Dear General Mills, Inc...

Mr. Kendal Powell
Chairman, President, CEO
General Mills, Inc.
1 General Mills Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55426

January 15, 2010

Dear Mr. Powell,

I should probably start off by letting you know that I am a big fan of everything that you guys have going on there at General Mills. Totino’s pizza rolls, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Haagen-dazs. I mean it is pretty much mind blowing when I think about all of the salty,sugary,and delightful goodness that you deliver to the world. So thank you for that.

Mr. Powell, I’m writing you to talk about Chex Mix. When I think back to my childhood, one of my very favorite food-related memories is watching She-Ra: Princess of Power and munching on Chex Mix. As a kid, I absolutely loved Chex Mix and it tasted especially good with real Coke. My favorite part about Chex Mix used to be at the bottom of the bag. The little Chex shards, the salt, the peanuts- my sisters and I would fight over who got to eat the “the bottom of the Chex bag”.

It is a rare and wonderful thing, when a food…a taste…a brand... follows you from your childhood into your teens, your early experimental 20’s, and then into adulthood (I think that’s what they’re calling 29 now). Today I bought a bag of Chex Mix Original. Something is different. Something about Chex Mix has been different for awhile. First of all it is not as salty. But I don’t even care that much about the sodium.

Okay, we both know where this is going. So I ask you Mr. Powell- where are the peanuts?

I know I’m not imagining this. There used to be peanuts. It’s like General Mills, all sneaky-like, did away with them. Surely I am not the only person in America who has noticed this adjustment. Although, I did Google “what happened to the peanuts in Chex Mix” and came up with nothing. I attribute this to my poor Googling skills. Or is it a cover up? Luckily I am not that fragile…otherwise, this type of discovery could have rocked my world.

Really, I just want to know why. Why did you take the peanuts out of my Chex Mix? Peanut allergies? Did you just want to boast that Chex Mix has 60% less fat than every other bag of carbs on the shelves? I run 5 miles a day and I don’t give a flying squat about fat. I just want my Chex Mix back. And if you label the bag “original”, it should contain the original peanutty deliciousness that I remember from my childhood.

Thank you for your time in reading this letter and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Amy M. Hietter