Kellogg’s has overhauled the recipe and packaging of its Special K cereal bars as part of the company’s Better Starts plan to help people make healthier choices.

In response to consumer feedback, Special K cereal bars are now bigger (21.5g to 27g) with wholegrain oats, whole fruit pieces and are fortified with vitamins B3, B6 and Folic Acid. The snacks also contain cereal crispies and wholewheat flakes for a lighter texture.

Since launching in November 2017, Kellogg’s Better Starts plan has seen the company introduce a range of Special K Protein bars, reduce sugar and salt in its children cereals, remove artificial colours, change the way it promotes its food and double the amount of vitamin D in its cereal.

Special K’s current cereal bars will be replaced by four new flavour variants; Juicy Red Berry, Milk Chocolate, Apricot & Sultanas, Dark Chocolate & Cranberries.

Each snack has a partially transparent wrapper to display the ingredients, such as wholegrain oats and fruit, to shoppers. The multipack boxes reassure health-conscious shoppers the bars have ‘absolutely no artificial flavours, colours, preservatives or sweeteners’.

This year, Kellogg’s will support Special K’s cereal bar range with a £10m media plan, reaching over 4.5m people with its ‘Powering You’ advertising campaign through TV, social media and YouTube.

Kellogg’s UKI marketing manager for wholesome snacks, Michelle Hammond, said: “When we announced our Better Starts plan back in November, we committed to finding new ways to help people make healthier choices.

“Special K is all about championing health, nutrition & better-for-you options. We’ve listened to feedback from our consumers and, instead of tweaking one or two ingredients, we’ve completely transformed the brand’s core snack range.

“Shoppers are more ingredient-savvy than ever so, by simplifying the packaging, perfecting the recipe and supporting the launch with a £10m media investment, we’re certain shoppers will be seeking out the new cereal bars on shelves.”

Special K cereal bars are available to ship now (RRP £2.49 for multipacks and £0.55 for singles).