From the Cereal Aisle - Fingos

Product: Fingos
Company: General Mills
Years: 1993-1994

I was doing some research on Fingos for this post, when my son walked up and asked "What are Fingos?".
I told him "It was an old cereal that was made so you could eat it with your hand."
His 8 year old mind thought for a second, then he says "All cereals can be eaten by hand if you don't add milk."

And he's right.

Which I guess is why this product flopped. You didn't need to market a cereal that can be eaten by hand since ALL cereals can be eaten by hand.

Fingo's was a strange offering from General Mills. It came in 2 flavors, Honey Oats and Cinnamon, and there was also a variety pack called "Fingos Singles" that had smaller snack packs of each flavor.

But nobody bought it, because they could see through the gimmick.

It also didn't help that "Fing" is the Hungarian word for passing gas, and the word "Fingos" translated to "He Farts a lot" in that language.

Which come to think of it, probably would have actually helped with sales, had they made that public. Well, it would have helped with sales among 6-13 year old boys, anyway.

Also, part of their sales slogan was "Anytime, anywhere", which sort of makes me feel like they are threatening to fight me.

Wanna go, Fingos? Huh? Let's go....you and me.....RIGHT NOW! (wait, what's that smell...)

Anyway, they didn't last, but this strange, flatulant, eager to fight cereal still deserves a spot on our shelves.
It was a swing and a miss for General Mills, but perhaps it was just a little before it's time, as there have been several other snackable cereal offerings similar to this in the recent years.

So do you remember eating these back in the early 90s?

From the Snack Aisle: Krazy Glazy

Product: Krazy Glazy
Company: Nabisco
Years: Early 70's

Once upon a time, Pop Tarts weren't the only breakfast toaster pastry on the market. You had a choice to make while strolling the cereal aisle. One such item that I'd like to highlight today was a little remembered pastry called Krazy Glazy (with a K, because it's gangsta.)

Total disclosure: I hadn't heard of these before either until about a week ago when I stumbled upon this ad in the Spokane Daily Chronicle from November 28, 1973.

Krazy Glazy came in 4 flavors, Apple, Cherry, Strawberry, and Blueberry. The rest, as it turns out, is a mystery. I contact Nabisco/Mondelez and got nowhere. Nobody had any information or even remembered these (as it usually goes with large companies that have a vast history of products and have changed ownership at some point). How can these companies have no library of products? Or do they, and they just don't like to share that information. If they don't, it's kind of sad, actually.

The thing that struck me most about this product is the box. As a collector of vintage packages, I tend to gravitate towards silly characters and colorful boxes that have a distinct feel of the era they were created. And this box certainly hits all those marks. I've never seen an actual box, but if anyone out there has one to share, let me know. I'd love to see it! It has a Crazy (sorry, Krazy) looking Pastry dude on the front...with a massive head wound! I mean, why is he smiling?! He's seconds from death!

Other then the above, I couldn't find any information about this product, so I'm guessing it must have been a flop that wasn't around very long. The only information I could find was a few stills from a Krazy Glazy commercial that was never aired. You can read that interesting little story about that experience here.

http://www.getthefive.com/articles/the-marketeer/adventures-in-adland-3-peter-the-copywriter/

And that's it. I would love to get more info on this product. I would REALLY love to get one of these boxes for my collection, or a scan of a box even so I can reproduce it. Surely someone out there must have one. Or has this product already been forgotten? I hope not. So I'm going to do my part to stop that from happening by adding it to the shelves here at Gone But Not Forgotten Groceries.

Announcing a New section for 2014: The Endangered Grocery List!

When I'm out grocery shopping, I have gotten into the habit of snapping pictures of products that are weird, interesting, and probably doomed to be pulled from the shelves. Snack foods, cereals, sodas and chips are some areas I can usually find these strange creatures. I snap a picture of the items on the shelves, in their natural habitat, if you will. It's kind of fun to look back and see how many of the items I shot didn't make it in the wild for long.

So that's why I'm going to start a fun new interactive part to this blog, and I'm hoping all of you faithful readers out there (all 6 of you) will help me out. The new section is what I am going to call "The Endangered Groceries List", and it goes like this:

When you are out shopping at your local Piggly Wiggly, Meyers, Cub Foods, or whatever grocery chain you have in your neck of the woods, be on the lookout for "endangered groceries".

What are "Endangered Groceries" you might ask? Well, it's those items you see on the shelves that catch your eye and you think to yourself "Wow, these are never gonna last". Maybe they are limited edition items that were never intended to stick around. Maybe they are items tied to some celebrity who is having their 5 minutes of fame. Or maybe it's an item that is just plain a bad idea that nobody is going to buy into.

Here are some examples that I have shot in the wild:

Limited edition cereal, will surely be gone in 6 months

And this:

Weird snack/cereal from a small company that I can't find anymore

Oh yeah, and these......weird......

Git R' Done! I give them a few months. Aren't people sick of this guy yet?

So, if you are out and about and come across any of these doomed to fail, endangered groceries, snap a pic! And send it to me at gbnfgroceries@gmail.com. Maybe I'll use it in the Endangered Groceries section, and you'll be an instant hero to people everywhere! (well, to the other 5 people who read this blog, anyway.....)

Thanks, and happy hunting!