Granola
Trademark
UnclaimedGranola is a baked cereal and snack-food category made principally from rolled oats, nuts, seeds, sweeteners, and other ingredients.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Granola is a cereal and snack-food preparation generally made from rolled oats combined with nuts, seeds, honey or another sweetener, and often oil. The mixture is baked until crisp and golden, typically being stirred during baking to reduce burning and preserve a loose texture. Commercial and homemade versions may include puffed rice, dried fruit, chocolate, spices, or other inclusions. Granola is commonly served with yogurt, milk, fresh fruit, or honey, and is also used as a topping for pastries, desserts, and ice cream. Unlike traditional muesli, which is generally associated with an uncooked and unsweetened mixture of grains, nuts, and fruit, granola is characteristically sweetened and baked. Its low moisture content, portability, calorie density, and ready-to-eat format have made it useful for hiking, camping, backpacking, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. The mixture can also be combined with honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, or another binding syrup and compressed into portable granola bars. The food's documented predecessor was Granula, created in 1863 by physician James Caleb Jackson at the Jackson Sanitarium in Dansville, New York. Jackson's cereal used Graham flour and was baked into a dry, relatively coarse product. A similar cereal later developed by John Harvey Kellogg was also initially called Granula, but the name was changed to Granola after a legal dispute involving the earlier name. The product and terminology declined and later returned to public attention during the natural-food revival of the 1960s, when fruit and nuts were frequently added and granola became closely associated with health-food stores, outdoor recreation, environmentalism, and the hippie movement. Commercial granola expanded rapidly in the United States during the early 1970s. Heartland Natural Cereal, introduced by Pet Milk in 1972, is generally identified as the first major commercial granola product. Quaker Oats introduced Quaker 100% Natural Granola around the same period, while Kellogg's and General Mills soon entered the category with their own granola products. Granola therefore moved from a niche natural-food preparation into mainstream breakfast cereal and snack aisles. Granola is not controlled by a single company or corporate brand. The word is used broadly for a food type, although trademark issues have arisen in particular jurisdictions. In Australia and New Zealand, the term has historically been treated as a trademark in some contexts. In a 2012 Australian Federal Court dispute involving Sanitarium Health Food and the use of “granola” on an Irrewarra product label, the court concluded that the word had become commonplace when used descriptively for the food itself rather than as a distinctive brand identifier. The category remains commercially active worldwide, spanning breakfast cereals, snack bars, clusters, toppings, and products positioned around natural, organic, high-fiber, plant-based, or outdoor-oriented eating.
History
Granola's documented history begins with Granula, a baked whole-grain food created in 1863 by physician James Caleb Jackson at the Jackson Sanitarium in Dansville, New York. The sanitarium was also known as Our Home on the Hillside, and the business established to sell Jackson's cereal was called the Our Home Granula Company. Jackson's product was made from Graham flour and baked into a dry, coarse form that resembled an oversized version of later compact grain cereals. John Harvey Kellogg subsequently developed a similar baked cereal. His version was initially also called Granula, but the name was changed to Granola to avoid legal problems connected with the earlier name. The terminology was not continuously associated with a major consumer brand, and the product remained relatively specialized for much of the following period. Granola was revived during the natural-food and counterculture movements of the 1960s. Producers and advocates commonly enriched the basic baked grain mixture with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and other ingredients. The food became linked with health-food shops, vegetarian and natural-living communities, environmentalism, and outdoor recreation. The cultural association became strong enough that “granola” and “crunchy granola” entered informal English usage as descriptors for people or lifestyles perceived as nature-oriented or countercultural. One important promoter was Layton Gentry, who was profiled by Time magazine under the nickname “Johnny Granola-Seed.” In 1964, Gentry sold rights to an oat-based granola recipe to Sovex Natural Foods. Sovex had been founded in Holly, Michigan, in 1953 by the Hurlinger family to make a concentrated paste based on brewer's yeast and soy sauce. The company was acquired by John Goodbrad in 1964 and relocated to Collegedale, Tennessee. Gentry later reacquired western rights and sold the West Coast rights to Wayne Schlotthauer of Lassen Foods in Chico, California. Lassen had developed from a health-food bakery operated by Schlotthauer's father-in-law. Granola also gained cultural visibility at the 1969 Woodstock festival. Lisa Law obtained funds to purchase rolled oats, bulgur wheat, wheat germ, dried apricots, currants, almonds, soy sauce, and honey in New York City. Volunteers prepared a muesli-like mixture and distributed it to an estimated 130,000 people, reinforcing the food's association with communal natural-food culture. The category entered large-scale commercial competition in 1972. A Pet Milk executive introduced Heartland Natural Cereal, regarded as the first major commercial granola product. Quaker Oats introduced Quaker 100% Natural Granola at approximately the same time. Layton Gentry threatened Quaker with legal action over the name, and Quaker subsequently renamed its product Harvest Crunch. Kellogg's followed with Country Morning granola cereal, and General Mills introduced Nature Valley. These launches established granola as a mainstream packaged-food segment rather than solely a specialty health-food product. Corporate ownership of early brands also changed. McKee Baking, later known as McKee Foods and the maker of Little Debbie snack cakes, acquired Sovex in 1974. McKee Foods later acquired the Heartland brand in 1998 and moved its manufacturing to Collegedale. Sovex changed its name to Blue Planet Foods in 2004. Granola bars developed as a related product format during the 1960s. They combine granola with honey or another sweetened syrup, press the mixture into a bar, and bake it into a portable snack. The format resembles the traditional flapjack known in Britain and Newfoundland and became popular in markets including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, parts of southern Europe, Brazil, Israel, South Africa, and Japan. The term has also been used for specialized preparations. Matzo granola replaces oats with broken matzo and is eaten by some Jewish people during Passover. Trademark treatment varies by jurisdiction. “Granula” and “Granola” were registered as trademarks in the United States during the late nineteenth century for sweetened whole-grain foods that were crumbled and baked crisp. In Australia and New Zealand, the word has had trademark significance, but an Australian court clarified in 2012 that descriptive use of “granola” for the food itself could be considered commonplace and not necessarily infringing. Today, granola is a broad international food category rather than a single-company brand.
- 2012
Australian court clarifies descriptive use
[1]An Australian Federal Court decision addresses whether use of “granola” to describe a food product can infringe trademark rights and concludes that the word is commonplace in descriptive use.
- 2004
Sovex changes its name to Blue Planet Foods
[1]The former Sovex business adopts the name Blue Planet Foods.
- 1998
McKee Foods acquires Heartland
[1]McKee Foods acquires the Heartland brand and moves its manufacturing operations to Collegedale.
- 1974
McKee Baking acquires Sovex
[1]McKee Baking, later McKee Foods, purchases Sovex and becomes associated with its granola business.
- 1972
Large packaged-food companies enter granola
[1]Pet Milk launches Heartland Natural Cereal and Quaker Oats introduces Quaker 100% Natural Granola, followed by major entries from Kellogg's and General Mills.
- 1969
Granola is served at Woodstock
[1]Volunteers prepare and distribute a large quantity of muesli-like food made from oats, grains, fruit, nuts, soy sauce, and honey during the Woodstock festival.
- 1964
Layton Gentry licenses an oat-based recipe
[1]Layton Gentry sells rights to an oat-based granola recipe to Sovex Natural Foods.
- 1960
Granola is revived by the natural-food movement
[1]The food returns to prominence as natural-food producers add fruit, nuts, and other ingredients and market it to health-conscious and outdoor-oriented consumers.
- 1863
Granula is developed in New York
[1]James Caleb Jackson creates Granula at the Jackson Sanitarium in Dansville, New York.
Products and positioning
A versatile baked cereal and snack category associated with convenience, portability, outdoor activity, natural foods, and customizable combinations of grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and sweeteners.
Breakfast cereal · 1863
Granola cereal
The core format is a baked mixture of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, and a sweetener such as honey or brown sugar. Oil is commonly used to help toast the ingredients. Producers may add puffed rice, dried fruit, chocolate, spices, or other inclusions. Granola is eaten with milk, yogurt, fruit, or honey and may also be used as a dessert or pastry topping.
Snack bars · 1960
Granola bars
Granola bars are made by combining granola with honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, or another binding sweetener, then pressing and baking the mixture into a bar. Their portable, ready-to-eat format makes them suitable for packed lunches, travel, hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities.
Specialty breakfast food
Matzo granola
Matzo granola is a Passover-oriented variation that uses broken pieces of matzo in place of oats. Recipes can include nuts, seeds, dried fruit, sweeteners, and other ingredients, producing a preparation with a granola-like texture and flavor.
Marketing campaigns
- 1969Woodstock food distribution
United States
At the Woodstock festival, volunteers prepared a muesli-like mixture from rolled oats, bulgur wheat, wheat germ, dried fruit, almonds, soy sauce, and honey and distributed it to festival attendees.
Outcome. The event strengthened granola's association with communal natural-food culture and the broader counterculture movement.
Brand decisions
1972
Mainstream launch of Heartland Natural CerealProduct launchBackground
Granola was still strongly associated with specialty and natural-food markets when Pet Milk entered the category.
Action taken
Pet Milk introduced Heartland Natural Cereal as a major commercial granola product.
Aftermath
The launch was followed by competing products from Quaker Oats, Kellogg's, and General Mills, accelerating the category's mainstream adoption.
- Quaker Oats — Quaker introduced Quaker 100% Natural Granola around the same period.
- Kellogg's — Kellogg's later entered with Country Morning granola cereal.
- General Mills — General Mills later entered with Nature Valley.
1972
Quaker changes the name of its granola productStrategyBackground
Layton Gentry threatened Quaker Oats with legal action over its use of the Granola name.
Action taken
Quaker renamed Quaker 100% Natural Granola to Harvest Crunch.
Aftermath
The episode illustrates the historical trademark sensitivity surrounding Granula and Granola in the United States.
Recent events
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