Business: Cereal makers say "Taste is King", tout sweetness

-WSJ

Most food and drink marketers will do as much as is permissible to downplay the amount of sugar in their products. 

But the makers of cereals and grain snack bars are on a sugar high, following years of trying to go down the healthy route to win back consumers who had switched to other breakfast items like shakes, yogurt and protein bars, the WSJ reports. 

Research has found that adults and children care less about nutrition and more about fun flavors and colors when it comes to their cereal tastes—and many aren’t just thinking about cereal for breakfast. To be sure, overall sales of cereal are still down, but sales of children’s cereal, which emphasize sweet tastes and cartoon mascots, are faring better than adult brands marketed as healthier. 

“Taste is king,” said Dana McNabb, General Mills’ president of cereal, who oversaw the company’s latest creations—Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios, Lucky Charms Frosted Flakes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch shredded wheat.