The History of Cheerios

Cheerios were invented in Minnesota in 1941 by physicist Lester Borchardt and his team at General Mills. They created the now-famous cereal by developing a puffing gun machine that puffed oats into a small “o” shape. The cereal debuted under the name Cheerioats, but the name was changed to Cheerios in 1945 due to a trademark infringement claim by Quaker Oats. In 1976, the first new flavor was introduced: Cinnamon Nut Cheerios. Three years later, Honey Nut Cheerios hit the market and quickly outsold the original flavor. In fact, since 2009, Honey Nut Cheerios have consistently ranked as the number one cereal in America!