A couple of weeks ago, Jason and Travis unveiled a new brand partnership with General Mills. In addition to special edition cereal boxes with their faces on them, their first official product as a part of that partnership is the Kelce Mix cereal. The Kelce Mix is a three part combo of – brace yourselves – Reese’s Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Lucky Charms. Taste issues aside, and don’t worry, we’ll get to that, this sounds like a doctor’s worst nightmare and a dentist’s dream. This didn’t go unnoticed, either. After a segment promoting the Kelce bros’ new cereal aired on the Today show, many people took to Twitter to comment on how sugary and unhealthy it is. Jason responded to the criticism, saying that he grew up eating all three cereals and he’s perfectly fine!
After the Today show posted a clip of their segment covering Jason and Travis Kelce’s new cereal Kelce Mix on X, user @calleymeans retweeted the video with a hot take.
“Athletes should stop sponsoring food that destroys kids’ metabolic health,” reads the tweet, which is attributed to Calley Means, co-founder of the health payment company TrueMed.
“Some things are more important than money,” Means continued before tagging Travis, Jason and Today in the post.
Kelce Mix is made of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms and Reese’s Puffs, which are some of the brothers’ favorites. Jason, 36, only took a few hours to respond to the criticism, sharing an anecdote about how he ate the cereals as a kid.
“I grew up on these products Calley, and I was a perfectly healthy fit child, because I enjoyed them in moderation and when on the go for quick meals when both my parents didn’t have time to cook,” Jason replied on X.
“I appreciate you spreading information on what is healthy for people and kids, and I take the obesity epidemic as a country and for kids seriously, but there is also room to eat cereal and ice cream and candy in the right quantities in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle,” continued the Super Bowl champion, who shares three kids with wife Kylie Kelce.
Means also replied to his own post with a comment criticizing Today for covering the cereal but not his sister’s bestselling health-focused book, Good Energy, which he also co-wrote.
A couple of things can be true here. First, the Kelce mix cereal is totally unhealthy and I don’t think anyone is denying that. That Means dude whose Tweet Jason responded to was clearly hoping for his 15 minutes so he could plug his book, but the substance of what he said about famous people endorsing unhealthy sh-t for kids isn’t wrong. While Jason has a valid point that there’s always room for little treats for dessert when in conjunction with an otherwise healthy diet, responding with the argument that he grew up healthy despite eating those cereals isn’t the one. It’s a bit tone deaf and doesn’t take into account that a lot of children out there don’t get the proper nutrition they need. In the past, Jason Kelce has championed Philabundance’s BackPack program, which helps kids get access to healthy food. This would be a good time for him to bring awareness to different programs like that nationwide.
This random cereal mix is something Buddy the Elf would dream up. All it needs is a little maple syrup, and Buddy’s in. I’m not one to yuck anyone’s yum, but this sounds so gross to me. Then again, my idea of mixing cereals when I was growing up was doing a little three-fourths Honey Nut Cheerios and one-fourth regular Cheerios. I was a very interesting child the rest of the time, I swear. Anyway, it was only a matter of time before Jason and Travis Kelce started to expand their personal brand. I’m just going to keep my kids out of the cereal aisle for a while. I’m already a “mean mom” for telling them they cannot have a MrBeast Feastibles bar every single time they enter a store with me.
Athletes should stop sponsoring food that destroys kids’ metabolic health.
Some things are more important than money @tkelce @JasonKelce @TODAYshow https://t.co/0fE7gmoQJf
— Calley Means (@calleymeans) July 26, 2024
Calley I appreciate that this is your work and that you are trying to raise awareness for something very serious in our food intake. That being said, once again, I have no problem endorsing a product I have consumed and one my kids have consumed. I’m joking at my dad here…
— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) July 28, 2024
This combination sounds awful. Maybe just the Reese’s and Cinnamon Toast Crunch would be ok? But lucky charms are not good even by themselves. I’m a gen xer, and my mom didn’t allow very sugary cereals so I grew up w corn flakes and rice crispies. When I went to college I went crazy at the cereal bar—corn pops are so good, and so are honeycomb, and fruity pebbles! But not all together
My dad also forbid pre-sweetened cereals. I liked Kix but my father got a new military assignment and it wasn’t at the new commissary. Then I had my choice of plain Cheerios, Special K (which was essentially a diet cereal) and Mueslix. The Mueslix was imported to the commissary from Germany so it was expensive. Also, it was the 80s and the healthy cereal options were limited. Eventually, I gave up and started eating Eggos and frozen french toast.
What’s killing me is the outrage that the three cereals combined are a sugar overdose problem. The combination really doesn’t increase the amount of sugar over what each one is separately – that’s how bad these cereals are. The outrage shouldn’t necessarily be on the mix, but how Big Cereal is allowed to market these types of cereals to kids. As my kids were growing up, I chose not to give them these kinds of cereals except for the rare case they are exceptionally cheap or on clearance. Even then, I often just used them as ingredients in breakfast muffins or cookies to improve the nutrition per serving. I hate what corporate america is allowed to do to our most vulnerable citizens.
Exactly! It’s not like they are having 3 bowls of cereal. They are having the same portion but a mix. I did not grow up with sugary cereal at all. My husband did. My MIL has a cupboard full of all the sugar cereals. It’s been a bit of a battle, but I treat it like a dessert. My son generally likes non sugary cereal
Ummm, Lucky Charms aren’t good by themselves… They’re GREAT.
I’m not a fan of peanut butter cereal, but I would absolutely destroy a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with Lucky Charms marshmallows.
Are there really that many children who pick their cereal based on a famous person’s endorsement?
No, there’s not (I know that was a rhetorical question but I’m answering anyway 😉). I also think it’s safe to assume that the parents, not the kids, are the ones buying the groceries and if they’re making choices for their kids based on some celebrity endorsement well…that’s a whole other matter. Personally I think this cereal combo sounds awful and I’m pretty sure my 10-year-old would agree, famous faces on the box or not.
As a treat instead of candy once a week maybe, but no please never to replace a meal because one does not time to prepare a meal. There is plenty of healthier quick fixes, a banana, a sandwich (ideally whole grain) etc. Agree with the Means guy here. These foods are popular enough with children, without beloved sports stars promoting them. And what Jason now says in his Tweet is definitely not written on the box with his face on it. Do they really need this money?
I love cereal, I could eat it for every meal. And I don’t discriminate, I love the junk and the good stuff. But this seems, blech to me. On another note, Rosie, I love about 1/4 cup of frosted Cheerios mixed with 1 cup of regular Cheerios. Yum!
Aren’t these types of cereals “limited edition” anyway? Usually they disappear after a few months. Anyway, unless that is the kid’s only source of nutrition, it seems fine. This from a person who grew up on Lucky Charms, Count Chocula and the whole lot. I think the video games and all of the sitting is worse for kids.
Count Chocula for the win! Loved that stuff.
I’m a big proponent of healthy eating (WFPB) and frequently bemoan how we got to this place of an obesity epidemic where so much sugar and processed food were supported by bad agricultural policy.
And yet – I agree with Jason – there are still times when some sugar/processed food is just the thing. Vacation! Birthdsys! Christmas! If you can eat healthy 90-95% of time and treats are “sometimes” food, we’ll be okay.
My kids used to like a bowl of froot loops for an after school snack. I would always add a half a cup
of bran buds to the bowl. It didn’t really bother them, they couldn’t taste it and I felt a tiny bit better about letting them have it.
Your story cracked me up, Rosie.
We were a strictly Cheerios, Raisin Bran, or Grape Buts household for years! I remember when suddenly my mom brought Honey Nut Cheerios into the mix and it was amazing.
We were only allowed to have sugar cereal when mom bought the little, travel boxes for camping (Froot Loops were my 1st choice!) or my dad would buy a box of Lucky Charms for St. Patrick’s Day and only that day!
Jason Kelce impresses me with the gracious way he handles all kinds of stuff.
I know they already were public figures, but the Taylor connection blasted them off- and they are running with those business opportunities, but still seem lovely, grounded and in their own wheelhouse.
Of course, after Jason talked about how he teared up at the 22 hat moment (where Taylor gives her hat to a kid at each concert during a song) at his first eras concert, i have a soft spot for him.
I also like that after this huge publicity bump from the Taylor connection, he and his wife immediately re-assessed, and are showing and talking about their kids less. As a regional sports star- its a sweet thing to do- with a much bigger audience, you gotta protect your little people. And he and his lovely wife seemed to realize that right away.
They seem like good people.
Cereal is candy- every parent knows that. And has, for generations.
10/10 would eat. There’s another article about whether Coke and marshmallow fluff is the mocktail of the summer. I have no intention of drinking that and it sounds ridiculous to me, but let people eat and drink what they want.
Don’t yuck other people’s yum. It’s the golden rule. Stay out of other people’s food decisions.
Trigger warning, discussing eating disorders. I’m here to say that since covid eating disorders in children have skyrocketed and most of the literature is linked to kids being over exposed to diet culture at a young age. Trying to label and draw attention to the fact that athletes (like they always have) are promoting a sugary cereal that is “bad” for children’s metabolism is so detrimental I can’t even describe it without downloading all the research and information from people working in eating disorders for you. The bottom line is this ALL food, including sugar is GOOD and serves a purpose. Sugar is GOOD because it’s enjoyable. The message to our kids around “health” has to be more about removing the diet culture around food. Sugary cereals are “sometimes” foods and denying something fun to “poor kids who don’t get adequate nutrition” is policing poor people and actually increasing the likelihood of disordered eating and eating disorders. Stop. Policing. Who. Gets. To. Eat. What. Food. Stop labeling foods are “good” or “bad”. ALL foods are good. It is MORE likely that our children will grow up eating healthy and with healthy relationships with food if we have a healthy relationship with food and can help children follow their instincts. For example, give them the sugary cereal and talk about it like “yeah, how does thst make you feel? Yeah, I like the taste of sugary things sometimes and sometimes if I keep eating the sugary thing, it makes my tummy feel sore. So I have sugar as a sometimes food so I can have the taste without feeling yucky. What makes our tummies feel good? Oh yes. Eggs. Fruit. I love to have eggs, fruit, and toast. Because it also tastes really good. I really love vegetables. Would you like to try?” Etc. That way of introducing food and labeling food will help kids grow into “intuitive eaters” with a healthy relationship with food. Shaming them, especially children whose parents can’t afford adequate nutrition, and calling it “bad” is increasing the likelihood they will develop disordered eating. We are seeing that at quadruple the rate at this point and we believe it all links back to making issues out of things like this which should be totally benign. Kelce is a professional athlete who is saying he eats in an intuitive way and yes, balanced intuitive eating includes treats. It’s actually tone deaf, from the lens of eating disorders to police the nutrition of children whose parents can’t afford treats.
No one else is tired of the Kelce’s yet? Just me?
How is this any worse than having a bowl of any ONE of these cereals? I wouldn’t eat it, and I likely wouldn’t buy it for my children, but it isn’t the Kelce bro’s job to ensure kids are eating healthy. That’s their parent’s job.
If I’d had this as a kid, I always would’ve been late for school because I’d insist on separating all the things out and trading yucky stuff with my siblings. Peanut-butter cereal? Here, little brother – YOU want that! Gimme the Lucky Charms marshmallows. …