OffLimits
Emily Miller is no stranger to breakfast. The founder of Breakfast Club, a series of pop ups and partnerships meant to bring people together around the most important meal of the day, and the author of Breakfast, a morning meal bible published by Phaidon, Emily has long extolled the virtues of breakfast. In what seems like a pre-destined move, Emily launched her own brand of breakfast eats in 2020 under the brand OffLimits. From debuting the first female cereal character to creating a brand that is rooted in counter culture, Emily has provided the nourishment we all badly need after the last year. In our third installment of Cultivating Conversations, we spoke to Emily on how she is tapping into consumers’ real emotions to create a brand that embraces the good, the bad, and in between.
“OffLimits makes out-of-the-box, not too sweet cereal flavors paired with relatable cartoon mascots.”
Unlike the toxic ingredients and unrelatable characters of cereal brands before, OffLimits proves cereal can be both fun and healthy. Our defiant voice and art-fueled vision allows us to be one of the first food brands to enter the culture space.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS LOVED CEREAL? WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START THIS LINE?
I was rarely allowed to eat sugary cereal as a kid, but I'd always sneak into the Frosted Flakes when I was at my Grandma's house. It didn't seem fair that the cereal "off limits" to me were the ones bringing all the fun characters, colors, and toys. I started OffLimits to prove that cereal can be both fun and healthy. As well as to provide a much needed update to the reliability of cereal mascots.
“WE created DASH, the first ever female cereal mascot and ZOMBIE, the first openly non-binary character.”
Each mascot has flavors to reflect their ever-changing moods.
WHAT INSPIRED THE TWO CHARACTERS?
“DASH and ZOMBIE are inspired by the emotional instabilities often found in creative people.”
I guess you could call them a reflection of my own extremes.
DASH is when I'm hustling, getting things done but comes with anxiety and pressure to succeed. ZOMBIE is the chill side, the one that gets you out of your head to think clearly and be inspired, the flip side is spurts of depression and lack of motivation.
It was important to me to create relatable cereal characters that people can feel emotionally connected to. Cereal is often eaten alone, but with DASH and ZOMBIE there's always a friend nearby to share your ups and downs.
HOW DO YOU STAY INVOLVED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY?
I believe brands should not be allowed to profit off of the communities they fail to represent. The OffLimits team drives social impact by dedicating time. We set up supply stations with cereal, sunscreen, tampons, and water at the BLM protests.
“We collaborated with other small brands to participate in a charitable sidewalk sale raising over 200k for BLM groups.”
We also made cereal kits for NYU kids who were stuck quarantining in the dorms with no reasonable food provided for them.
Our team is quick to mobilize because these are things we're already doing on our own, now we do it together and with cereal.
YOU LAUNCHED DURING A TUMULTUOUS TIME. HOW DID THAT AFFECT YOUR LAUNCH AND INITIAL MESSAGING?
“To do what’s OffLimits is to forge your own path, to defy social norms, and to be uniquely you.”
Embracing what’s different takes bravery and our uniquely flavored, healthy cereals are here to fuel your self-love journey with the emotional support of our moody cartoon mascots, DASH and ZOMBIE.
We're breaking all the rules with cereal as our catalyst and I can't think of a better time to share this message with the world and encourage them to do the same.
WHAT HAS THE REACTION BEEN TO YOUR BRAND?
“reactions have exceeded my expectations.”
In a few short months people are really understanding the characters, so much so that they're sending DM's and emails addressed to DASH and ZOMBIE.
We take the love and the hate mail and turn our favorites into art in collaboration with UK-based artist 45PRM. For example one comment was. "OffLimits is so FKING good. I had to choose between a bowl of cereal and some bangin looking sushi tonight and I chose ZOMBIE."
We're building a community of cartoon, streetwear, and cereal lovers and I can't wait to see where this takes us.
DOES SUSTAINABILITY PLAY A ROLE IN YOUR BRAND?
Absolutely!
“We use only recycled paper for our boxes.”
And, we are also constantly looking for more sustainable packaging suppliers. Our ingredients are organic, gluten-free, plant-based, and kosher. We work with small suppliers like micro-roasted coffee from Intelligentsia, and seek out a global representation of ingredients like pandan and ashwagandha.
BEING A WOMAN LED BRAND, HAVE YOU BEEN INSPIRED BY ANY OTHER WOMEN LEADING THE WAY?
I feel a massive pressure to succeed not only as a female-led brand but as a woman with a BA in fine arts instead of the expected MBA. Higher rates of successful female entrepreneurs will lead to more active women in venture, which funds more female-owned businesses. I have immense respect for Dana Cowin (Speaking Broadly), Camilla Marcus (West~Boourne), Jing Gao (Fly By Jing), Najla Austin (Ethel's Club), and SO many more.
