1708222633369_printed-cereal-box-ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg-converter History of Cereal Boxes Cereal boxes have come a long way since the late 1800s when cardboard cereal boxes were first introduced. Before that, cereals were sold in bulk containers or paper bags. One of the first cereal brands to use a cardboard box was Quaker Oats in 1895. Their boxes featured colorful graphics showing the Quaker man along with the product name. This allowed customers to easily identify the Quaker Oats brand on store shelves. Over the next few decades, other brands like Kellogg's, Post, and General Mills started using branded cereal boxes to package their products. Early cereal boxes from the 1910s and 1920s featured very simple colors and text-based designs. As printing technology advanced in the 1930s, cereal companies began experimenting with more eye-catching graphics, colors, and characters on their boxes. Brand mascots like Tony the Tiger were introduced to help market cereal to children.