Snap, Crackle, Blog - The Kellogg's Stats

This time last week I was sat in Kellogg's HQ in Manchester stuffing my face with freebie cereal bars after an invitation to learn a bit more about what goes on behind the scenes at the UK's leading cereal manufacturers and how important breakfast is.  Thirteen mum bloggers attended the event which also provided information about nutrition, diet and the way in which Kellogg's are working with the Government's "Breakfast for Life" initiative.

"Why just Mum bloggers?" I hear you ask.  It remains a fact that, regardless of what roles are held by parents in the household, in the main, Mum controls the purse strings and makes the main decisions when it comes to buying food.  So it makes sense to tap into that market, doesn't it?

Photos from the day... click to enlarge
Images by Jon Super - reproduced with permission

Greg Pearson, the Managing Director of Kellogg's, introduced the day,  We chatted about the history of Kellogg's and how the brand has developed since being introduced into the UK in 1924.  We also had nutritional advice from resident dietary advisor, Sara.  She told us all we are "Shape Managers" which went down a storm.

What really surprised us all were these facts:

• 1.7 million children age 0-5 will skip breakfast
• 1.4 million children age 6-10 will skip breakfast
• 2.3 million children age 11-16 will skip breakfast
• £646,000,000 (yes, that's million) is spent on sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks on the way to school

It is parental responsibility to provide breakfast - the most important meal of the day.  Kellogg's products are a great source of iron, high in fibre and carbohydrates and low in fat and saturated fat - all of which provide a good start to the day and encourage a more balanced diet.  Research shows a direct link between skipping breakfast and weight gain.

We all had a go at making our own cereal using plain cornflakes and a myriad of ingredients such as cranberries, raisins, honey and nuts.  Mine ended up as a sticky mess, if I'm being honest.  We also had to design our own cereal boxes but I am not brave enough to show you the one I designed.  It was a felt-tip-pen-and-glitter-glue mess.  I write, I don't do drawing...

The Breakfast Club

(l-r back row - tearing up the H&S rules by standing on chairs)

Squidgyboo, Cheshire Claire

(l-r middle row)

Not Such A Yummy Mummy, And 1 More Means 4 (+1=5!), The Five F's, Not Supermum, some strange woman who wandered in off the street, Small Hand In Mine, Sandy Calico

(l-r front row)

The Coffee Lady, Time Management Mum, Mum In The Madhouse, Second Time Mum

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Massive thanks to Kellogg's for organising this event.  They had arranged a purpose built area, inclusive of crèche for the children and made us all feel very welcome. You can catch the Kellogg's team on Twitter at @KelloggsUK and we have all been using the hashtag  #snapcrackleblog.  

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Oh, and finally... as we were leaving the event we were presented with our very own goodie bag complete with our picture printed onto the cereal packet.

A missed opportunity for "Rice Nickies" there...