When General Mills announced it was discontinuing a few Cheerios varieties—including Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios Minis—the internet did what the internet does: mourned.
“My heart is broken,” one fan posted. “Best cereal ever,” said another.
But let’s take a closer look.
Because here’s the thing: these cereals aren’t really honey cereals.
They’re sugar cereals.
The Ingredient List Doesn’t Lie
In Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch, here’s where the honey shows up:
- Whole grain oats
- Cluster (includes sugar, honey, molasses, etc.)
- Sugar
- Whole grain wheat
- Brown sugar syrup
- Honey
- Corn starch
- Salt
- Seed oils
That’s a lot of sugar and starch before we get to the actual honey. In the Minis version, it’s worse—honey appears after sugar, corn starch, and brown sugar syrup.
And yet, these products are branded as if honey is the star.
That’s not just misleading—it’s marketing sleight of hand.
Real Honey vs. Cereal “Honey”
Technically, yes, the honey in these cereals is probably real. But how much? Not much.
And unlike raw or minimally processed honey, which contains beneficial enzymes, antioxidants, and antimicrobial properties, the trace amounts used in mass-market cereals are heat-treated, diluted, and stripped of nutritional value.
This is honey in name only.
So What’s Actually in Your Bowl?
Each serving of these “honey” cereals delivers:
- Multiple forms of sugar (often 9g or more per serving—not counting milk)
- Refined starches that spike blood sugar
- Industrial seed oils
- “Natural flavors” that often aren’t so natural
Combine that with aggressive marketing, cartoon bees, and words like “nutritious” on the box, and it’s no wonder people think this is a better breakfast choice.
It’s not.
A Better Breakfast: Real Honey, Less Sugar
If you love the flavor of honey (who doesn’t?), you’re better off adding a drizzle of raw, local honey to:
- Plain, unsweetened cereal
- Whole oats or ancient grains
- Unsweetened Greek yogurt
- Nut butters
- Toasted nuts and fruit
This way, you get the actual taste, and benefits, of honey, without the processed junk.
And if you want to support bees? Even better. Because when you buy from local beekeepers and skip “honey-flavored” foods with more corn syrup than nectar you’re supporting bees too.
A Quick Word on Honey Adulteration
One more reason to be wary: a large percentage of honey in the global supply chain is adulterated with syrups or ultra-filtered to the point where its origin is untraceable.
The honey industry is rife with fraud.
But bees can’t fake it.
When you buy raw honey from a trusted source, you’re supporting the pollinators who keep our food system alive—not supply chains or marketing language littered with deception.
So yes, it’s okay to miss your favorite childhood cereal.
But let’s not mistake nostalgia for nourishment.
If we want to help bees—and help ourselves—it’s time to rethink what “honey” really means on a food label.
And if it’s buried under sugar, starch, and spin?
It’s not honey worth saving.
Support real honey. Support real beekeepers. Support the bees.
Save the Bee.
