
The man behind the Monsters
Ari Zainuddin, the marketing manager for the popular Monster Cereals at General Mills, found out firsthand just how passionate the fans of those cereals are.
I moderated a Twitter Chat with Ari last night, in which he answered several common questions that we get about the Monsters, as well as a a few fun ones that we didn’t expect!
Ari started out with some background about his career at General Mills, telling the chat participants he earned his MBA at UCLA, and has been at General Mills for more than 13 years, with the last year or so on the Monster brands.
He said he loves working on behalf of Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Boo Berry, Frute Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy, because “Halloween is such an amazing time of year, and many folks remember growing up with these brands.”
Here are some of his responses to fan questions:
@BradenCole1 wondered if General Mills will sell the Monsters in Canada…
@GeneralMills @BradenCole1 Still working on plans for next year & we know we have lots of fans up north. Might just happen #genmillschat
— Ari Zainuddin (@arizainuddin) October 25, 2013
@losanno asked Ari what the most popular Monster is…
@GeneralMills @losanno Count Chocula is the most popular. Although my personal fav is Frute Brute! #genmillschat
— Ari Zainuddin (@arizainuddin) October 25, 2013
@AdamNaide wanted to know about the recipe book that features several Monster Cereals creations…
@AdamNaide Adam, great to see you here! Thanks for joining! We wanted to give more FUN ways to have FUN with your fav cereals! #genmillschat
— Ari Zainuddin (@arizainuddin) October 25, 2013
The chat took a fun turn when participants wondered what the next Monster could be.
Ari posed the question back to the fans, like @melbagu88…
@Melbagu88 So….zombie vs. swamp thing vs. megalodon vs. godzilla? Vote! #genmillschat
— Ari Zainuddin (@arizainuddin) October 25, 2013
Time flies in a Twitter Chat, so after about 45 minutes, at 10:45 p.m. Eastern, we had to bring it to an end.
With Halloween approaching, we’re grateful to the many fans this fall who have been talking about the Monsters, a lot, online.
Especially about the return of Frute Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy.
Thank you for your interest in our Monster Cereals. The marketing team led by Ari appreciates it!