FOOD NEWS
The Original Chex Box Has A Totally Different Name
by MARIA SCINTO
Originally produced by the Ralston Purina Company, Chex cereals may have cemented their place in the American psyche in the 1950s when Chex Mix was first created.
However, the earliest precursor of the Chex family is generally held to be 1936’s Shredded Ralston, which was a far cry from the Chex cereals of today or even the 1950s.
If you examine the cereal pictured on the package, you'll find it to be a dead ringer for Frosted Mini Wheats minus the frosting.
Even though it didn’t bear the checkered form adopted by later versions of the cereal, the box design may be seen as a foreshadowing.
The red and white checkerboard design was significant to Ralston-Purina founder William H. Danforth. His mom used to make all her kids' clothing from the same patterned cloth.
Danforth found it so memorable that he later adopted it as his company's logo. It even received a shout-out in a full-page ad in the literary magazine “Smart Set.”
The pattern is no longer featured on Chex boxes, but a small checkerboard next to the “P” in Purina is still on every package of the brand's pet products.