CEREAL'S NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE

STEPHANIE FAGNANI

Targeting the "tween" audience, children between the ages of 8 and 12, Kellogg's plans to introduce three new items to retailers' wholesome-snack shelves come March.

Snack'Ums are modeled after three of the manufacturer's top cereal lines -- Froot Loops, Rice Krispies and Corn Pops -- but have been flavor-enhanced and designed in a megabite-size to make them more of a snack item than a cereal.

The products, Big Rollin' Froot Loops, Rice Krispies Treat Krunch and Big Boomin' Pops, also differ from the cereals in that they have a coarser texture and come sealed in a portable container, according to Kenna Bridges, senior manager of marketing and communications for Kellogg's.

Snack'Ums will come in various sizes, including 1-ounce versions for convenience stores retailing for 79 cents, a 4.2-ounce size for sale at the retail level for $1.99 each and 16 -ounce tubs for club stores for $4.79 each.

Free-standing stand-up displays will accompany the products designed for retail, which will begin shipping the end of this month and should be in stores by March, Bridges said.

The company will begin a major advertising campaign for the items with a television spot during the Grammy Awards and print ads in publications like Teen People and others targeted to mothers in February.

FSIs will hit the week of March 19.