Honey Monster Puffs (previously known as Sugar Puffs) are a honey-flavoured breakfast cereal made from sugar-coated wheat sold in the United Kingdom.
Sugar Puffs were first launched in 1957, with Jeremy the Bear. They were invented by William Halliday Davies (1919–2009), production manager at the Quaker Oats mill in Southall. For many years they were made by the Quaker Oats Company, but in 2006 they were sold to Big Bear t/a Honey Monster Foods, based in Leicester. Products under the Honey Monster title continue to be manufactured at the site in Southall.
The cereal is known for its Honey Monster mascot, a large, hairy, yellow creature introduced in 1976. In 2014 the product was re-branded to Honey Monster Puffs, and its recipe changed to have 8% less sugar and 20% more honey, so that the total sugar content is now 29% by mass, and the honey content has increased from 3% to 3.6%.
Honey Monster Puffs are made from wheat, which is puffed using steam. The wheat puffs are then glazed with glucose-fructose syrup and sugar.
There have been a number of variations on the basic product, including:
Sugar Puffs posters can clearly be seen in the 1966 film Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD. They helped to finance the film, and in return held a giveaway contest in which the grand prize was a Dalek prop made for the film.
The cereal's mascot is the Honey Monster, a large, hairy, yellow humanoid creature who was first seen on TV in 1976 in an advertisement created by John Webster of the advertising agency BMP. The advert focused around a nutritional message which was illustrated by the parent and child relationship of actor Henry McGee and the Honey Monster. The monster shouts "Tell them about the honey, mummy!" to which McGee responds "I'm not his mummy!". The monster then proceeds to destroy the set.