A historic flour mill in Ontario is bringing a beloved Manitoba cereal brand back to store shelves.
Red River Cereal was first created in Manitoba in 1924. The popular cream of wheat-style hot cereal was sold in grocery stores across North America for almost 100 years until it was discontinued in 2021.
At that time, Mark Rinker and his wife purchased the historic Arva Flour Mill near London, Ontario. The mill has been in operation for more than two centuries, but Rinker said it is in danger of being torn down.
“My proposal was the only one that wasn’t from a developer, and my goal was to keep the business as it was, to keep the mill,” he said.
Rinker and his wife purchased the historic Arva Flour Mill near London, Ontario. in 2021. The mill had been in operation for more than two centuries, but was in danger of being demolished. (Source: Arva Flour Mill) After purchasing the mill, Rinker said he began noticing customers at the affiliated retail store asking about Red River cereal.
“I started doing research and found that Red River is this iconic Canadian breakfast cereal that’s almost a century old,” he said.
Rinker remained fascinated by the history of the brand. He felt it similar to that of the mill.
“How upset people were that this brand of cereal – which was clearly loved – was discontinued. And the response was pretty much the same as when the mill was put up for sale.”
Rinker approached the corporate office of Smucker’s, which now owned the defunct cereal brand.
“Smucker’s was really good to deal with the whole way,” Rinker said. “They were interested in the brand being in the hands of a 200-year-old flour mill.”
The two parties reached an agreement and Rinker officially bought the rights to produce Red River Cereal in June 2022.
“We got the trademarks of the original brand and the original recipe,” he said.
The cereal is currently available online and in a few select retail outlets. Rinker said they are considering increasing distribution to get the cereal back into stores across Canada.
“We know we have a lot of people around the country looking for him,” Rinker said. “Online shopping is great, but a lot of them would like to pick it up in a store near them. That’s what we’re working towards, making the brand more accessible again.”
Rinker added that he was overwhelmed by the response.
“It was really phenomenal. When we made the purchase, we expected the brand to be well received, but what really surprised us was … the very strong emotional attachment that so many people have to the brand.”
He said many people have emailed him asking where they can find Red River Cereal. “It’s usually two or three paragraphs about how much they love cereal,” Rinker said. “That part was unexpected.”
Rinker said it’s not just Canadians who are excited about the cereal’s comeback, but so are Americans.
“It just highlights how much people miss the cereal and how happy they are to see it back on the shelves again.”
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