Corn Pops is a puffed grain breakfast cereal made by Kellogg's, described by the company as "crunchy sweetened popped-up corn cereal." The cereal was introduced in 1950 as Corn Pops. In 1951, the name was changed to Sugar Corn Pops and later it was called Sugar Pops. It was the sponsor for "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" radio and television show. The name was changed to Sugar Corn Pops in 1978, and finally to Corn Pops in 1984, a time when many cereals dropped the word "Sugar" from their titles for marketing reasons. In January 2006, the name of the cereal was changed to Pops, but after a few months of poor reception, was changed back to Corn Pops.
In mid-2007, Corn Pops launched its first line extension in many years called "Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops." In 2012, "Cinnamon Corn Pops" were introduced.
Corn Pops are made from milled corn. Though the name of the cereal is 'Corn' Pops, since January 2004, its ingredients have included wheat starch, essentially making the cereal multigrain. By 2007, Coconut Oil was added to the US ingredients.
The American version has a flattened, smooth, bumpy shape; Canadian Corn Pops look very different; they are spherical and have a porous surface, similar to Kix cereal. The taste and texture of the Canadian and American versions of the cereal differ considerably despite sharing the same name and manufacturer. Kellogg's says this is due to raw ingredients and the regulatory agencies that exist in a particular country, and that its cereal differs by country also by virtue of marketing and culture. Research is done in different countries to determine preferences, and the formula for the cereal is changed accordingly, affecting the texture, color, and nutrition. The fat, cholesterol, and protein content is the same.
Unlike the vast majority of breakfast cereals, Corn Pops in the USA had been packaged in a foil-lined bag until the mid-2010s. This helped to prevent the Pops from going stale and from secreting a sticky substance that caused the corn pops to stick together (a problem caused by the method by which the cereal is processed).Honey Smacks, another Kellogg's puffed grain cereal, used the same bag Corn Pops used. However, the Canadian version of Corn Pops had long been packaged in a standard plastic cereal bag, now used for American pops as well.