Kellogg's to the rescue as rickets hits 'cloud-filled' Britain
With the clocks going back this weekend, cereal giant Kellogg's has leaped in with a pointed bit of marketing which may help sell more cereal but won't do the UK's tourist industry much good.
Corn Flakes - with Vitamin D added
The American magazine Advertising Age gives you the full flavour. Under the headline "Kellogg sticks Vitamin D where the Sun Don't Shine " the magazine goes on; "U.K. Initiative Adds 'Sunshine Nutrient' to Kids' Cereals, as Cases of Bone Disorders Rise in Cloudy Nation." The bone disease is rickets, well-known in prewar times, caused by a lack of the vitamin D.
Kellogg’s itself says that adding Vitamin D to cereals "will help combat sun shy Britain’s deficiency in the essential nutrient."
Describing the country as " cloud-filled" the US magazine says U.K., children are getting less sunshine than ever as they spend less time playing outside. "Children are spending more time inside on the computer, with 29% playing outside less than twice a week."
The theme never lets up. "Out of this new darkness," says the report, Kellogg's sees a marketing opportunity, with its plans to fortify Rice Krispies, Coco Pops and other cereals in the U.K. with vitamin D.
Kellogg's has already put vitamin D in Corn Flakes. "With the clocks going back this weekend and reduced sunlight, it's important parents consider ways to boost their children's vitamin D intake," Kellogg's says in a statement.
The vitamin D Corn Flakes boxes are marked with with a brightly coloured label and the whole kids cereal line-up will have the added vitamin D by the end of the year.
Kellogg says research shows a 140% increase in the number of British children under 10 admitted to the hospital with rickets in 2009 compared with 2001.
"Parents who are worried about the risks of sun exposure are failing to encourage their children to spend time outdoors in the sunlight with a third not getting enough sun exposure to give them sufficient vitamin D," Kellogg says.