I think your comparison is dead wrong. Anybody can pour themselves a bowl of cereal, and I just do not see people paying $5.00 on an ongoing basis to let somebody else do it for 'em. Not too many people can make themselves a "Hot Donut Now". The better cultural artifact is the Pet Rock.

Krispy Kremes have a long history in the South -- they were Elvis' favorite take out, and probably had a role in his premature demise.

A very smart young woman here in Cape Town, Sandy van Hoogstraaten, opened a place in the city pedestrian precinct called "Crush" a couple of years ago where you can order up great cereal/muesli breakfasts (eg chopped fruit, muesli with brazils, yoghurt and honey), along with a great variety of crushed-fruit juices and smoothies. It's been my breakfast call for all that time. Now she's opening more outlets. I'm gonna have to tell her about this.

I have to see I agree exactly with what Appalled Moderate said above. There's a tremendous added value to the hot, sugary mess that is a Krispy Kreme over one from the store out of the box. Sure, you can use a microwave to heat up the doughnut, but I can tell you from experience there's nary a comparison to be made.

I think the better comparison is to pancake-type stores... Waffles House, IHOP, Hyde Park's own World Pancake House or whatever that place is called. Even here, though, there are two significant differences from a cereal restaurant. One, these restaurants tend to be very cheap; Cereality seems to be going for a more upscale environment. Second, there's a time factor. I can grab a box of Cheerios out of my cabinet, pour them in a bowl, add milk, and start eating in maybe two minutes, less if I eat in the kitchen. Making waffles, on the other hand, requires me to heat up the waffle iron, measure out flour, sugar, baking powder, melt butter, etc., mix it up.

If Cereality wants to be more than a quick fad, then they need to find some sort of locus of value additivity. Otherwise, I see the upside of being the Boston Market model, where they ride an initial wave of popularity to some level of success, before crashing down and settling into a thoroughly unremarkable niche.

Another excuse to blow my diet! My taste buds say thanks - but don't tell the wife.

As far as Krispy Kreme, two things: (a) the reported loss for the first quarter of 2004 was an extraordinary expense whereas their sales and their operating margins were still a rolling; but (b) the stock price has been tanking so it seems to be paying a lot of attention to whatever the latest bearish news from their 3rd quarter results. But if the market does see transitional "awesome growth, followed by the passing of the fad" - there'd be little reason for high valuations in the 1st place (assuming Wall Street is still following that Efficient Markets Hypothesis).

I think this is all some elaborate hoax.

Not a hoax. I've read about this chain for a few months, and it is apparently very popular in AZ (which I think is the original store).

But personally I will never pay exorbitant prices for cereal. Toppings are nice, but not that great.

Had to read the story twice on the AP wire before I could make any sense of it. It will just be a fad. I agree with one commentor. Therre will have to be some special topping that would make customers come back for future bowls.

New Yorkers aren't terribly surprised to see the emergence of a cereal emporium, given the presence of Peanut Butter & Co. in the Village. The name pretty much says it all.

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/pages/details/2164.htm

I have to agree with the skeptics above. It'll go nowhere on campuses because cereal is about the only damn thing you CAN easily make in your dorm room. Any college block that has a Cereality is also going to have a 7-11.

It'll have a brief run of popularity until the ironic hipsters grow tired of it.

Now, your idea to put them in airports is a good one. You need to elimate the "i could just buy this as-is at 7-11 for less" factor, and being stuck in an airport does so nicely.

They should hire you as a consultant.

Okay, having just read their menu page, I can't help but think either:

a) it IS a hoax
b) they're on crack
c) people are a lot dummer than I thought

How can you offer people TAKE OUT BOWLS OF CEREAL with a straight face? From their site:

Cereality, the Home Version

Bowl
Behold the takeout container of the future. It's Cereality's own milk-tight bucket of crunchy, customized joy.

There might be some value added to actually EATING cereal in a funky, silly, atmosphere - but take out? This might be the first instance ever of food that's more of a pain to get as take-out than it is to make yourself.

If these guys make money, it'll be the best instance of pure marketing since the idea of selling brine shrimp as "Sea Monkeys"!

A closer approximation would be Zoup!, a chain of little restaurants that only serve soup.

There used to be one on Van Buren in Chicago, near the Board of Trade, but it closed a few years back. I don't know what's going on with the company as a whole now.