Walking into the grocery store, there are multiple items you are presented with, aisles full of multiple products, some of which look very similar. You might go into the cookie aisle and there are five different chocolate chip cookies; they all claim to be crunchy, classic milk chocolate chip cookies but somehow they all have a different price, but do they all really taste different?
I decided to take this matter into my own hands and conduct my own experiment to find the answer to this question. I bought two of the same type of cereal but from different brands: “Cinnamon Toast Crunch” by General Mills (on brand) and the Walmart version called “Cinnamon Crunch” by Great Value (Off Brand) .
The History of Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is a whole wheat and rice blend cereal produced by General Mills. It’s packaged and sold in boxes in most European Countries as well as in North America; however, according to “The Snack and Drink Encyclopedia" website, it’s sold in bags in Russia and Poland (Cinnamon Toast Crunch). The cereal itself is in squared/rectangular shapes and covered in cinnamon sugar. As said in the name, the cereal is known for its nice ‘Crunch’ which is due to the rice content within the cereal.
First produced in 1984, Cinnamon Toast Crunch was invented by John Mendesh, a chemical engineer with a masters in business administration according to the “University of Minnesota” website (“John Mendesh”) , and Elisabeth Trach, the assistant product manager at General Mills. Although these two individuals were creators of the cereal, they weren’t the ones who came up with an idea. During the early 1980’s, General Mills was having a Radio Contest called “Give us your best idea for a cereal” where children would do just that; they would send in ideas of what they thought would be the best cereal ever. According to “The Snack and Drink Encyclopedia", the winner would receive a set of hot wheels as their grand prize as well as having their cereal idea be produced (“Cinnamon Toast Crunch”). Through this contest, the cinnamon toast inspired cereal came to be. The child’s name who came up with the genius cereal idea remains unknown to the public.
As for the mascots of the popular cereal there has been a few tweaks to get to the “Crazy Squares” that we know now (“Cinomon Toast Crunch”). The original mascots used to be three bakers known as Quello, Bob, and Wendell; however the bakers Quello and Bob were dropped, which left Wendell as the main mascot for a long period of time. Later, the bakers were replaced by “Crazy Squares” which are the cinnamon toast crunch squares who occasionally eat each other on commercials (“Cinnamon Toast Crunch”). This cereal quickly became a favorite around the world. Soon after it gained popularity, Great Value, the Walmart brand, replicated it and called it "Cinnamon Crunch”, a similar and slightly cheaper alternative (“Cinnamon Toast Crunch”).
Price Difference and Size
Having learned a little bit about the backstory of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, let’s talk about the price. For a 12oz (340g) box of “Cinnamon Toast Crunch” it costs $2.97 pretax, which means each ounce costs about 25 cents. Whereas the “Cinnamon Crunch” is $2.24 for a 13.2oz (374g.) box before tax meaning it’s about 17 cents for each ounce (Both prices are displayed on the Walmart online website). So you are clearly getting more for your money with the Great Value version of this cereal in comparison to the General Mills version.
Although the difference is only about 7 cents, if you were to purchase a box of this cereal every week for a year (typically 52 weeks long) , you’d pay $154.44 total for the well known Cinnamon Toast Crunch compared to $116.48 for the Walmart remake, Cinnamon Crunch. That’s almost a $38 dollar difference. So long term, you do save yourself a good amount of money by purchasing the Great value version however if you’re buying it every once in a while, treating yourself to the on brand version isn’t a bad idea.
Appearance
Let’s take a closer look at the cereal visually. Both cereals have a square/rectangular shape and a cinnamon sugar coat. Right off the bat, I noticed that the on brand cereal was toasted golden brown while the Walmart version looked less crispy. It also seemed as if the cinnamon sugar coating was more even and well-coated on the branded cereal. In contrast, the cinnamon sugar mixture had a hard time sticking to the Great Value cereal. The last visual difference I noticed was while pouring the cereal into the bowls, there seemed to be a lot of loose cinnamon sugar mixture in the Walmart version than there was in the General Mills Cereal.
On Brand Cinnamon Toast Crunch (www.mashed.com) Off Brand: Great Value Cinnamon (www.walmart.com)
Other than these slight differences, they looked pretty similar and unless they were side by side, or you just really knew your cereal, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
As a Snack
Before adding milk to the two cereals I wanted to try it as it was to see if there were any differences in the flavor or textures. Both flavors were very similar however I did feel like the off brand cereal was a tad bit sweeter than the original and also lacked cinnamon flavor; it was there but not as pronounced as I’d want it to be considering it's a Cinnamon cereal. It almost has a slight artificial flavor to it whereas the on brand cereal has a more genuine taste and also a better balance between sugar and cinnamon with every piece.
Overall I’d say both cereals were enjoyable, however if you like the idea of a sweeter cereal snack then I’d definitely recommend the Walmart version. If you want something that you can munch on for a little longer without getting too sweetened out, I’d say the original Cinnamon Toast Crunch is the way to go.
Testing as a Cereal
Time for the real test, let’s add the milk! I used Darigold 2% reduced fat milk to test both cereals. I tried each cereal in two time frames: The first test was as soon as I added the milk and the second test was after the cereal sat for a couple minutes in the milk (about three minutes).
Test #1: As for taste, I feel like both the original and the off brand were similar, however the Great Value cereal had a much sweeter taste. Also, the original Cinnamon Toast Crunch seemed to have a more balanced cinnamon and sugar taste with every bite whereas the Great Value version was sort of inconsistent and had a strong sugar taste and lacked some cinnamon flavor. Texturewise, I’d say the on brand cereal had a more satisfying and airy crunch in comparison to the more stale-like crunch the off brand version had.
Test #2: After letting the cereal absorb the milk for a few minutes and retrying them there wasn’t much of a flavor difference from test #1, but there was a difference in texture. I instantly noticed that the General Mills cereal got a lot softer than the Great Value one, that’s not to say it got soggy though; it still had a really nice crunch. I think this is due to the fact that the cereal itself contains rice which allows for a satisfying crunch when it absorbs the milk. In comparison, the Great Value cereal almost seemed like it didn’t absorb the milk as well which I believe is due to the cereal not being very airy and rather dense. This would explain the stale-like crunch in test #1. Similarly, in this test the cereal had a snappier crunch compared to the original.
All things considered, I’d say the original definitely offers a more satisfying experience as for flavor consistency as well as having a delicate crunch. However, Cinnamon Crunch, the Great Value version, still has a good taste that is decently similar to the original. It does differ in texture as for how it snaps but it's still a fine experience.
The Milk
Crunch. I felt like it wasn’t too overpowering nor too sweet of a flavor where it was enjoyable to dThe second most important part of the cereal experience, the leftover milk. After finishing your delicious bowl of cereal, the breakfast doesn’t end there, there’s still the rest of the milk that now has a slight taste of your favorite cereal. As for how each milk looked, the off brand cereal had a lot more left over cinnamon in the milk compared to the original. Which would explain the inconsistent flavor when eating the cereal as well as the lack of cinnamon. It seemed as though the cinnamon sugar mixture didn’t stick very well the off brand cereal however that wasn’t an issue in the on brand cereal.
Now for how it tasted. The on-brand, following its usual experience, had a good balance of cinnamon sugar flavor however it had a much lighter flavor, it wasn’t too strong. Quite oppositely, the Great Value cereal had a much stronger cinnamon sugar flavor in the milk and was also a lot sweeter.
In my personal preference, I enjoyed the balanced flavors of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk better than the Cinnamon rink, however I could definitely see someone with a sweeter tooth enjoying the Great Value version.
Nutrition:
Last but not least, let’s discuss the ‘Nutritions Facts’ section. I’ll just go over a couple of sections: Calories, Total Fat, Fiber, Protein, Total Sugar, Calcium, and Iron. For reference, the serving size for both cereals is one cup.
Calories:
Original: 170 cal.
Off Brand: 180 cal.
Total Fat:
Original: 4 g.
Off Brand: 5 g,
Fiber:
Original: 3 g.
Off Brand: 2 g.
Total Sugar:
Original: 12 g.
Off Brand: 14g.
Protein:
Original: 2 g.
Off Brand: 2g.
Calcium:
Original: 130 mg.
Off Brand: 160 mg.
Iron:
Original: 3.6 mg.
Off Brand: 6.3 mg.
The nutrition facts on the cereals are pretty similar however, if you tally up who wins in each section, the original Cinnamon Toast Crunch by General Mills essentially has a better nutritional value compared to the Cinnamon Crunch Great Value brand.
Conclusion: Which One is Better?
After comparing both cereals, I would say they each have their pros and cons. However, overall the original Cinnamon Toast Crunch gave a much more satisfying experience. The price point isn’t much different from the off brand version, the flavor remains consistent, it has a nice crunch, the leftover milk is delicious, and it’s also a “healthier” alternative in comparison to the off brand cereal. Although the original took the win for me, I definitely still believe the Great Value version is a good alternative if you are someone who constantly purchases cereal and is on a budget; or simply prefers your cereal on the sweeter side.
By: Yaretzi E. Valencia
Works Cited
The Snack Encyclopedia Fandom. “Cinnamon Toast Crunch | The Snack Encyclopedia Wiki | Fandom.” The Snack Encyclopedia Wiki, https://the-snack-encyclopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Cinnamon_Toast_Crunch. Accessed 15 January 2026.
University of Minnesota Twin Cities. “John Mendesh | University Awards & Honors.” University of Minnesota, 11 October 2012, https://uawards.umn.edu/recipients-alumni-service-award/john-mendesh#:~:text=John%20Mendesh%2C%20vice%20president%20for,the%20Carlson%20School%20of%20Management.
Wood, Krysta. “Cinnamon Toast Crunch (History, FAQ & Commercials).” Snack History, 4 July 2022, https://www.snackhistory.com/cinnamon-toast-crunch/. Accessed 15 January 2026.
I really like your thoughts when comparing the two versions of cinnamon toast crunch. I thought it was really interesting that the coating seems to stick better on the on-brand version and keep it's consistent taste, and I never realized that and is something I'll think about now whenever I have these cereals.
ReplyDeleteI liked your comparisons on both the versions of cinnamon toast crunch. I always wondered if there was much of a difference between the on brand stuff and the off brand stuff. Reading your comparison helped me understand how there really isn't a huge difference between brands.
ReplyDeleteThe version of cinnamon toast crunch and the "knock off" one is a great one. You are most likely paying for the brand regarding the on-brand cinnamon toast rather than the actual product!
ReplyDelete