STATE COLLEGE, Penna. — I recalled reading about Philadelphia’s Cereality in USA Today a few years ago and my first thought was that it was either the stupidest or best idea ever. My second thought was “State College has got to be on their shortlist for one.” It turns out it was — State College has one of seven locations.
The Cereality concept is a coffee shop-like eatery focusing on breakfast cereal. The first one opened near UPenn and while we were in Happy Valley this week, we stopped by the West College Ave. location. Cereality is laid out like a cross between a kitchen in a trendy catalog and a coffee shop. White walls were adorned with posters of cereal branded characters and colorful menus. Lots of cheesy slogans like “chief of grain surgery” also adorn the cafe. I can’t remember most of them.
One of Cereality’s selling points is being able to mix flavors and add toppings, including chocolate syrup, caramel, fruit, and candies like M&Ms and Reese’s Pieces. Pop Rocks are also offered; if you going to market yourself as a novelty, go all the way.
Erica ordered a “Jump Start” which is a combination of Cheerios and Special K mixed with some nuts, peaches and honey. She enjoyed it and agreed that it provided a jump start. It came in at $5.99 I think and was the best value on the menu. Not being one to heave topping onto my breakfast cereal, I opted for Golden Grahams (instead of Frosted Flakes, my daily choice) and caramel that I barely noticed. That set me back $2.99.
Instead of traditional bowls, the packaging comes out in cardboard containers like the ones you get Chinese takeout in. I would have preferred a bowl because the shape of the box makes it easy for the cereal to get soggy.
For someone like me who likes his cereal as it comes out of the box with skim milk in a bowl, the appeal of Cereality is limited; the more adventurous cereal consumer, like Erica, gets value there. The novelty is interesting once (like pop rocks with cereal, I suppose) for someone like me, but that is not enough for a successful business model. By offering lots of combinations, Cereality has a decent niche carved out for itself. I don’t think we’ll see a lot of Cereality locations outside of college towns, but focusing on that demographic seems to work pretty well for Cluck-U, Jimmy Johns and D.P. Dough. Cereality could probably be successful in some big cities too, but just to be on the safe side, they ought to open next to Urban Outfitters — I think the clientèle would be the same.
UPDATE 06.26.2008: It closed — Actually, I was right about Cereality
