Screen-free nostalgia hits the cereal aisle with the return of real toys

As breakfast cereal sales have fallen, food manufacturers have turned to an old trick to try and attract consumers back: the cereal box prize. Breakfast cereal sales have fallen more than 13% in five years, from 2.47 billion units sold in 2021 to 2.14 billion units in 2025, according to NielsenIQ data, and some of the most colorful, eye-catching brands are on the verge of losing their bright visual appeal. As consumer trends move away from artificial colors and toward natural food dyes, the biggest cereal makers are voluntarily replacing artificial dyes with natural colors that are more mut...