Pep

by Kellogg's

1922 – 1979 GONE FOREVER

Gone. The Smithsonian dates the end only to "the late 1970s," so 1979 is an anchor, not an anniversary; Canadian shelves reportedly kept it until about 1990. The 1922 start is the sworn trademark date — most retellings round it to 1923.

Last verified Nov 6, 2026

Kellogg's whole-wheat flakes, sold in the 1920s on a frank "mildly laxative" promise and later on vitamins, Superman and pinback buttons. It spent five decades as the sensible cereal before quietly leaving the table.

🧾 One more thingPep became what Kellogg's calls America's first vitamin-fortified cereal in 1938, sponsored the Adventures of Superman on the radio, and packed five series of comic-character pinbacks into its boxes — prizes that now sit in the Smithsonian.

Filed under: Cereal · the ’70s & earlier

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📅 Timeline

1922First use in commerce on October 26, per the trademark Kellogg's filed that December — most retellings round the start to 1923, the year the mark registered.
1925Newspaper ads pitch "the peppy bran food" — early copy leaned frankly on the cereal's "mildly laxative" properties.
1938Pep became what Kellogg's calls America's first vitamin-fortified cereal, with vitamins B and D added.
1943Pep sponsored the Adventures of Superman radio show, and wartime boxes carried military-insignia pinback buttons.
1945The comic-character pinback era began — five button series through 1947, with Superman in every one; sets now sit in museum collections including the Smithsonian.
1979Discontinued in the US in the late 1970s, per the Smithsonian's dating; no exact year was ever recorded.
1990Canadian shelves reportedly still carried Pep around 1990.

❓ People also ask

When was Kellogg's Pep discontinued?

The Smithsonian — which holds Pep boxes in its collection — dates the end only to "the late 1970s"; no announcement or dated report survives. Canada reportedly kept it on shelves until about 1990.

What were the Pep pins?

Cereal-box prizes: military-insignia buttons starting in 1943, then five series of comic-strip character buttons from 1945 to 1947, with Superman in every series. They are museum objects now.

What kind of cereal was Pep?

Whole-wheat flakes — Kellogg's sensible cereal for five decades, first sold on bran and regularity, later on vitamins, and most memorably on Superman.

🧾 Sources

Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Cereal box, Kellogg's PEP (with Superman) (2020)
USPTO TSDR, PEP trademark record, serial 71172884 (1922)
Library of Congress, Chronicling America, Kellogg's Pep advertisements, Evening Star (1925)
Travalanche, Of Superman and Kellogg's Pep (2018)

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