General Mills announced one of its iconic cereals, Lucky Charms, will now be gluten free. The news is sure to please many consumers on a gluten-free diet who miss the taste of one of their childhood breakfast favorites.
According to the company’s blog, the cereal will be made gluten free by utilizing the same oat flour General Mills production facilities switched to in order to allow five varieties of Cheerios—Original, Honey Nut, Mutli-Grain, Apple Cinnamon, and Frosted—to become gluten free, which the company announced in February.
By capitalizing on the current food trend, General Mills hopes the change will boost cereal sales. According to the company’s fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2015 results released this month, cereal sales were down in 2015 and US retail sales for the full year fell 1 percent.
In June the company announced a commitment toward removing all artificial flavors and colors from Lucky Charms and its entire portfolio of cereal brands including Resee’s Puffs and Trix. General Mills says it will switch to familiar, more recognizable ingredients and plans to have more than 90 percent of its cereal portfolio free of artificial flavors and colors by the end of 2016.
Gluten-free Lucky Charms will be available on store shelves in September.