Lost Monster Cereals #17
ChocNess Monster: Dark chocolate flavored cereal with ChocNess monster and tam o’ shanter shapped marshmallows. Introduced 1983, discontinued 1988. Exclusive to the UK.
In the early 1980s General Mills looked to expand to international markets, and that included using the Monster Cereal brand. They thought it would be a good idea to create some unique monsters for different markets to stir up interest. They created ChocNess Monster exclusively for the UK market.
The cereal was plagued with brand confusion from day one however. When ChocNess debuted on English cereal aisle shelves, he did so alongside Count Chocula and Boo Berry (who for legal reasons was changed to Sir Frightful Berryton). The original coloring of the ChocNess monster was various shades of brown so visually it looked just the same as Count Chocula on shelves. If you remember, this is the same problem that the ill fated BrownEEK! had. So the color was quickly changed to his more well known purple and yellow colors. This change caused even more brand confusion, causing the casual consumer to think this was either a berry flavored cereal (due to the purple) or a chocolate and banana cereal (due to the yellow).
This brand confusion is not what did the cereal in however. It was its popularity in the United States that sealed ChocNess’ fate.
In the mid-1980s a huge underground cereal black market ring sprung up around this cereal, large quantities being smuggled into America where the cereal was not officially for sale. Monster Mouths and cereal aficionados prefered the richer flavor of the dark chocolate much in the same way that today people in America might prefer the taste of Cadbury’s to Hershey’s. And because of this sales of Count Chocula in the U.S. started to tank.
Not wanting to hurt or kill off their flagship Monster Cereal, General Mills thought it best just to pull the plug on ChocNess for good, even if it meant losing their footing in international markets. In the UK ChocNess wasn’t missed, but it developed, and still maintains to this day, a small cult following in the U.S.
Some speculate that the creation of BrownEEK! the next decade was an attempt by General Mills to try to capitalize on ChocNess’ cult following, but it just wasn’t the same and never caught on.
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