Two of the country’s largest cereal manufacturers, Kellogg and Quaker Oats, have launched new products recently in an effort to capitalize on healthy returns in the convenient breakfast food category.

Kellogg has just launched ready-made Rice Krispie squares in grocery stores and food service outlets across Canada.

The recipe has appeared on the cereal box since 1940, but the company wanted to attract consumers who are too busy to make them at home.

The gooey, low-fat treats are individually foil-wrapped and come in a box of eight.

Davis and Associates developed the playful, blue packaging which features the ‘Snap,’ ‘Crackle’ and ‘Pop’ characters.

J. Walter Thompson is handling a national billboard promotion as well as the television commercial, which is slated to start May 27.

The commercial is targeted to adults and does not feature the Krispie characters.

Its tagline reads ‘The taste you know and love,’ and the creative focuses on the heritage of the snack recipe.

Rice Krispie squares are categorized as cereal bars, which are part of the growing convenient breakfast food category that includes granola and cereal snacks, toasted pastries and instant breakfast shakes.

It’s estimated that half the boxes of Rice Krispies sold are used for making the squares, but Joanne Doyle, manager of product publicity at Kellogg, does not think the prepackaged snacks will affect sales of the cereal.

‘We don’t think it’s one or the other, she says. ‘We feel this product will just be more convenient and attractive to people who have busy schedules.’

Within the convenient breakfast food category, cereal and granola bars are a $178 million industry in Canada, according to A.C. Nielsen, with sales increasing nearly 40% in the last year.

Granola bars account for two-thirds of sales and cereal bars the remaining one-third.

While the breakfast bar category is growing, cereal sales have been comparatively slow to rise with an increase of only 2-3%.

Kellogg, which heads the $668 million cereal market, leads the breakfast bar category with the sales of its fruit-filled, Nutri-Grain cereal bars. They come in packages of eight, with six flavor varieties.

Quaker Oats, meanwhile, is introducing its Fruit and Oatmeal Bars this summer.

The snacks, which come in apple, blueberry, strawberry and triple berry flavors, hit the store shelves in early July.

A package of six retails for $2.50 to $3.

The brightly-colored packaging emphasizes the Quaker name and highlights the low-fat content of the product.

An illustration featuring a combination of fruit and wheat is designed to attract health-conscious buyers.

The company will run in-store promotions during the launch phase and Toronto-based Artis is working on the television advertising for this fall.

There are currently five companies, including private labels, that produce breakfast bars.

Both Kellogg and Quaker are targeting their new products to health-conscious shoppers and busy parents who want wholesome snacks for their children.

Quaker already sells Chewy Granola Bars and Granola Dipps, but Chris Bell, consumer marketing manager, says the company’s research indicates there is still room for growth in the category.

‘Variety and convenience in this category is what is driving consumers to the shelves,’ says Bell.