Why That Worked #19: Magic Spoon—How One Tagline Dethroned Sugar and Disrupted a $65B Industry

May 14, 2025

Discover how Magic Spoon revolutionized the cereal industry with a powerful tagline that redefined breakfast. The hosts explore the importance of storytelling and effective messaging in capturing consumer attention. Learn about the brand's battle against sugar-heavy competitors and its innovative marketing strategies that resonate with health-conscious parents. Gain insights on crafting compelling narratives that address customer pain points, showcasing how strategic branding can lead to success in a saturated market.

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ADVICE

Clarify Product Name With Tagline

When launching a product, use a name and tagline that quickly explain what it is to avoid consumer confusion.
Follow an unclear product name with a clear and concise tagline to immediately clarify the offering.

INSIGHT

Power of Clear Taglines

A good tagline states exactly what the product is and addresses objections upfront to stop negative assumptions.
Magic Spoon's tagline "healthy cereal that tastes too good to be true" clearly explains the product and opens a story loop.

INSIGHT

Using Contrast To Fight Stereotypes

Magic Spoon's tagline uses contrast to battle the stereotype that healthy cereal tastes bad.
The phrase "tastes too good to be true" immediately disproves the assumption and reduces the consumer's objection.

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Exciting news, Hero Makers! We’re sharing a new episode of Why That Worked – Presented by StoryBrand.AI, with Donald Miller back in the host seat. This new show uncovers why certain ideas, brands, and strategies succeed—so you can think differently and apply those insights to your business and life.

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It’s not enough to have a great product. You have to position it so customers instantly understand the value. That’s what separates the brands that break through from the ones that disappear. Magic Spoon didn’t invent cereal, they just told a better story: one where protein replaces sugar, and taste isn’t sacrificed for health. And they did it with a smart tagline, a well-defined villain, and a brand voice that made people pay attention. So how can you sharpen your positioning to you stand out like they did?

In this episode, Don and Kyle break down the marketing genius behind Magic Spoon’s rise in a crowded cereal market and how it became a household name. From tackling the sugar-loaded bad-guys of the breakfast aisle to delivering a tagline that opens a story loop and closes the sale, Magic Spoon gives us a playbook worth copying. Tune in to learn how to identify your brand’s real enemy and position your product so it’s instantly understood.

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Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon or wherever you buy books!