Lucky Charms - Marshmallows

Marshmallows

The first boxes of Lucky Charms cereal contained marshmallows in the shapes of pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers. The lineup has changed occasionally over the years, beginning with the introduction of blue diamonds in 1975. Purple horseshoes joined the roster in 1984, followed by red balloons in 1989, rainbows in 1992, pots of gold in 1994, leprechaun hats in 1996 (temporarily replaced the green clovers), orange shooting stars in 1998 (added blue, green, yellow, purple, and red in 2011.), and an hourglass in 2008.

Older marshmallows were phased out periodically. The first shapes to be phased out were the yellow moons and blue diamonds, replaced by yellow/orange pots of gold and blue moons respectively in 1994. In 2006, the assortment had changed to purple horseshoes; red balloons; blue crescent-moons; orange and white shooting stars; yellow and orange pots of gold; pink, yellow, and blue rainbows; two-tone green leprechaun hats; pink hearts (the only shape to survive since the beginning); with the most recent addition being the return of the clovers in 2004. The marshmallows also grew in size in 2004.

Recent changes to the marshmallows include: the star shape took more of a "shooting star" design, the orange five-pointed star being added together with a white "trail". More recently, in late 2005 another different kind of marshmallow was added, the "Hidden Key". It is a solid yellow marshmallow that resembles the shape of an arched door (similar to the shape of a tombstone; flat at the bottom, flat sides with a round top). When liquid is added to the cereal, the sugar inside the marshmallow dissolves and the shape of a skeleton key "appears" as if "by magic". The new tagline for this is "Unlock the door with milk!" This "new" marshmallow type has been used in other kinds of hot and cold cereals, but with mixed success (from characters "hidden" inside a bigger marshmallow to letters appearing). In early June 2006, General Mills introduced a new Lucky Charms marshmallow, Magic Mirror marshmallows. In 2008, yellow and orange hourglass marshmallows were introduced (along with a new contemporary for Lucky named the Emerald Elder) with the marketing tagline of "The Hourglass Charm has the power to Stop Time * Speed Up Time * Reverse Time". As of 2011, there are swirled marshmallows and rainbow-colored stars.