Whatever Happened to Fruit Islands Cereal?

In 1987 Ralston introduced the world to King Ayumayuma and his delicious cereal called Fruit Islands. I'm going to be honest with you, if it weren't for the beautifully animated commercials with the catchy music I probably would have never even tried Fruit Islands Cereal. They seemed like a rip-off of Fruity Pebbles cereal which was and still is a great cereal. Thankfully for me, I did get suckered in by this well crafted advertising campaign and pestered my Mom to buy us some Fruit Islands Cereal!

 

The gimmick that separated this fruity flavored favorite was that each piece of cereal or island had real bits of apple baked into it! If my memory recalls, this gave the cereal a unique texture. There were several flavors of Islands you could eat in each bowl including Cherry, Orange & Lemon. I do remember really liking the taste and getting more boxes after we gave it an initial trial run. I remember they had some pretty good premiums packed into those boxes. From boxes of Nerds to fruit scented pens to...

FRUIT ISLANDS PLAYING CARDS!!!! I can't find anything on these cards anywhere on line, so I created the above picture based on what I remember them looking like. They were mini cards and very small, but each card featured King Ayumayuma on the back and they were fun to play with. Did anyone else have these or am I going crazy?

Despite Ralston's best efforts the cereal did not last long and the final push I can recall was Fruit Islands contest to help the King and his BFF Hee-Hee find there way home to the Fruit Islands. They gave away some great prizes, but it must not have stirred up enough additional revenue for Ralston to keep the cereal on shelves. So what ever happened to King Ayumayuma and Hee-Hee? This will forever be one of the greatest cereal based mysteries of our life times. If you see him around tell him I'm looking for him and we miss him!

For more info visit the Fruit Islands page at Mr. Breakfast.com