When Were Marshmallows Included in Cereals?

Marshmallows were first included in breakfast cereal in 1964 with the debut of Lucky Charms. There originally were four types of marshmallows in the cereal: pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars and green clovers. Since then, many marshmallow shapes have come and gone in Lucky Charms, including green pine trees, an Eiffel tower, a pot of gold and blue diamonds.

More facts about marshmallows and cereal:

• There have been more than 60 types of breakfast cereal featuring marshmallows since Lucky Charms made its debut, including at least seven variations on Lucky Charms.


• The tiny marshmallow pieces in cereal are called marbits.


• Marbits typically are composed of about 50 percent sugar, 20 percent water and less than 1 percent flavoring. The other ingredients are mostly variants of sugar.