Cereal Sales Down 10% Over the Last Three Years

CNBC laments the decline of cereal for breakfast. (Click here for video.)

Cereal killers at the breakfast table

Thu 22 Aug 13 | 11:56 AM ET

The following transcript has not been checked for accuracy.

cuckoo for cocoa puffs anymore. how are cereal companies handling a decline? the good news, fewer people are skipping breakfast. the bad news, more of skipping cereal. where is mikey when you need it. he will try it. he eats everything. he likes it sm. in the game of life cereal, tastes change. consumers are swimming to yogurt or foods you can eat on the go. so-called cold cereal unit sales have cold 10% in the last three years. they'reinnovating, coming up with protein shakes, breakfast bars, however cereal remains the number one choice for breakfast in america. but not all consumer choose a bowl of cereal and milk. it's also impacting milk sales. also declining as people switch to other beverages. dean food says it's going to be a tough quarter. there's another problem translating this overseas. cold cereal is really only popular in the u.s., and so they've adjusted their cereal offerings internationally to appeal to that consumer that maybe wants to dunk a cereal bar in coffee or in yogurt. but look at the stocks. not that soggy until this summer. general mills and post have been outperforming the s&p and credit suisse says valuations in the sector getting a little high. also then to solve what may be a serial cereal problem, markets are targeting adults, not kids. gluten freechex. more adults eating lucky charms. at strike force hit says he has cher cheerios with soy milk because i'm that age. a box of cereal can cost $7 in some markets. it's ridiculous. i know we have to leave it there. and there's less in here. exactly.

URL:http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000193095

I hope this means that people are finding out that carton of eggs or a slab of bacon is better for their health and wallet than a $7 box of cereal. A coworker remarked that one of her grandsons can eat a whole box of cereal at one sitting, and wondered if cereal companies will try to make something healthier. But what healthy food are they going to make out of flour and sugar?