General Mills Bringing Back “Vibrant” Trix, Including Artificial Flavors & Colors

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Two years ago, General Mills joined other food companies by declaring it would cut artificial flavors and colors from all of its cereals. But some customers actually like those additives, at least in their Trix. To that end: The company is making the ultimate “throwback Thursday” offering by announcing it will once again offer Trix with artificial colors and flavors.

General Mills announced today that “Classic Trix” — complete with “vibrant colors,” artificial flavors and coloring — will soon return to grocery store shelves.

The cereal will come in addition to General Mills’ current version that features no artificial flavors or colors, meaning there’s something for everyone when it comes to Trix.

General Mills says that the decision to re-create Classic Trix came as a response to customers’ requests.

“Consumers have differing food preferences, and we heard from many Trix fans that they missed the bright vibrant colors and the nostalgic taste of the classic Trix cereal,” the company said in a statement.

While artificial colors and flavors might be returning to Trix, the company says the fruit shapes that once littered the cereal won’t be back just yet. However, General Mills hopes to make that dream come true soon.

“We are always listening to our consumers and we continually innovate and renovate our products to ensure we’re meeting consumer preferences,” the company said.

Artificial Changes

General Mills announced back in 2015 that it would work to eliminate artificial flavors and colors from its cereals.

At the time, the company noted that Trix would undergo quite the transformation. Specifically, the cereal lost its green and blue puffs, as it’s tough to make blue food colors with natural ingredients. And without blue, it’s impossible to create green.

“Trix is known for color, so this hit Trix pretty hard,” Kate Gallagher, a General Mills cereal developer, said in 2015.

The natural ingredients the company tried to get those same colors didn’t work out so well, delivering muted colors and a flavor the company didn’t want.

General Mills said at the time that more than 60% of the company’s cereals were already free of artificial colors or flavors, with 90% of its cereals expected to be free of such ingredients by the end of 2016. The rest were expected to be knocked off in 2017.

With the addition of Original Trix that doesn’t look to be the case any longer. The company’s Lucky Charms continues to use artificial ingredients for its marshmallows.

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