Welcome to the City That Smells Like Cheerios

Traveling often heightens the senses – seeing new sights, tasting new foods, and hearing live music. In Buffalo, no travel experience is complete without also smelling Cheerios.

General Mills has called the Queen City of the Lakes home since 1904 and produced one of the world’s most popular breakfast cereals, Cheerios, here since 1941. Baked fresh along the Buffalo River every day, the winds from Lake Erie carry that warm, slightly sweet, toasty oat aroma to nostrils citywide.

The smell that led to locals exclaiming “My City Smells Like Cheerios!” (on t-shirts, no less) has caught the attention of folks across the country, too. Buffalo was ranked on Expedia’s list of “10 of the nation’s smelliest cities” – in a good way, of course. And online outlet Now This dove deep into Buffalo’s famous fragrance:

For over 75 years, Cheerios have been proudly made right here in Buffalo. And if you’re curious to know if your cereal came from the local General Mills factory, you need only look at the top of the box. See that blue rectangle on the flap? If you spot the letters “BU”, you’ll know that specific box was made and shipped, with love, from Buffalo!

Check out our Buffa101 video as local city planner and historian, Chris Hawley, explains the history of General Mills in Buffalo: