Morning Glory
Tapping into a widespread passion, these entrepreneurs hope to make everyone's favorite breakfast food an all-day event.
Vital Stats: David Roth, 42, and Rick Bacher, 36,
Cereality
Company: quick-serve
restaurant; cereal bar and cafe
Growth Projections: a dozen new stores nationwide by the
end of fiscal 2005
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Cereal Entrepreneurs: Roth
enjoyed helping clients through his brand development and marketing
firm, but the thought of applying his branding skills to another
business fired him up. Seeking a product with strong personal ties,
he was intrigued by cereal's lasting hold on consumers.
"They were eating it everywhere, at different times of
day," says Roth. The idea of a cereal retail experience
excited Roth's graphic-designer friend Bacher, who was inspired
by the creative challenges and possibilities.
Survey Says: According to both Kellogg's and Quaker,
95 percent of the American public enjoys cereal, and even more
enjoy milk. Armed with that information, Roth and Bacher set out to
create a way for people to savor cereal away from home.
Initially targeting the college market--"They basically
live on cereal," quips Roth--the entrepreneurs knew that
acceptance by these cynical consumers meant they could get in with
everybody. In fact, the popularity of Cereality's
prototype kiosk in Tempe, Arizona, at Arizona State
University's food court has been trumped by the December 2004
opening of their full-fledged cereal bar and cafe in
Philadelphia.
Breakfast Bonanza: Thirty cereals are scooped by
pajama-clad "Cereologists," who add any of 30-plus
toppings, including the number-one seller: bananas. Cereal bars,
snack mixes, "Slurrealities" (smoothies meet cereal),
juice, soft drinks, coffee, steamers and seven different milks
round out the menu. Next, the company plans to expand into office
buildings, airports, hospitals and train stations.