For at least the past 50 years breakfast cereal has come in boxes similar to the ones at left. They have been colorful and work to attract target consumers (most of them being children). On the boxes were games and information that helped to hold one's interest while consuming the product and desiring more. As a child I went through my share of Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, Post Toasties and the rest. Some time I was interested in a prize that was in the box or a story or puzzle that was on the back side. Other times I focused on the flavor of the cereal. Any sugar frosted flavor was popular for quite some time. Relating to characters such as Tony the Tiger or Toucan Sam was always a tough choice and Captain Crunch fought for space on my breakfast table with the best of them. So if you haven't realized by now, the packaging played a major role in the purchase of cereal in our home. I also recall that the lure of some of these cereal packages was so strong that we bought certain brands at times without really eating much of the product. After time the boxes changed and some have converted into pouch form. I have tried healthier brands of cereal and even some that now come in pouch form. And I do look at the packaging to see what it offers. Zipper locks and messages about health are more front and center. Flavor does play a role in my cereal purchase but I don't find the strong pull to the ones of my childhood and I don't crave for any "comfort" cereal bringing back memories of days gone by. It is interesting to see how much of a role this product has played in our lives. This last picture is from the first "Alien" movie. Although this was a pivotal scene in the movie, I placed it in this post to note the packaging for the cereal. If you look closely, you will see the cereal on the table comes in plastic containers with no advertising or brand recognition. Everything in the picture appears sterile and boring. I can't imagine space travel being exciting at all if you can't even get an interesting box of cereal to enjoy. At CTI, we manage packaging in many forms including cereal. Check us out at www.ctipack.com