Limited-edition cereal is a fun and important reminder to live a happy, heart-healthy lifestyle
One of America’s most iconic cereals is getting a new look in time for National Heart Health Month this February.
To help bring the heart health conversation to the forefront in a fun, lighthearted way, limited-edition boxes of Cheerios now contain heart shapes along with the iconic “O” for the first time.
“Honey Nut Cheerios is on a mission to inspire happy hearts,” Liz Mascolo, vice president of marketing for Cheerios, said. “We want to remind people that living a heart-healthy lifestyle can be joyful, easy and delicious, and Honey Nut Cheerios can help to fuel that journey. We hope the new heart shapes not only put a smile on people’s faces, but inspire them to find new, fun ways to take care of their hearts.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for one in every four deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (47 percent) have at least one of these three risk factors, according to CDC research.
Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease,including unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. To help inspire Americans to live a heart-healthy lifestyle, Honey Nut Cheerios is also encouraging people to adopt simple behaviors that get them active, such as walking the dog, playing with kids or joining a group fitness class. Eating three grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods, like Honey Nut Cheerios can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart-healthy diet, according to its parent company General Mills.
The new heart-shaped marketing campaign brings the importance of heart health to the forefront with a new commercial, box design and social campaign. The ad spot, which debuted in December, features the brand’s iconic Buzz the Bee announcing the limited-edition Cheerios with happy heart shapes and touting the cereals heart-healthy benefits.
The limited-edition, heart shapes have already begun to appear on store shelves in boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios and original yellow-box Cheerios and leading into National Heart Health Month in February.
—Additional information provided by General Mills
