Packed with essential nutrients like protein to support growth and help build & maintain muscle.

Nutrition Facts

We have made the decision to discontinue the Carnation Breakfast Essentials portfolio, to allow for greater focus on the brands we know can deliver consumer value moving forward.

Carnation-brand Instant Breakfast (renamed Carnation Breakfast Essentials in 2022) was introduced in 1964. It is a powdered instant drink that is manufactured with protein, vitamins and minerals and sugar.

Skim milk powder, sugar, cocoa, oligofructose / inulin (prebio¹), corn maltodextrin, lactose, carrageenan, soy lecithin, vitamins and minerals (vitamin A palmitate, ascorbic acid, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, niacinamide, ferric orthophosphate). Contains milk and soy.

The 19 grams of sugar present in the Carnation Breakfast Essentials powder drink mix equates to almost 5 teaspoons. That means if you were to drink one Carnation Breakfast Essential drink every weekday for a year, you'd get an extra 1,300 teaspoons of sugar from your breakfast alone. That's 48 cups!

Dr. Rufo agrees that the product should be used only as a nutritional supplement, and warns that regularly consuming Carnation Breakfast Essential products in lieu of a meal could be a problem.

Carnation Breakfast Essentials® Original products are nutritionally appropriate for ages 4 years and older, including teens and adults.

Nestlé acquired the Carnation Company in 1984. In 2003 we brought all our milk products under one brand – Carnation. Since then, we've added our ready-made Caramel, Vegan Condensed Milk Alternative and Drizzles to the range you all know and love.

On 6 September 1899, Stuart and a business partner founded the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company in Kent, Washington, and he became its first president (a post he held until 1932, then serving as chairman from 1932 to 1944). Its product was based on the relatively new process of commercial evaporation of beverages.

The origins of breakfast are thought to date back to the ancient world, when people would break their fasts with a simple meal before starting their day. The first known reference to breakfast in English dates back to the 15th century, when it was mentioned in a work by author Thomas Nashe.