Cocoa Puffs

Cocoa Puffsis an Americanbrandofchocolate-flavoredpuffed grainbreakfast cereal, manufactured byGeneral Mills.Introduced in 1956, the cereal consists of small orbs of corn and rice flavored with cocoa. Cocoa Puffs have the same shape asKixandTrixcereal.
Cocoa Puffs are sold in Canada, Latin America, and Europe under theNesquikbrand, via theCereal Partners Worldwideagreement betweenNestléand General Mills.
On several occasions, the cereal usedHershey'scocoain its recipe, and this aspect was heavily promoted in Cocoa Puffs boxes and commercials.
In December 2009, General Mills announced that it would cut thesugarin 10 kinds of cereal, including Cocoa Puffs, to less than 10gramsper serving. This could represent a 25% decline in thesugarcontent from the original level and 18% from the 2009 level of 11 grams per serving.
In 2020, General Mills bought back the retro recipes for four ready-to-eat cereals: Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Cookie Crisp, and Trix, claiming, "Cocoa Puffs now delivers more chocolatey taste."
In August 2024, twoclass-action lawsuitswere filed alleging that Cocoa Puffs cereal contains elevated levels oflead. The complaints, seeking $5 million in damages, cite a recent study byGeorge Washington Universityresearchers that found lead in 43% of 72 consumer cocoa products analyzed. The study, conducted over eight years, identified lead levels exceeding established guidelines in many products. These findings align with a 2023Consumer Reportsanalysis that detected high levels of lead orcadmiumin 16 of 48 tested chocolate products.
A cereal bar of Cocoa Puffs has been made. A layer of dried, sweetenedcondensed milkis added to the bottom and marketed as a substitute for a bowl of milk and cereal.
In the summer of 2008, a new addition was introduced: Cocoa Puffs Combos, which consists of the recognizable chocolate puffs combined with vanilla puffs.
Besides Cocoa Puffs Combos, there are varieties of popular cereals. One such example was Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch in 2011. The front of the box described that cereal as "naturally and artificially flavored sweetened chocolate squares."
The mascot of Cocoa Puffs, Sonny, an orangeCuckoobird, was introduced in 1962. In most commercials, Sonny attempts to stay away from his favorite cereal, mostly by doing a different activity, but ends up coming across some reference to the cereal in the act (usually described by the adjectives "munchy," "crunchy," and "chocolatey"), causing him to burst in energy, exclaiming hiscatchphrase"I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!" when he's reached his limit.Sonny was voiced byChuck McCannfrom 1962 to 1978, and has been voiced byLarry Kenneysince 1978.
The line "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" has entered the vernacular as a term for somebody who is irrational.
Sonny's name comes from the original format of the commercials, in which he was paired with his grandfather (also voiced by McCann). When the grandfather was dropped from the ads, "Sonny" remained the character's name. In 2010, Gramps returned to the Cocoa Puffs ads, with McCann reprising his role as Gramps and Kenney continuing to voice Sonny.
Sonny was designed by Gene Cleaves. Animation pioneer"Grim" Natwick(of Fleischers'Betty Boopteam) also contributed to the early images of Sonny and Gramps, according to then-contemporaries who collaborated with Natwick.
Sonny was initially depicted as wearing a pink-and-white striped shirt. In 1995, he was redesigned, this time wearing 1990s "extreme" clothes and being given a moreDisney-esque appearance. In 2004, he was redesigned more simplistically, this time without clothing.