Cereal boxes are a staple of the morning for many Americans, but do you know how they came to be? Cereal box production first started in 1898 with the invention of breakfast cereal by Dr. James Caleb Jackson of Battle Creek, Michigan. His cereal was marketed as “Granula” and it sparked an entire industry of boxed cereals created by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg with his “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes” brand. Cereal boxes have been a favorite of advertisers, artists, and designers throughout time.
In its heyday, cereal boxes were far more than just a container for the cereal. They were graphic art pieces made to look like popular cartoon characters of the time or give kids something to color with while they ate their breakfast. They also served as a learning tool by giving them pictures and questions to answer while they ate. They also provided kids with free toys that could be used in imaginative play.
Custom Cereal Boxes and Packaging
At one point, cereal boxes were only being produced and distributed by the original companies that invented the breakfast cereal. Production was very limited in order to avoid having to pay taxes on the product. The brands quickly realized they could turn a profit on this by creating side businesses to package their product. They also realized they could collect a portion of the profits on each box sold.
This opportunity allowed other companies to make and sell their own versions of cereal boxes.
Today, however, the only way to get a copy of a cereal box is by purchasing it from an individual (i.e., Amazon).
As far as production goes, cereal boxes are printed on the same paper stock used for other products. The printing process is similar to that used for business cards or catalogs. Most boxes are printed on both sides of flimsy paper.
The design process of these designs is quite similar to that used for catalogs or email marketing pieces. The paper is prepared and the design is printed using a digital printer or printing press. Once printed, the box is removed from the printing process, signed, and then shipped to the customer.
Once they are sold, they are taken to waste disposal or recycled.
Cereal Boxes as Collectibles
Cereal boxes are not just a source of breakfast anymore. They have become collectibles with prices and values that rival card, comic, and toy collectibles. For example, a box from the old “Cheerios” brand can easily fetch thousands of dollars in the collectors market.
The value of these boxes is usually centered around the artwork found on them. Some of the more valuable boxes are those that contain images of the original cartoon characters from which the brand was named. The artwork on these boxes is usually drawn by the original artists while they worked at the companies that produced them.
The most valuable box you will find will probably not be found at a cereal box store, but on eBay where a small number of investors in this market have been selling boxes for hundreds or thousands of dollars each on a monthly basis.
Cereal Boxes as Collector’s Items
Collectors of these boxes are only interested in the artwork and covers of the box, not the product itself. It is very easy to buy “new” boxes to play with if you want, but collectors usually take them out of their boxes. They will also use them as showpieces by displaying them or framing them with a piece of glass. Some even use them in their artwork or as additions to other displays.
Endless Design Customizations:
The art of Designing Cereal Boxes has not changed since the early 1900s. Newer designs may have small differences in coloring or illustrations, but the overall concept remains the same. Cereal companies produce different kinds of products and have their own brands and logos. But, once again, most of these customizations are very minor when compared to earlier versions of the designs.
What has changed are the types of design tools being used by artists today when designing a cereal box. Art programs like Adobe Illustrator have simplified some of the repetitive tasks like creating vector images or preparing graphics for printing on paper stock.
Cereal companies are now promoting the fact that they are responsive to the needs of today’s customers. If you have a special request or want something different, they will attempt to make it happen.
Brand Promotion at a Cheap Price:
Designing a custom cereal boxes can be an affordable method of brand promotion. For example, you can have your own logo or special graphics printed on a graphics package for only a few thousand dollars. Compare that to the cost of developing your own new product and getting it approved by the FDA.
Cereal boxes are very simple graphic art pieces that anyone can design at no cost to them except for the cost of procuring and printing the box themselves.
Fully Customizable Cereal Boxes Packaging Service:
Again, because they are so simple, designing cereal boxes is very easy and can be done by those who are not particularly adept at graphic art or design. The only difference between these customizations and the ones used in the past is that they are digital files created by a computer instead of being drawn by hand.
You can get a fully customizable package at a reasonable price by using the ECB Elite Cereal Boxes Printing service. We prepare your designs for production and provide you with expert advice with regard to the printing process.
Cereal Boxes Printing: ECB (Elite Custom Boxes) offers a service that will allow you to create a variety of custom designs to be used on cereal boxes. We can have your favorite artwork created by our design team and your custom designs produced by our printing department.
ECB Printing provides you with a variety of custom boxes, from single siding to two-sided, full color, printed on both sides of the same flimsy paperboard with your company’s brand logo or special graphics printed on each side.
These customizable packages are perfect for showpieces, gifts, and giveaways to increase the brand recognition of your company.
Preventing Errors in Box Artwork:
The quality of artwork that is available today makes it possible to create more accurate images that are displayed on cereal boxes. In the past, there were only a couple of methods by which artists could accurately trace a face or body onto a 2-D image. The first was using a thin sheet of flexible material called tracing paper with a white background.
Custom Cereal Boxes with Free Shipping & Fast Turnaround Time:
Cereal boxes are generally made with a thin cardboard material that does not usually take high-end printing. This paperboard can be difficult to reproduce because it lacks the proper surface properties. When placed directly against your product, it will have a tendency to stick to itself and distort the art. This is why some companies choose to spend more money than they will on their box design and order them from one of the top printing houses in the country.
This type of mistake can also be very costly in terms of time and money. Our staff can prepare your designs and put them into production more quickly and affordably while keeping your finished packaging looking as good as it did when it was originally designed.
These fully customizable packages will allow you to have your company’s name and logo printed on both sides of the cereal box. We will even custom design a special box for you that has two or three panels that slip over the original cereal boxes with the product inside so that it is safe from spills.
We are also able to print your customized artwork on the inner and outer flimsy panels of the box’s package. This allows you to have a large promotional area that is twice as big as most standard cereal boxes without the extra cost of an eye-catching custom shell.
Our facility has been in business for over 50 years, so you can trust our experience and capabilities to produce a top-quality product that will stand out on crowded store shelves.
If you choose ECB (Elite Custom Boxes) Printing’s Custom Cereal Boxes Printing service, you will receive a custom box that is safe for storage and more suited for the purposes of displaying your product. You will also receive a free shipping label so that your order will be taken care of immediately.
ECB Printing is one of the leading manufactures and designers of custom packaging solutions for over 50 years. We have several state-of-the-art printing facilities all over the United States, with many at our disposal around the country. This gives us the opportunity to provide you with a much higher quality product at a very affordable price.
