Cereal Box Analysis Paper

Morning Burst of Honey Bunches of Oats

            Honey Bunches of Oats is one of the most popular brands in the United States.  People find it a healthy but sweet, crispy option.  Not only is the taste delightful, the box is appealing to the eye.  The Honey Bunches of Oats box has warm, pleasant colors that grab the attention of the customers.  Throughout the entire box of Honey Bunches of Oats the theme of a morning full of sunshine is displayed. Attracting middle aged individuals, Honey Bunches of Oats has a mature and well developed appearance.

            Colors play a large effect on the appearance of the box.  Orange, yellow, gold, brown, and white are used throughout the front of the box with some of the same shades on the back giving it a glowing appearance.  The lower half of the box fades from orange to yellow to white.  Inside of the yellow portion there’s rays representing a sun. This sun image attracts people because when you think of morning you think of the sun coming up and time for breakfast.   In the white portion, there’s a circular sun shaped image with triangles representing the rays of a sun, once again.  The theme of the sun is reoccurring throughout the box. They do this because they want the box to be consistent and so they made a theme of a sun so that the box doesn’t have too much going on.  Inside the sun, there’s shading and highlights to make the brand pop out more.  It also has a white outline around the letters to make it more apparent to the eye. Towards the bottom, the color is a darker orange and the writing of “honey roasted’ is in white so it pops and grabs the attention.  The picture of the spoon and cereal is more apparent with the darker colors behind it. All of the colors on the box are colors that normally represent morning. This is attractive to the eye because people are looking for a cereal that will start them out with a good day right from the morning with a bright colorful box, rather than a dark and gloomy box.  Another object that stands out is the nutritional benefits text box.  The box is a brighter blue, which is different from the entire color scheme.  The goal of the bold color is to show the customer how beneficial it is to them and make their target audience larger. 

            The target audience for this type of cereal is middle aged individuals.  Honey Bunches of Oats isn’t popular for younger children because the box is not appealing to their eye.  Children normally like boxes with cartoons, a lot of colors, and designs to keep them entertained.  This box is bright but has only one color range.  Also, on the back of the box there’s a story about the history of Honey Bunches of Oats.  This tells you that it’s not meant for children because they can’t read nor would be interested in the topic. Unlike children, the topics are more aimed towards the adults as something interesting to read while eating.  Most cereal targeted for younger children have games and other entertainment for them to look at.  Middle age is a more appropriate target audience because the box is more mature and is more focused on the cereal than anything.  Because there are a variety of different personalities of teenagers, the brand could be appealing by some.  An example of a teenager that could possibly be interested in this cereal would be teens that are  more worried about being healthy.  This is because they are looking for a healthier brand that will benefit them.  Unlike the healthy teenagers, the unhealthy will prefer the more sugary brands that have less healthy benefits. The box is located on higher shelves of the grocery store where adults would be looking eye level with rather than down below. Not just is the box aimed for adults the benefits are aimed for adults too.

 Older people are the more popular target audience due to the fact that it is a heart healthy brand.  Older people are looking for healthier benefits because getting healthy is more popular as you get older.  Adults are looking for something that will help their process of getting in shape by having vitamins and minerals, which are provided in the cereal.  All of the nutritional benefits provided on the box are useful to adults and are what they look for.

            The nutritional benefits are very obvious on the front of the box with the bold text. They state the nutrition benefits including the trans-fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, whole grain, vitamins, and minerals. Having these facts stated helps sell their product because you can see the healthy facts right on the front.  Also, they have in depth descriptions on the side of the box.  Not only is the nutrition box noticeable on the box, the picture placements are also just as visible. This makes it easy for the customer to see when just looking at the box in the store.

Front of Honey Bunches of Oats

            Over half of the box is filled with the logo of Honey Bunches of Oats in a circular format. The honey in the middle of the logo is a focal point on the box which draws your attention to the logo. About 1/5 of the box is the image of the cereal. The picture is larger than the original size of a spoon making it seem like it’s going to scoop into your mouth. It also makes it easier to see the actual contents of the cereal. All of the images are revolved around the logo making a circular motion. This is important because it draws your attention to the logo of the cereal. The back of the box has a different lay out that varies from the front of the box.

Back of Honey Bunches of Oats

            On the back of the box, there’s a bowl of cereal in the upper left corner with the spoon pointing diagonally towards the words of a story. This image grabs the attention of the audience with the spoon leading towards the personal story. The paper clip also has the same effect as the spoon does. It is leading your eyes from the writing on the top of the box to the story. The story on the back of the box is very personable and makes the customer learn more about the brand and history of the cereal. The story is separated into different groups to make it look like it’s not as long and to catch your attention with the bold red topics. The story is on a regular piece of notebook paper to make it seem more relaxed and in your own home. Towards the bottom of the story, they have the website highlighted in a bright, random color to make it stand out right away. People’s eyes are attracted to things that stand out and make the customer remember. There are paper clips scattered on the table. This makes it seem like an ordinary table in anybody’s house. Another feature that makes it seem like home is the red-checkered table cloth. Because the background of the box is a darker color it makes the story stand out since it’s a bright white. These objects are all things that you would often see in a household. With objects that are so common around the home, it gives the box a more relaxed and home like feel. The tape that is shown on the box to keep the pictures in place gives you the at home feel also. There are little messages on each of the tape pieces. They all say things that people would be envious to have or feel. This can attract people to the image of having close connections with your family. One of the pictures is of a family eating breakfast together in the morning enjoying each other’s company. When people see this image it reminds them of family and being together happily. In the picture, you first see the cereal box as a focal point then in the background you notice the family sitting around the table. This shows the audience that they’re happy because of the cereal. The other picture is of an adult and child eating Honey Bunches of Oats. Not only do they look happy, they also look like they’re spending quality time together whether they are mother daughter, family members or just acquaintances.

            Honey Bunches of Oats has a repeating theme of a morning appearance with warm colors, family orientated and home characteristics. The box has everything from maturity to family based images. The images on the front of the box represent the sun and joyful mornings. The box has nutritional values yet everything still looks appealing. This cereal is a great way to start off the morning!

Works Cited

http://hubpages.com/hub/10-Most-Popular-Breakfast-Cereals

We scanned the front and back images of the cereal box.