(no subject)
For breakfast this morning I had Post Raisin Bran cereal. Usually, I have Kellogg's Raisin Bran cereal, but I guess whoever went foodshopping decided to shake things up a bit. It made me wonder how many different types of Raisin Brans are there out there? Who made it first? Why is Raisin Bran an exception to copyrights and registered trademark regulations?
What you're looking at there is a box of Skinner's Raisin Bran, produced by U.S Mills. The original U.S. Mills was founded in 1908 in the heart of the United States, Omaha, Nebraska, according to their website. 18 years later, in 1926, U.S. Mills introduced the first Raisin Bran. There are several other brands that introduced their own Raisin Brans later, including General Mills' Total Raisin Bran and Raisin Nut Bran; and Kraft Foods' Post Raisin Bran.
Today, however, the most popular Raisin Bran is produced by Kelloggs. The Kelloggs website lists it's first creation as 1950, although cereal.com states it is 1942. There is also Raisin Bran Crunch availiable today, produced by Kelloggs. Kellogg's Raisin Bran is ranked the 5th most popular breakfast cereal by Information Resources, Inc.
On the question of the trademark, apparently "Raisin Bran" was once trademarked, but widespread use of the term caused it to become generic, thus making it unable to be protecting by trademark laws, according to cereal.com.
On a side note, I have come to understand that Grape Nuts was the first real cereal. That's pretty sweet. Later.
What you're looking at there is a box of Skinner's Raisin Bran, produced by U.S Mills. The original U.S. Mills was founded in 1908 in the heart of the United States, Omaha, Nebraska, according to their website. 18 years later, in 1926, U.S. Mills introduced the first Raisin Bran. There are several other brands that introduced their own Raisin Brans later, including General Mills' Total Raisin Bran and Raisin Nut Bran; and Kraft Foods' Post Raisin Bran.
Today, however, the most popular Raisin Bran is produced by Kelloggs. The Kelloggs website lists it's first creation as 1950, although cereal.com states it is 1942. There is also Raisin Bran Crunch availiable today, produced by Kelloggs. Kellogg's Raisin Bran is ranked the 5th most popular breakfast cereal by Information Resources, Inc.
On the question of the trademark, apparently "Raisin Bran" was once trademarked, but widespread use of the term caused it to become generic, thus making it unable to be protecting by trademark laws, according to cereal.com.
On a side note, I have come to understand that Grape Nuts was the first real cereal. That's pretty sweet. Later.