Magic Spoon Tests Moving Out of The Cereal Aisle
Direct-to-consumer cereal brand Magic Spoon quietly launched a limited run of cereal bars last month, step one in seeing if it can flex beyond its flagship product.
Available in 16-count packs for $39 in a single Cookies & Cream flavor, the bars sold out within 48 hours of launching on Magic Spoon’s website. The brand has had limited releases before — non-food items such as bowls, spoons, cereal-scented candles and various other branded merchandise — but CEO and co-founder Gabi Lewis said that in surveys of Magic Spoon consumers, cereal bars were among the most requested new products.
“Cereal bars were a no brainer,” Lewis said. “They’re fun, nostalgic, and a natural extension of our brand, while being a product that our customers have asked us to create for them again and again.”
Data from the test will be used to determine how, when and with what products Magic Spoon eventually expands beyond boxed cereal, Lewis said, with the team tracking everything from website reviews for the bars to click-throughs and conversation rates. Still, one thing the brand doesn’t plan to sway from is its commitment to remaining direct-to-consumer, with Lewis stating that entering physical stores is only in the “long-term roadmap” for the company.
Like the cereal line, Magic Spoon’s bars offer consumers a low-carb and low-sugar option. Each bar has 10 grams of protein and four grams of net carbs, as well as only one gram of sugar, thanks to the use of monk fruit, allulose and stevia as sweeteners.
While interest in low-carb and low sugar products has risen, so too has competition. When Magic Spoon first launched, the company was one of the first keto cereals in the market. Since then there have been numerous other entrants to the category both from emerging players, such as Three Wishes, iWon, Schoolyard Snacks and Catalina Crunch, as well as larger brands, such as Kashi’s Go line. Many of these companies also have products in other categories such as puffs, crackers and cookies in order to build their brand presence throughout the store.
Although Magic Spoon declined to comment on how this test will ultimately impact their future plans for expansion, Lewis described the launch as a “huge success.”
“It’s not quite true to say we were surprised by how excited our customers were to get Magic Spoon cereal bars, since we already knew that to be true from pre-launch data, but it was still incredible to see that data translate into real life excitement and sales on launch day,” he said.
