Breakfast is big business. Americans gobbled up $8.5 billion worth of ready-to-eat cereal over the past year, according to IRI, a market research firm. Just four companies - General Mills (GIS), Kellogg (K), Post Holdings (POST) and Quaker Foods, a division of PepsiCo (PEP) - collectively accounted for $7.3 billion of those sales.

Although cereal sales have been stagnant of late - down 1.4% year-over-year - growing interest in cereal as a snack among younger consumers could goose demand. Market research firm Mintel found that 56% of millennials say they've eaten cereal as a snack at home, compared with just 32% of baby boomers.

"While breakfast is the most common occasion for eating cereal and nearly universal across age groups, snacking on cereal may offer greater potential for reinvigorating category growth, especially among younger adults," says John Owen, an analyst with Mintel.

So which cereal brands are Americans buying the most? Take a look at the list of the 19 most popular cereals in the U.S. to find out.

19. Corn Flakes

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Kellogg's Corn Flakes traces its history back to 1894 , when company founder W. K. Kellogg and his brother accidentally stumbled upon the process to flake corn. It remains one of the best-selling U.S. breakfast cereals to this day, though its popularity is waning. Corn Flakes sales fell 6.7% year-over-year, with 7% fewer boxes sold. On the plus side, the average price per box of Corn Flakes rose by a penny.

Kellogg, the No. 2 cereal maker behind General Mills, saw it total U.S. cold cereal sales fall 3.4% year-over-year to $2.49 billion,