BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Flutie Flakes are in production again and will soon be on the shelves in Wegmans Stores. They are also available online through PLBSPORTS.com
The frosted-flake breakfast cereal is being re-launched to coincide with Doug Flutie being honored as a "Legend of the Game" during the Bills-Ravens football game on Sunday December 8th at New Era Field.
Flutie will be in the Bills field house for about an hour before the game to sign 300 Flutie Flake boxes (just the box flats with no cereal inside them) for fans who make a donation to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
In 1998, Doug Flutie came to the Buffalo Bills as a college and CFL football star, but Fluties son, Doug, Jr., had been diagnosed with a very rare autism spectrum disorder.
Flutie Flakes was started with the hope of using the proceeds to help individuals and families dealing with autism.
"We thought we might sell 25,000 boxes. Then Flutie mania hit in '98 and we ended up selling 2.3 million boxes of cereal," said Ty Ballou, president of PLB Sports in Pittsburgh that produced Flutie Flakes.
The sales helped the Flutie Foundation distribute $14 million dollars in assistance for people dealing with autism.
Packaging for the new Flutie Flakes was made in North Buffalo by the Mod-Pac Corp. on Elmwood Avenue which printed and glued 25,000 boxes.
Demand for Flutie Flakes is so great that it initially crashed online servers for PLB Sports. "Demand has been unbelievable off the internet," added Ty Ballou.
Success of Flutie Flakes in 1998 helped spur several other pro-athlete endorsed cereals such as "Mahomes Magic Crunch" - which is printed at Mod-Pac and selling quickly at stores in the Kansas City Area where the young quarterback is a superstar.
Mod-Pac has also produced breakfast cereal packaging for the WWE, Ryan Miller (former Buffalo Sabres player), T.O. Owners (Former Bills player) and others.
While the re-launch of Flutie Flakes needed a rush-job to meet demand, the Buffalo company said it was glad to be part of the effort and hopes popularity will result in another production run.
