Hot, healthy and quick? General Mills taps K-cup style packaging for hot cereal: Gallery

General Mills introduces a new packaging format for the hot cereal category. The new Nature Valley Bistro Cup from General Mills is designed to make hot, great tasting oatmeal in just minutes using a Keurig brewing system.

The Minnesota food processor follows in the footsteps of Campbell Soup, which introduced soup in K-cup style packaging in the fall of 2013 for soup. Unlike Campbell, though, which partnered with K-Cup owner Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., General Mills opted to use generic brewing-cup packaging.

Not to be upstaged, Green Mountain (which changed its name to Keurig Green Mountain in March 2014), continues its expansion through major partnerships. Announced Sept. 3, 2014, Honest Tea, the nation's No.1 organic bottled iced tea, will be the first brand from The Coca Cola Co. available in K-Cup packs.