If You Ate This Pink Cereal As A Child, You're Probably A Gen Xer - Tasting Table

"In 1973, Post Consumer Brands put Pink Panther Flakes into stores, linking a Saturday morning kid's show with a convenient and colorful breakfast option. The opposite of a no-sugar added cereal, these sugar-coated flakes were covered in bright pink sugar with a strawberry flavoring that was known to be very sweet. The description on the cereal box explained the contents as pink frosted and pre-sweetened corn flakes fortified with eight essential vitamins."

"If pink milk wasn't enough to tempt buyers, boxes of Pink Panther Flakes came with prizes like a 5-in-1 spy kit, a toy ball, a tiny race car, and disappearing paper that would dissolve in water once submerged. To the dismay of lovers of the cereal, food coloring red #2 was banned in the 1970s after the ingredient was associated with harmful health correlations."

Post Consumer Brands released Pink Panther Flakes in 1973 as a licensed breakfast cereal tied to the Pink Panther Saturday morning show. The cereal consisted of pre-sweetened corn flakes coated in bright pink, strawberry-flavored sugar and was fortified with eight essential vitamins. The flakes colored milk pink when added and included box prizes such as a 5-in-1 spy kit, toy ball, tiny race car, and disappearing paper. Food coloring Red #2 was banned in the 1970s after associations with health risks, prompting discontinuation of the cereal in 1974, one year after its debut. The commercials featured a jingle ending with "Tickle me pink!"

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