As young children enthusiastically dig their spoons into their popping, crunchy Rice Krispies cereal, they savour those delicious flavours and, simultaneously, spot something truly eye-catching. The world-famous cereal treat and its delicious bars are found in bold, iconic packaging.
Rice Krispies is an absolute family favourite, not just because of its unique texture, flavour, sound, and moreishness, but because of its expertly designed packaging. Today, our packaging experts will look closely at how the Rice Krispies packaging has been tweaked over time, and how it still remains as fun, whimsical, entertaining, and popular as ever.
The History of Rice Krispies
When W.K. Kellogg first sampled the toasted rice cereal that had been covered with milk in the test kitchen, he excitedly exclaimed, “You’ve got something there!” It was a unique cereal that appealed not only to the taste buds, but to the senses of sight and hearing.
First released in 1928 by the Kellogg Company, Rice Krispies were marketed toward families. The popularity of the noise of the cereal would rise, and by 1929, the logo “Snap! Crackle! Pop!®” had appeared in an ad. These three onomatopoeic words would become elf characters in 1933 that appealed to children across multiple generations.
More and more products would come, featuring the slowly evolving Snap, Crackle, and Pop. T-shirts featured the three elves in 1983, and the brand identity would even expand to release strawberry-flavoured, chocolate-covered, marshmallow-smothered varieties of the once humble cereal treat.
Rice Krispie Mascots
What remained a critical part of the Rice Krispies brand were the three mascots. Snap, Crackle, and Pop were to undergo several alterations in their design, but they would remain popular from 1933 through to the present day.
Once taking a mainly black and white design in 1941, they reminded consumers through the psychology of colours, that Rice Krispies were a pure, clean food. The splash of red on the 1941 packaging design also unconsciously appealed to consumers’ desire to consume the moreish treat.
By 1979, the three mascots had gone through a few more makeovers. Their cheeky little faces received red cheeks in 1962, and in 1979 they took on a more cartoon-like design, appealing even more to young children.
Fast-forward to the 2000s and these mischievous mascots begin to align more with the digital age – their animation forms abundantly make use of the colour red, which was still seen in 2021 and beyond.
Rice Krispies Packaging: Shifts in Typography
While once simplistic in design, the Rice Krispies packaging would also evolve significantly in its typography. The simple bold font and all-caps cereal name “RICE KRISPIES” initially took a black and white design on the custom box, with the Kellogg’s brand name displayed proudly above it in a red, italicized font.
That simple font remained the same for decades until 2010, when the typography became slightly more eye-catching, with white letters contrasting against a bold navy blue border.
Clever typography and plays on words would follow in 2014 and 2019. A bright red strawberry takes the letter A’s spot in the phrase “Strawberry Krispies”, its bold eye-catching red colour contrasts with the pale pink background, drawing attention to the newly released, delicious flavour.
In 2019, Kellogg’s released the chocolate-covered poppers and a new packaging typography. In stark contrast to the 1933, all-caps “RICE KRISPIES” logo, the words “snap” “crackle” “poppers” appear in a bold, all lower-case Arial font, which can be seen on the compact packaging that takes the form of custom stand-up pouches.
Contemporary Packaging: Rice Krispies in the 2000s
Kellogg’s would take contemporary packaging to new levels in the 2000s, doing so with iconic writable wrapper® design ideas in 2010 for their delicious cereal bars.
Customized packaging had now become a more interactive design, brand and consumer became united in the design process, and Kellogg’s had done something special by inviting parents to write on the wrapper to remind their children how much they love them.
Rice Krispies Packaging: Final Word on these Iconic Designs
For decades, the audible, crunchy, tasty cereal that is Rice Krispies has arrived at the breakfast table inside iconic, fun, whimsical packaging. Each box and design has appealed to young cereal lovers and families since 1928, and its evolving packaging choices make Rice Krispies a treat that generations have enjoyed.
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies is a renowned, well-known cereal that has stood the test of time – it has transformed breakfast time because of its uniqueness and packaging. That is why Rice Krispies has taken its place in The Packaging Company’s iconic packaging blog series.
