Cheerios Finally Solves One Of Life’s Great Annoyances

After decades of complaints, jokes, and requests, Cheerios has finally decided to give the people what they want.

General Mills, breakfast cereal purveyor extraordinaire, is teaming up with Ziploc to offer resealable plastic bags inside the cardboard box packaging to “keep cereal fresher longer,” per a press release.  The new bag also features a convenient “pour spout” to “make it even easier to serve up the perfect bowl of Cheerios.”

The company said it received “thousands” of requests for the feature. Starting this week, customers can find it exclusively at Walmart.

“General Mills has received letters, emails and DMs asking for an easier way to reseal a cereal box, and we decided it was time to partner with the ultimate freshness brand: Ziploc®,” said Emilie Knox, Vice President and Business Unit Director for Cheerios at General Mills. “Cheerios with Ziploc PantrySeal™ takes a small, everyday cereal frustration and finally gives consumers the simple solution they’ve been asking for, making the whole routine easier and more enjoyable.”

The new packaging option will be available in the cereal aisle for both Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios.

The change comes as breakfast cereal consumption is on the decline. From 2021 to 2026, American cereal purchases dropped from nearly 2.5 billion boxes per year to 2.1 billion, representing a 13% decrease, according to market research firm Nielsen IQ.

The change in consumer breakfast habits has been blamed on a variety of factors, including the COVID pandemic changing people’s perception of breakfast at home, diets focused on more protein, and people moving away from refined carbohydrates. Gen Z in particular is less likely to eat breakfast cereal and usually opts for options such as eggs, fruit, vegetables, or protein bars. 

It remains to be seen if the update will help revive the cereal industry. But reactions online were mostly positive, with a general feeling that this change is long overdue.

“That’s actually kind of genius,” one reaction on X said. 

“This is an insanely good idea. Big cereal has done it again,” another commenter agreed. 

“We got flying cars before resealable Cheerios,” another joked.