Is There A Well-Known Name Brand Behind Great Value Cereal?

When you get up first thing in the morning, do you love to pour yourself a bowl of delicious Fruit Spins? Maybe some Honey Nut Toasted Oats, or something extra fun like marshmallow-filled Magic Treasures? Yes indeed, Great Value has a cereal to fit every taste, from the sugary sweet to the plain and straightforward Toasted O's. Whether they're knocking off Captain Crunch, Cocoa Krispies, Lucky Charms, or Honey Nut Cheerios, Great Value brand cereals offer a decent replica of popular name brands at a lower price. But Walmart doesn't produce these cereals itself. Its private label is made by another manufacturer. The question is, who is that manufacturer?

Walmart is notoriously tight-lipped about who produces its Great Value products. Private label is heavy on the private in this case. But a few names have been tossed out over the years from various sources. A 2023 article from Go Banking Rates claimed that both Kellogg's and General Mills manufacture some of the cereals found on Walmart shelves. The exact names were not specified, nor was it clear how this information was sourced, as neither Walmart nor the two cereal giants has ever publicly disclosed a partnership.

Many of Walmart's cereal varieties mimic those from both Kellogg's and General Mills. Some, like Cinnamon Crunch, are obvious knockoffs of General Mills' Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Others, like Oat Crunch, are a little harder to guess at first. That one seems to be a knockoff of Quaker's Life cereal.

Post has stated that it produces a number of private-label cereals. The company's 2023 Annual Report also disclosed that Walmart is its biggest customer, making up 17.3% of its sales. No other company even topped 10%. That doesn't mean Post is the company behind Walmart's cereals, but it's cause to consider them as an option.

In 2023, General Mills' Annual Report did not state that it made any private-label products. Instead, it listed them as competition. Because the terms are very nebulous, it's possible they could still make private-label cereal for Walmart while treating others as competition. Kellogg's also refers to private label products as competition in its 2023 Annual Report.

Walmart does not offer a definitive answer for which company makes its breakfast cereal. Because of that, we can only speculate what brand might be behind it. Looking at what they offer and the SEC filings from three major cereal manufacturers, there is reason to at least lean toward Post as the maker of Walmart's cereals.

Most varieties under the Great Value banner are knockoffs of Kellogg's and General Mills, meaning they directly compete with those two companies. There are only a couple of Great Value brands that mimic Post cereals, such as Crunchy Honey Oats, a knockoff of Honey Bunches of Oats. Regardless of whether it's true or not, there is every reason to believe a reliable and known cereal manufacturer is behind Great Value. So, if nothing else, when you buy some, you're still getting a well-made product at a decent price.