Sunday, April 06, 2008

The case of the missing Grape-Nuts


I've been jonesing for a Grape-Nuts fix for almost two years now.

I was deprived of my favourite cereal when I was living in Japan (the closest thing to Western-style cereal in my local grocery store was a cardboard-like Corn Flakes knockoff and a vomit-inducing Bran Flakes impostor).

I couldn't wait to dig into a bowl of Grape-Nuts when I returned to Canada. But since I've been back, I can't find them anywhere. Grape-Nuts have mysteriously disappeared from the shelves.

At first I thought that maybe they were just sold out (a logical conclusion because who doesn't love Grape-Nuts?).

And so I waited (and waited and waited) for Safeway to restock the cereal aisle. A month went by. Two months went by. Six months later and still no sign of the crunchy little nuggets.

Something didn't add up. I decided to go deep undercover to crack the case of the missing Grape-Nuts.

The first weapon in every modern detective's arsenal is Google. So I Googled everything I could think of: "Grape-Nuts discontinued," "Grape-nuts grain shortage," "Grape-Nuts fan club," "Grape-Nuts factory infested by mice," "Grape-Nuts Safeway where are they?"

Every link led to a dead end.

Having gotten nowhere on the internet, I decided to take my sleuthing to the scene of the crime. Disguising myself as a shopper, I roamed the aisles of Safeway looking for an appropriate employee to interrogate.

I didn't want to waste my time questioning the teenage stock boys. They were too green to know what was going on. The girls behind the cash probably had the inside scoop but were too rushed to talk about it. I needed someone older. Someone experienced. Someone who'd been around Safeway for a while and knew what was really going on.

I found my informer in the frozen food aisle. He was older and working alone. Judging by his vest, white button-down shirt and nicely pressed slacks, he may have even been a manager.

Now, I'd been casing the joint for the past six months and knew full well that there were no Grape-Nuts to be found. So I had to draw on my Grade 9 drama skills in order to play the part of an innocent customer.

"Excuse me," I said. "Can you tell me where the Grape-Nuts are?"

"We don’t have any," he said.

I asked him if he knew when the next shipment was coming in.

Probably never, was his cryptic reply.

Jackpot! My suspicions were confirmed. I knew I there was more to this case than a simple supply and demand story. (I credit my finely tuned detective skills to a childhood spend reading Nancy Drew mysteries.)

I asked him why I would never be able to buy Grape-Nuts again. He gave me a long, complicated answer about nasty politics and bad blood between Safeway and Kraft.

He explained that big companies like Kraft look at shelf space as prime real estate for advertising. If Grape-Nuts aren't flying out of the store, then Kraft doesn't want to pay the shelf fees for a product that's not bringing in a lot of money. So Safeway decided to pull Grape-Nuts from the store because they were taking up valuable shelf space. Or something like that. (He was speaking really quickly and I wasn't taking notes. I had no idea there was so much drama in the food industry.)

So that part of the mystery is solved. Only one question remains: how am I going to get my Grape-Nuts fix now?

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

Four years later and I too am searching for Grape Nuts in Ontario. I live in a small town so put it to meat & potatoes for dinner and sugar for breakfast crowd up this way. But no, I have my urban sophisticated friends looking and nothing!

I WANT MY GRAPE NUTS!!!!!

Sarah M. said...

I haven't been back to Canada in three years and I'm sad to hear there are still no Grape Nuts! What am I going to eat for breakfast when I come back for a visit next month?!?

Sarah

Anonymous said...

There are two reasons that Grape Nuts is not available in Canada. I saw Grape Nuts at one of the super markets in Montreal and discovered that the carton indicated the ingredients in English only. This is illegal throughout Canada since all foods must be labeled in both official languages, English and French. The second reason is that Grape Nuts is a misnomer since the only ingredients are wheat and barley. It does not taste like grapes and most cereals have a nutty taste. All other Post cereals are labeled in both languages so why not this one?

There must be another reason for it not being available in Canada.

doormatcha

Sarah M. said...

It used to be available in English Canada but then it disappeared. I still don't know why. I think you can find it in certain stores but the grocery store near where I was living in Vancouver just stopped carrying it one day. I'm in Germany now and they don't have Grape Nuts here either.

Sarah

Anonymous said...

The next time you visit Vancouver, please visit Safeway! (or at least, the Burnaby Safeway at Lougheed Mall, where I've just picked up a box this afternoon).

The powers that be have blessed us with Grape-Nuts - English on one side, French on the other.

Sarah M. said...

Still not a single Grape Nut to be found in Germany. Hope to find some in Toronto when I go back for a visit next month!!

Anonymous said...

Lobaws chains in southern ontario will soon be stocking them again!

Anonymous said...

i live in taiwan and had no problem finding it, it was what i ate for breakfast every morning with unsweetened soy milk (can't find that here either). but moved back to ontario and cant find it anywhere.

Anonymous said...

I thought I was alone in my quest for Grape Nuts. I love Grape Nuts

Anonymous said...

Ok. SAFEWAY seems to have regular Grape Nuts...but no Grape Nut FLAKES. Those really hooked on Grape Nuts mix the crunchy pebbles with the GN FLAKES. So since GIANT has both, GIANT gets my usual biz (although I grew up with SAFEWAY.)

Anonymous said...

Just discover Grapes Nuts on a recent trip to Costco in Bellingham. Just discovered after finishing said box that there are no Grape Nuts to be found in my hometown of Langley, BC.

Just discovered other people all over net wondering the same thing.

Veddy intewesting.

Unknown said...

http://www.amazon.com/Post-Grape-Nuts-Cereal-24-Ounce-Boxes/dp/B002LV6LFY

Anonymous said...

After searching in Northern Ontario for Grape Nuts - and finding none, I turned to the internet. And there they were- on Amazon - and THEY DON'T SHIP THIS PRODUCT TO CANADA.

Anonymous said...

Ten years after the original post and I too am looking for Grape-Nuts. Safeway on W Broadway in Vancouver had them as recently as six months ago. Now they're gone form there too. I asked my local store to order them in and they said that even their supplier can't get them. Post's 1-800 number says they're still available in Canada. But how...where???

Garry Marnoch said...

One by one, the stores in Lindsay Onbtario discontinued Grape Nuts. The last holdout was a private grocer called LaMantia. Last year I could still get them at Longo's in Scarborough, Ontario but not in 2018.

Garry Marnoch said...

A nephew in Whitehorse, Yukon, mailed me a box of Grape Nuts, for about $15 postage! to Pontypool, Ontario.

Tim McCollough said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tim McCollough said...

Just went to a grocery store in upstate NY and they were out of Grape Nuts. I panicked and found this website. Life will be 8% worse for about a week. I feel all you guys.

PaddyaGrapenut said...

I finally contacted Post Foods in Canada and they told me Grape Nuts is definitely dropped from Canadian marketing. However it seems they are still available in the States. So I had a buddy of mine get some in California and ship to me by mail. Three boxes cost $45 to ship but well worth it. Interesting note: the U.S. boxes are slightly smaller than the ones we used to get in Canada. Theirs are 581 grams whereas our used to be 680 grams.

Anonymous said...

One of my friends once told me that anything Kraft makes eventually tastes like Cheeze-whiz. Probably they can't do that with this, so they stopped marketing it.

Anonymous said...

Time for someone to create a Canadian version- its not like we don't have wheat and barley.

jummy said...

Hello Sarah did you eventually find any Grape nuts in Germany? Or a good substitute?

Unknown said...

Why is grape nuts cereal banned in canada. Are we no longer important as a market?

Anonymous said...

Newmarket, ON
How about a ban on all Post cereals
until they bring back Grape-Nuts.

Anonymous said...

I am in United States, upstate NY, and went to three stores, no Grape Nuts. I thought maybe it was some bizarre pandemic shortage...

JsAuto said...

Same! Can’t find anywhere in Maryland or Florida.

Mike L said...

Live in San Diego and purchased some Grape Nuts several months ago at my local Walmart. When I went to get some more I couldn't find the real thing but Walmart has their own version called Crunchy Nuggets which look and taste the same as Grape Nuts plus being about 40% cheaper. I thought that would become my future Grape Nuts source. When I needed some more and I went back to Walmart I discovered they didn't have Grape Nuts or Crunchy Nuggets. Waited a few weeks and they were still out. Decided to check other stores and could not find real Grape Nuts or store brand versions at any local supermarket (Vons/Ralphs/Albertsons/Stater Bros/..). Most had shelf space allocated (1 or 2 package width) but no product anywhere. I asked store personnel and there response was they order it but no product has been delivered for some time.

It seems that Grape Nuts are being eliminated from retail probably due to shelf space considerations as well as declining demand for non sugar coated cereals. Tried nationwide supermarket web sites and Grape Nuts were out of stock everywhere I checked. Amazon has Grape Nuts but the prices are 30%-50% higher than normal even with prime. Fortunately after a little investigation on the web I discovered that Smart & Final carries Grape Nuts in 4 lb box so as of now thats the only source I've found in SoCal.

Unknown said...

Been reading all of the comments about not finding grape nuts or similar store brand products worldwide.. same problem here in Michigan. I've been eating the Kroger Brand equivalent for years..this is outrageous that they can't be found! Post needs to hear about this outrage we want our non-sugar coated cereal back!!

Bryan B. said...

Can't find it now in Joliet, Illinois. Tried Wal-Mart, Aldi, Target.

Anonymous said...

We cannot find any in our Oklahoma stores for the past year. Man! I love a bowl of grape nuts with some ice cold milk and some just right banana. Yum.

HeidiSue said...

It’s 2021 and I found this blogpost by searching “grape nuts discontinued “ because I eat them nearly every day and haven’t been able to find them anywhere in a while. If I’dKnown I would’ve cleared the shelves the last time I bought grape nuts.

MIZ Peggy said...

We need grapenuts in Tx not at Safeway and Kroger had 1 box left! Kraft has to know that we love them!

Anonymous said...

I’ve been eating grape nuts cereal for more years than I can remember and I eat them every single morning with blueberries. After reading these comments I found grape nuts listed on Post Cereal’s website as a discontinued item. I will call and complain but am sure it will be to no avail.

Mike L said...

Just checked site a few days ago and saw that Grape-Nuts Fit (a rebranded version introduced in 2013) had been discontinued. I called Post and was reassured that Original Grape-Nuts was still a current product and would be back in stores Late February or early March 2021. Here's hoping.

Desiree said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Desiree said...

Holy moly, I thought I was the only one looking for Grape Nuts for the past few years. I live in Canada and it is no where to be found. I cant believe they are not restocking this cereal, I love my Grape Nuts.

Marty C. said...

We shop at Gelson's Market in Santa Barbara, California. About six weeks ago, Gelson's stopped stocking POST Grape Nuts, a cereal I've enjoyed mixing with other cereals 6 days/week for years.

From these posts across North America, it sounds like GrapeNuts has a loyal following. I hope POST brings GrapeNuts back. I've substituted bite size shredded wheat for now.

Anonymous said...

I’ve tried Costco, Raleys and Winco here in Folsom California and no Grape-Nuts anywhere. I can’t believe such a unique product is an endangered species. Let’s hope Post changes their minds....

Anonymous said...

Just tried to have some shipped from the US and was told customs will probably hold on to it. Amazon is not shipping it here either. I think this is deeper than mere shelf space amongst competitors. Just saying..

coveylane said...

How is it you cannot buy Grapenut Cereal in Canada but Scotsburn can get them for their Grapenut Ice Cream? Post still posts on their site your favorite Grapenut Recipes.

Anonymous said...

Good idea!

Dave said...

They last place to sell them in Toronto was Longo’s. When even they had none left they explained Post had stopped sending them. So I had to drive across the border near Niagara to find them. I wrote a personal letter to Post’s CEO asking why Grape-Nuts were no longer available in Canada, even though they are made within 150 miles of the border and are easily found even in the UK, but never received an explanation. A sympathetic staffer, however, did kindly have a few boxes of the cereal shipped to me. Jimmy Fallon, Matt Damon and Kelly Ripa have all praised Grape-Nuts on air, and you’d think that would generate interest among the uninitiated. Yet Post shows no interest in promoting their best cereal, and one can only conclude that the company is run by arrogant upstarts who have never tasted them.

Kim said...

I’m an American living here in Ontario for 6 years now and have wondered about Grapenut flakes. Actually, I couldn’t find them in Louisiana before left, either. But I just got back from Louisiana and found them at Brookshires, but not Walmart. I bought 4 boxes! I really wish they’d bring them here again. I’ll send my own message along to Post. It’s ridiculous that some really great products are being sold in US and not here.