PASTRY CEREALS ROLLED OUT.

Byline: Associated Press 

Cake for breakfast? Almost. Betty Crocker, fresh from her own makeover, is bringing a new look to the morning with a line of cereal designed to appeal to dessert lovers.

Betty Crocker Cinnamon Streusel and Dutch Apple cereals will join Cheerios, Lucky Charms and other General Mills cereals on grocery shelves this fall, the company announced Friday.

The cereals are low-fat and fortified with vitamins and minerals, but the boxes are designed to catch the eye of people whose favorite food comes after dinner.

The Cinnamon Streusel box promises ``delicious-baked taste of cinnamon streusel,'' and the Dutch Apple box tempts the buyer to try the ``delicious baked taste of Dutch apple crisp.''

General Mills spent more than a year developing the new cereals with flavors reminiscent of baked goods.

``Baked flavors are unique to these cereals. No one else has them,'' spokesman Joe Rutledge said.

He also noted that General Mills spent months perfecting the technology to drizzle frosting at high speed on the Cinnamon Streusel flakes. That technology remains a closely guarded secret.

The company plans to add other flavors to its Betty Crocker cereal line.

The new Betty Crocker cereals were developed by the same General Mills team responsible for Frosted Cheerios, which were introduced last fall.

Betty Crocker, the General Mills brand with the greatest name recognition, accounts for $1.5 billion, or nearly 30 percent, of the company's annual sales. Its trademark red spoon logo is found on desserts as well as such items as scalloped potatoes, microwave popcorn and chewy fruit snacks.

Cereal accounts for 60 percent of General Mills' profits, but the company's share of the U.S. cereal market has hovered in the mid-20s behind Kellogg Co., which has about 33 percent of the market.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (color) Two new Betty Crocker cereals introduced Fri day are low-fat and fortified with flavors associated with baked pastries.

Associated Press