Will, used that technique to create flakes from cornmeal and, in 1906, founded the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Co. (renamed Kellogg Co. in 1922).

Grape-Nuts was initially marketed as a natural cereal that could enhance health and vitality. In the 1970s it gained popularity as a health food through its endorsement by naturalist Euell Gibbons, author of Stalking the Wild Asparagus, who was featured in a 1974 television commercial for the product in which he asked: “Ever eat a pine tree?” While noting that “many parts are edible,” Gibbons offered that Grape-Nuts were a better choice, with a taste that reminded him of “wild hickory nuts."

https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2021/grape-nuts-cereal-shortage.html