Force (cereal) facts for kids
Early Force packaging featuring Sunny Jim
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| Type | Cereal |
|---|---|
| Course | Breakfast |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Created by | Force Food Company |
| Invented | 1901 |
| Serving temperature | Cold |
| Main ingredients | Wheat |
Force was a very important breakfast cereal. It was the first successful cereal made from wheat flakes. Before Force, other wheat cereals like Shredded wheat and Cream of Wheat existed, but Force was different. It was easy to make and stayed fresh for a long time in stores. The Force Food Company in Buffalo, New York, started making it in 1901. A cartoon character named Sunny Jim helped advertise it.
Contents
The Story of Force Cereal
Early Days and Advertising
When Force cereal first came out, its advertisements called it "The Food That is all Food." The ads showed healthy-looking children. The cereal box even had pictures of strong men wrestling with chains. Maybe because the company wasn't sure who they were selling to, the cereal didn't sell very well at first.
How Sunny Jim Was Born
In late 1901, a writer named Minnie Maud Hanff came up with a new idea. She created a character named Jimmy Dumps. He was a sad and gloomy person. But when he ate Force cereal, he changed into the happy Sunny Jim!
An artist named Dorothy Ficken drew pictures of Sunny Jim. Minnie Maud Hanff wrote fun, catchy songs (called jingles) about his change. These ads appeared everywhere. You could see them in magazines, on big billboards, and on the sides of city trolley cars. This happened from May 1902 until the fall of that year.
Huge Success and Growth
The advertising campaign with Sunny Jim was a massive hit! Force cereal was first made in just one factory in Buffalo. But by early 1904, the Canadian Grocer newspaper reported big news. There was another Force food factory in Buffalo. A third one was in Chicago, and one more was in Hamilton, Ontario. Together, these factories made a huge amount of cereal: 360,000 packages every single day!
Changes in Ownership
The owner of Force, Edward Ellsworth, tried to grow his business too quickly. He lost control of his companies in 1907. After that, Force cereal changed owners many times over the years.
Force Cereal Goes to Europe
In 1903, a British part of the Force Food Company was created. Its job was to bring the cereal to Europe. A slightly changed version of Sunny Jim and his jingles became very popular with British customers.
In 1910, a former employee of the Force Food Company, A. C. Fincken, started his own company. He imported American cereals to the UK. Force cereal and the Sunny Jim character became very successful in Britain. At its most popular in 1930, it sold 12.5 million packages!
Return to the United States
In 1932, Force cereal was brought back to the United States. Herbert C. Rice, an Englishman, was involved in radio shows in Buffalo. He introduced "The H-Bar-O Rangers." This was a popular radio adventure show for boys. It featured another version of the Sunny Jim character. This show was linked to a new advertising campaign for the cereal. However, this attempt to bring Force back to the US didn't last long.
Force and Superman
In 1940, Force cereal sponsored "The Adventures of Superman." This was a famous radio show. It was on this show that important ideas for Superman, like Kryptonite, were first introduced.
Later Years and Discontinuation
Since 1954, Force cereal was made in the UK for sale there. A.C. Fincken & Co., Ltd. was sold to Rank Hovis McDougall in 1985. This company was a part of the Nestlé Company.
In the 1970s, there was an unusual marketing campaign. It focused on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. This campaign might have been successful, but it reached only a very small group of people. Around 1986-1988, you could collect old British coins with your cereal.
Sadly, the making of Force cereal stopped in 2013. The company said it was because of low sales. However, in its last few years, the cereal was hard to find. It was sold in very few stores, mostly Sainsbury's, Waitrose, and Ocado.
Since then, the Force wheatflakes brand was brought back for UK customers. It was bought by Nestlé. It used to be sold on the Waitrose website, but it is no longer available there.
