Skip to Content

Making breakfast history: a timeline

Post Foods and MOM Brands became one cereal company: Post Consumer Brands.
Key moments that contributed to Post’s impact on the cereal industry:

  • Postum Cereal Company founded in 1895

    1895 Postum Cereal Company founded

    C.W. Post makes his first batch of Postum, a cereal beverage, in a barn in Battle Creek, Mich., and starts the Postum Cereal Company.

  • old Grape Nuts cereal launch in 1897

    1897 Grape-Nuts Cereal

    Postum Cereal Company introduces Grape-Nuts cereal, one of the first ready-to-eat cereals.

  • old Post Toasties cereal launch in 1904

    1904 Post Toasties

    Postum Cereal Company launches a brand of corn flakes, which becomes known as Post Toasties.

  • CW Post death in 1914

    1914 C.W. Post's death

    Following C.W. Post’s death, the Postum Cereal Company continues to expand its product line.

  • Campbell Cereal Company founded in 1919

    1919 Campbell Cereal Company founded

    John Campbell, a miller in Owatonna, Minn., adds malt flavor to farina cereal and names his creation “Malt-O-Meal.” He founds the Campbell Cereal Co.

  • General Foods logo

    1929 General Foods Corporation

    The Postum Cereal Company changes its name to General Foods Corp., after adding Jell-O gelatin in 1925, Baker’s Chocolate in 1927 and Maxwell House coffee in 1928.

  • old Post Cubs cereal launched in 1939 and changed to Shreddies in 1941

    1939 Shreddies

    Post Shreddies cereal is launched in Canada. Originally called “Cubs,” the name is changed to Shreddies in 1941.

  • Old Post Raisin Bran cereal launched in 1942

    1942 Post Raisin Bran

    Post Raisin Bran cereal is introduced.

  • Campbell Cereal Co. is renamed Malt-O-Meal Co. in 1953

    1953 Malt-O-Meal Co.

    Campbell Cereal Co. is renamed the Malt-O-Meal Co.

  • Malt-O-Meal Co. introduces cold bags of cereal in 1966

    1966 Innovative packaging

    Malt-O-Meal Co. introduces its first cold cereals in a new economical package: the cereal bag without the exterior box.

  • Post launches Pebbles cereals in 1971

    1971 Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles

    Post launches Fruity PEBBLES and Cocoa PEBBLES, featuring characters from “The Flintstones,” the first cereal brand based on characters from a TV series or movie.

  • Philip Morris USA logo

    1985 Philip Morris acquisition

    General Foods is acquired by Philip Morris Companies.

  • Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereal is introduced in 1989

    1989 Honey Bunches of Oats

    Post Honey Bunches of Oats is introduced.

  • Kraft logo

    1989 Merger with Kraft Foods

    Philip Morris Companies merges General Foods with Kraft Foods, which was purchased by Philip Morris Companies in 1989.

  • Malt-O-Meal Co. launches resealable cereal bag in 1998

    1998 Resealable cereal bags

    In pursuit of even more convenience and freshness, Malt-O-Meal Co. introduces the resealable cereal bag.

  • Malt-O-Meal Co. purchases Quaker Bagged Cereal Business in 2002

    2002 Quaker bag cereals acquisition

    Malt-O-Meal Company purchases the Quaker Bagged Cereal Business.

  • Kraft launches Post Cereals and merges it with Ralcorp Holdings in 2007

    2007 Ralcorp Holdings merger

    Kraft spins off Post Cereals and merges it with Ralcorp Holdings, creating Post Foods, LLC.

  • Malt-O-Meal Co. launches Better Oats, low calorie instant oatmeal in 2010

    2010 Better Oats

    Malt-O-Meal Co. introduces the country to 23 flavors of instant oatmeal called “Better Oats.”

  • MOM Brands logo

    2012 MOM Brands

    Malt-O-Meal Co. is renamed MOM Brands to reflect its wider product range of cereal brands.

  • Post Holdings logo

    2012 Post Holdings

    Post Holdings is spun out of Ralcorp, with Post Foods as its sole operating segment.

  • Post Consumer Brands is created in 2015

    2015 Post Consumer Brands

    Post Holdings buys MOM Brands and combines it with its Post Foods business to create Post Consumer Brands, the nation’s third-largest cereal company.

  • Post Consumer Brands acquires Weetabix cereals in 2017

    2017 Weetabix acquisition

    The Weetabix U.S. portfolio of cereal brands joins the Post Consumer Brands family.

  • Three Sisters logo

    2018 Three Sisters

    The company’s Three Sisters division is formed, focusing a wide range of sensible, sustainable and delicious choices.

Post cereal history in the making

Watch the video

Malt-O-Meal innovates with “Steamboat Bill” radio promotion

John Campbell, founder of Malt-O-Meal, became an early pioneer of radio, using his ingenuity to raise awareness of his new cereal.

Learn More

Watch the video

Marjorie Merriweather Post. Heiress to the Postum Cereal Company

Marjorie not only inherited her father’s company, but also his business savvy and his belief that wealth came with a responsibility to help others.

Learn More

Watch the video

Honey Bunches of Oats®. The cereal that started with a smile.

Our top-selling cereal brand exists today thanks to a long-time employee’s idea.

Learn More

We use cookies to improve our products and your experience on our sites. By agreeing to the use of cookies on our website, you consent to the disclosure of your information to our service providers as described in our Cookie Policy.