Cocoa Krispies 1960s, Sweep (a dog hand puppet from the popular children's television programme "The Sooty Show") became the mascot for Coco Pops. In 1963, Coco the Monkey was introduced, and he remains the mascot in those countries where the cereal is known as Coco Pops, Choco Krispies, and Choco Pops. In recent years, the design of Coco has been refined to give him a younger look. Coco's friends are Shortie Giraffe, Randy Rhino, Alan Anteater, Heftie Hippo, Fanny Flamingo, Osmelda Ostrich, and Kylie Kangaroo, while Crafty Croc and the gorillas are his arch enemies. In 1986, the cereal introduced the mascot
Breakfast cereal in some markets, and steady and continued growth throughout its history. The number of different types of breakfast cereals in the U.S. has grown from 160 (1970) to 340 (1998) to 4,945 (2012). In this highly competitive market, breakfast cereal companies have developed cereals in an ever-increasing number of flavors. Although many plain wheat and oat based cereals exist, other flavors are sweet. Some of the most popular brands include freeze-dried fruit and others are flavored like dessert or candy. Cereal, oatmeal and porridge quickly became an important breakfast component in North America. Barley was a common grain used, though