Powdered Donutz
Gone around 1989 — General Mills swore to the trademark office that September that it was still on sale, then the paper trail stops. Fan memory says 1980 for the launch; the company's sworn date is September 1981.
Last verified Nov 6, 2026
A cereal that said the quiet part out loud: little powdered-sugar donuts, for breakfast, from the people who also made Cheerios. It ran most of the eighties alongside a Chocolate Flavor sibling.
📅 Timeline
- 1981First use in commerce September 15, per General Mills' sworn trademark filing — fan memory says 1980, but 1981 is the date the company put under oath.
- 1982The doo-wop television campaign ran, and the DONUTZ CEREAL trademark application was filed in March.
- 1983The name was ruled too descriptive for a standard trademark; it settled for the Supplemental Register and registered in December.
- 1989General Mills swore continued use to the USPTO in September — the last trace of Powdered Donutz in any record; retrospectives date the discontinuation to this year.
- 2004The long-lapsed registration was formally cancelled.
❓ People also ask
When was Powdered Donutz discontinued?
Around 1989. General Mills' own September 1989 trademark filing proves it was still in commerce that fall; after that the record goes silent, and retrospectives date the end to that year. No announcement was ever made.
Was there a chocolate version of Donutz?
Yes — Chocolate Flavor Donutz ran alongside the powdered original. Later donut cereals, like Ralston's Dunkin' Donuts cereal and Post's Donettes and Dunkin' cereals, were other companies' products.
When did Powdered Donutz come out?
Fan sites remember 1980; General Mills' sworn trademark filing says it entered commerce on September 15, 1981, and the earliest dated ad anyone has produced is from 1982.
🧾 Sources
- USPTO TSDR, DONUTZ CEREAL trademark record, serial 73353639 (1981)
- LateNighter, SNL's 'Little Chocolate Donuts' Was a Joke — Until Cereal Makers Made It a Reality (2024)
- MrBreakfast.com, Powdered Donutz Cereal (2005)