#magic cupcake

Cereal #158: Unicorn Cereal

I think a really good place to start with this one is the little picture on the front of the box that says “MAGIC Cupcake Naturally Flavored.”

I suppose that begs the question, “what exactly does ‘MAGIC Cupcake’ taste like?”

I would imagine if I asked enough people, I would get a litany of replies ranging from birthday cake to cotton candy.

Maybe “MAGIC Cupcake” tastes fruity?

Or maybe it is sweet like candy?!?!

Imagine my surprise when I tore open the box and took a whiff of....Play-Doh.

Yup. Smells like Play-Doh. 

Not only smells like Play-Doh but it tastes like it too.

1. I can only figure that the cereal formulation team over there at Kellogg’s was trying to get a rough approximation of vanilla flavor (like icing), and somehow ended up with raw Play-Doh flavor. 

2. They then sent it to their savvy marketing team that believed they could Jedi mind trick consumers into believing that Play-Doh flavor is actually “MAGIC Cupcake.” 

3. And lastly, after focus testing this stuff on enough little kids (who by no coincidence LOVE the taste of Play-Doh), got this stuff green-lighted to store shelves. 

I will give them props for the addition of the sprinkles. While they do nothing to improve the Play-Doh taste, they do look very nice.

I can only surmise that anyone eating this, will feel like they are looking at a bowl of Froot Loops and EXPECT that the cereal will be fruity...or at least sweet. It’s actually quite jarring because the little O’s have very little sugary sweetness. The visuals just don’t match up with the taste.

I must add that even an ardent cereal enthusiast like myself is at a complete loss as to what I can mix the rest of this MASSIVE FAMILY SIZE box with to get rid of the remaining three pounds of Play-Doh flavored cereal. 

It’s not absolutely terrible, but it is really not good either.