Crazy Cow was a breakfast cereal

Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...

 produced by General Mills

General Mills

General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...

 during the 1970s. The cereal was somewhat of a novelty item in that it had an unusual trait. The round, multi-grain cereal

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

 pellets were coated with an excipient of a drink mix. When milk was added, it would dissolve the powdered coating, and the resultant mixture would resemble in sight, smell, and taste, a flavored milk. Crazy Cow came in two flavors, chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

 and strawberry

Strawberry

Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...

. As the box indicated, these were just flavors; no actual chocolate or strawberries were in the ingredients. The box always contained the disclaimer "artificially flavored" or "chocolate flavored".

The front of the Crazy Cow box usually had a large cartoon cow, smiling cheerfully. On the box for both strawberry and chocolate Crazy Cow, the cow was white with brown spots and was wearing a hat and a cow bell

Cow bell

A cowbell or cow bell is a bell worn by freely roaming livestock, so that they do not run away or wander off without being heard. While bells were used on various types of animals, they are typically referred to as "cowbells" due to their extensive use with cattle.A trychel is a large cow bell...

 around his neck. The back of the box often included enticements in the form of images of promotional items included for "free" in the box. One promotional item was Star Wars Trading Cards

Star Wars Trading Cards

A Star Wars trading card is a nonsport, collectible trading card, sticker, wrapper, or cap based on the Star Wars movies and television shows. Both screen stills and original art are featured in the cards and other items. An avid collecting and trading community of these cards and sets exists...

. These were highly collectible because they were a different variety than those sold in packs.