Ask most grocery shoppers what they base their cereal-buying decisions on, and they'll tell you they consider taste, nutrition, and cost before they buy.

Surprisingly, studies show that the real reason consumers select a certain brand of cereal has more to do with their income and the way the cereal is packaged than with taste, nutrition, and cost.

CEREAL IS BIG BUSINESS

Breakfast cereal companies want you to buy their brands. The cereal market in the United States is a $10.5 billion business, and Food Navigator Today estimates the market will grow by 1 percent each year until 2012.

Four conglomerates - Kellogg, General Mills, The Quaker Oats Company, and Kraft Foods - compete for market share in 89 percent of the cereal business, while private label cereals comprise the rest of the market share.

WHY PEOPLE BUY

Competition for your cereal-buying dollar is so intense that cereal companies study your cereal-buying habits. Results of their studies show several factors that seem to play a role in a consumer's choice of cereal.

INCOME LEVEL

Low-income consumers buy hot cereal and hominy grits, while high-income consumers buy granola and organic ready-to-eat cereal.

A Nielsen case study on cereal buying divided cereals into categories of ready-to-eat; hot; granola; wheat germ; and hominy grits. The study found that, once consumers decided to buy cereal, they focused on cereals within one of these categories. High income shoppers were the least likely group to buy hominy grits.

AGE LEVEL

Cereal companies package their products to appeal to children or adults; rarely to both.

The British Food Journal conducted a study on children's breakfast cereal that showed that children are sophisticated consumers indeed, and cereal packaging plays a significant role in their cereal choices.

This study explains why children's cereals like Lucky Charms are packaged in brightly colored boxes covered with cartoon characters, while baby and toddler cereals like Cheerios are packaged in boxes covered with milk, fruit and grains. Kids decide to buy the Lucky Charms; mothers decide to buy the Cheerios.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CEREAL PURCHASING POWER

Take control of your family's food by buying the right cereal for you - not the brand marketers and advertisers want you to buy. Next time you're standing in the cereal aisle, pay attention to the packaging and ask yourself whether the cereal company is selling to you or to your child, and

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