Chex

Chex is a brand of breakfast cereal currently manufactured by General Mills. It was introduced in 1937 and was originally produced and owned by Ralston Purina of St. Louis, Missouri. The name "Chex" reflects the "checkerboard square" logo of Ralston Purina. The Chex product line was part of the Ralston portion of Ralston Purina, which was spun into Ralcorp in 1994. The product line was sold to General Mills in 1997. For many years, advertisements for the cereal featured the characters from Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strip.

This article is about the brand of cereals. For other uses, see CHEX. For the credit reporting agency, see ChexSystems.
Chex
Product typeCorn cereal
OwnerGeneral Mills (Nestle outside the US and Canada)
CountryUnited States
Introduced1937 (1937)
MarketsNorth America, and the UK
Previous ownersRalston
Websitewww.chex.com
A box of Corn Chex in 2006
Chex Mix

Chex Mix
Main article: Chex Mix

Chex is also the basis for a baked snack called "Chex Mix", in which different kinds of Chex are mixed with nuts, pretzels, and baked crackers,[1] and then often baked again with butter and various other spices (Worcestershire sauce in the original mix) to add flavor. Commercial and homemade varieties exist, and the dish is a common holiday snack in the United States. Chex Mix recipes were regularly featured on Chex cereal boxes, and commercially prepared Chex Mix snacks is sold in supermarkets.

Puppy chow

Chex can also be used to make a chocolate snack called "Chex Muddy Buddies", also known as Puppy Chow.

Flavors and varieties
  • Rice Chex
  • Corn Chex
  • Wheat Chex (sold in a heavier 14 oz. box that is smaller)
  • Honey Nut Chex
  • Chocolate Chex
  • Vanilla Chex
  • Cinnamon Chex
  • Chex Morning Party Mix
  • Blueberry Chex
  • Peanut Butter Chex
  • Coco Chex (sold by Kellogg's rather than General Mills)

Discontinued varieties
  • Raisin Bran Chex [2]
  • Sugar Frosted Chex
  • Sugar Chex[3]
  • Apple Cinnamon Chex
  • Oat Chex
  • Bran Chex
  • Double Chex
  • Wheat & Raisin Chex
  • Graham Chex
  • Honey Graham Chex
  • Frosted Mini-Chex
  • Strawberry Chex
  • Multi-Bran Chex[4]

Television promotions

Space Patrol

From 1950 to 1955, Chex served as the primary sponsor of the popular TV and radio show Space Patrol, which ran for over 1,000 television episodes and 129 radio episodes. These episodes included many advertisements, promotional offers, and prizes related to Chex cereal, specifically Wheat Chex and Rice Chex.[5]

The Chexmates

In 1968, Chex ran a series of TV commercials on the adventures of The Chexmates, a cartoon threesome who ate Chex to get the strength they needed to travel to Mars, overcome tough obstacles or subdue evil-doers. The characters were a muscular man named Chexter, an Asian karate expert named Chop Louie, and a blonde cowgirl named Jessie Jane. Their voices were provided by John Erwin, Tommy Cook and Julie Bennett.[6][7][8]

Video games

Chex is featured in a series of first-person shooter computer games (Chex Quest, Chex Quest 2, and Chex Quest 3) in which the player takes on the role of a Chex Warrior clad in Chex Armor. The games use a modified version of DOOM's IWAD (graphics, sounds, levels, etc.) and executable.

See also

References
  1. Machlin, S. (2011). American Food by the Decades. ABC-CLIO. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-313-37699-3.
  2. "Raisin Bran Chex Cereal - MrBreakfast.com".
  3. Casper the Friendly Ghost–Sugar Chex cereal commercial, YouTube
  4. E-mail correspondence from General Mills, July 30, 2013.
  5. 1953 Space Patrol Chex Cereal Commercial, Ed Kemmer, YouTube
  6. The Chexmates commercial, YouTube
  7. Ralston Purina Chex with The Chexmates, YouTube
  8. Chexmates TV Commercial, YouTube
  9. "Archived Kellogg's page discussing their Crispix/Chex brands in Australia and New Zealand". Kellogg's. 22 March 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
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