Would you start your day with a big ol’ bowl of Man Cereal? The attention-grabbing moniker belongs to a new, allegedly better-for-you breakfast cereal with the tagline, “Serious Nutrition. Un-Serious Name.” The low-sugar cereal comes in four flavors — Cinnamon, Fruity, Salted Fudge and Ma ple Bacon — with 160 calories, 15 grams of protein and 2.5 grams of creatine per serving. It’s the first widely available ready-to-eat breakfast cereal formulated with creatine monohydrate, according to its minimalist, sans-serif website, and its protein content places it firmly in the “proteinmaxxing” trend. Creatine, for the uninitiated, is a compound that comes from three amino acids and supplies energy to your muscles, and a substance rather popular with gym-going individuals — particularly men, though it has benefits for all of us, regardless of gender. The creatine-packed product costs a pretty penny: A box with six servings will set consumers back $19.99, but 3- and 6-packs cost less per box. According to critics on social media, though, what Man Cereal is mostly full of is a heaping helping of hooey. “Trying to hyper-masculinize something as neutral as food and cereal is STUPID,” posted one X user. “anyone who believes otherwise is just a lesser human being with a small intellect and low self esteem and a fragile sense of being.” “This is so f—ing toxic and stupid,” wrote another. “Embarrassing for the company and any idiot who feels they need cereal ‘for men’ grow the f— up.” “Where can I buy a box of ‘fragile masculinity’?” asked another. Diet Exercise 12 hours ago 5 foods to lower cholesterol that a cardiologist eats every day Food Drink May 26 Oreo teams up with BTS for limited-edition cookies inspired by popular Korean treat On the other hand, there are people cheering on the product, with one saying they “need a weeks supply yesterday.” In a world of Dude Wipes and Colgate for Men to Bic (pens) for Her, social media users seem jaded by the genderization of products. But, according to Man Cereal’s founders, Emily Straus and Dejan Rankovic, the product isn’t an example of toxic masculinity. Founded in 2024 in Los Angeles, “it started with this hypothesis that Emily and I had that a lot of men eat cereal growing up, but eventually stop because they realized it was bad for them,” Rankovic tells TODAY.com. “Those same men did not migrate over to new-age healthy cereal, maybe in the same way that women did.” “We were calling it ‘Man Cereal’ as a placeholder, and then it kind of just stuck,” Straus tells TODAY.com, adding that 35% of the cereal’s audience is women. Some even enthusiastically post about their love of the product and tag the brand. “I think it does a really good job of just saying what it is,” she continues. “As a woman, I know that it’s a joke, and you know when people ask about it, I say it’s ‘cereal for all mankind,’ and that’s how I think about it.” The pair says they realized people were “missing out” on creatine and wanted to eliminate the need for folks to supplement their diet with it by consuming powders or gummies. Despite accusations otherwise, Rankovic and Straus maintain the product is not associated with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, and the brand even says so on social media. “MAHA hates us because we’re not steak and eggs,” Man Cereal’s official account posted on X. Ultimately, Man Cereal’s owners say they’re in on the joke and hope consumers will be, too. “If you go into a retail store and you don’t pick up the box and look at the back, you might have a negative reaction, or if you just see, like, the Man Cereal name, you might have a negative reaction,” Rankovic says. “Once people kind of fall into the ecosystem, they understand, like, ‘Oh, I get what this brand is doing, and I actually kind of think it’s funny and innovative,’” he adds. “The product, at the end of the day, is a good-for-you product, and I think most people are supportive of that.” What an expert thinks of Man Cereal Registered dietitian Natalie Rizzo, nutrition editor for TODAY, says she considers Man Cereal very similar to a supplement, like a protein powder, because it’s made from a blend of whey protein, coconut oil, starch, creatine and various low-calorie sweeteners. “My general recommendation is to use supplements sparingly, for convenience,” Rizzo says. “For instance, if you don’t have a lot of time after a workout to sit down for a snack or a meal, then a protein shake may be helpful for recovery until you can sit down for a proper meal. Yet, I don’t recommend these supplements on a daily basis because they lack the nutrients that you would get from foods.” Rizzo points out that chicken or eggs naturally contain both protein and creatine, and also provide other beneficial vitamins and minerals. “I recommend approaching Man Cereal similarly to these supplements— eat it when you’re short on time or need a convenient option, but don’t include it as an everyday staple,” she says. Rizzo suggests looking for cereals lower in sugar and made with whole-grain ingredients. “When paired with milk, a bowl of whole-grain, low-sugar cereal can provide protein, fiber and other vitamins and minerals,” she says. My review of Man Cereal, as a man I’m simply just a man trying a bowl of Man Cereal. Yes, I’m a man, but I might not be the kind of man Man Cereal is marketed towards. For instance, the last time I ran for any length of time, it was from my car to a rummage sale featuring Aimé Leon Dore at bargain basement prices. Still, my strongest muscle is my mind and creatine can benefit that. So I approached a full bowl of Cinnamon Man Cereal with an open mind and an empty stomach. I found the scent very appealing, with the spice permeating the air as I poured myself a bowl. After adding a little milk, I prepared myself for #gains and ate a spoonful. The texture is really appealing. Since its main ingredient is a protein blend, it’s crunchier than Cocoa Puffs or Kix, both favorites of mine. The cinnamon flavor carries through each bite, too. Now for the big minus: The cereal is overpowered by the persistently sour taste of stevia. It lingers like glitter on your taste buds. It is the glitter of sweeteners. Man Cereal’s owners tell me they are working on a low-sugar version sans stevia, and I look forward to trying it when it comes out. In the meantime, if you’re sensitive to the taste of stevia like I am, you’ll either need to man up … or skip this altogether. This story first appeared on TODAY.com. 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