Kix, the first "puffed" cereal, was introduced in 1937 by the General Mills cereal company of Golden Valley, Minnesota. It was also known by the name of Corn Kix during the 1940s through the 1960s.

History

Breakfast cereals were originally developed as baked flakes until the 1920s and 1930s, when a new technology of puffing was introduced. Though General Mills did not invent the technology to puff food products, an engineer at the company named Thomas James invented a "puffing gun" by which dough pellets were expanded into different shapes, as opposed to raw materials such as wheat and rice.

The first cereal to use the new technology was Kix, created in 1937, as the pellets were expanded into small balls, though later cereals such as Cheerios used the same technology with other shapes.

Marketing and promotions

Early promotion centered around the cereal's unique ability to "stay crispier in milk than flat flakes" (semi-slogan for Kix from 1937-1960s). It also utilized several promotions in association with popular brands such as Cheerios, Wheaties, or Trix, including several years with The Lone Ranger in the late 1940s. Capitalizing on the atomic age, in 1946 Kix offered send-in promotions of an "Atomic Bomb Ring" featuring a concealed compartment and observation lens that allowed users to look at flashes "caused by the released energy of atoms splitting like crazy in the sealed warhead atom chamber."

In the decades following, Kix was heavily marketed toward mothers wishing their children to avoid sugar-laden cereals and toward children who might enjoy its slightly sweetened flavor.