Coming soon to a breakfast table near you: Cal Ripken Jr.

The venerable Orioles third baseman has signed up with a company to produce a line of food products bearing his name, starting with limited edition boxes of cereal that should hit grocer's shelves within a few weeks.

The still-unnamed cereal will be Cheerios-like "O's," for "Orioles," and be sold in the Baltimore-Washington area. Ripken's share of the proceeds will be donated to his charity, the Kelly and Cal Ripken Jr. Foundation.

This follows the pattern set by Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie, whose "Flutie Flakes" cereal became a merchandising phenomenon in upstate New York. Flutie, whose son, Doug Jr., suffers from autism, donated the money to a foundation he formed for the benefit of families with autistic children.

The Ripken food products will be marketed by Famous Fixins Inc., a New York-based company formed in 1995 to produce celebrity edibles. Its other products: a line of Greek salad dressings named for actress Olympia Dukakis and gourmet plantain chips sold by Erik Estrada, now star of a Mexican soap opera, who briefly gained fame in the U.S. TV series "CHiPS."

"They saw the success of the Flutie Flakes and came to us and thought we'd be a great tie-in," said Jeff Jacobson, vice president of marketing for the Tufton Group, Ripken's merchandising organization.

Ripken was given the chance to taste-test a number of cereals and selected the one that will be used, Jacobson said.

As a sales incentive, 2,632 commemorative trading cards -- one for each consecutive game Ripken played before ending his streak last season -- will be tucked into the boxes at random.

The cereal will be sold only during the upcoming baseball season.

"We are working with the Orioles to be sure they are OK with it," Jacobson said. Orioles officials were unavailable for comment last night.

Famous Fixins hopes to create a Cal Ripken candy bar and other products, said company publicist Michael Simon.

Marty Blackman, with Blackman & Rader, a New York firm that matches advertisers and athletes, said celebrity food items rarely succeed beyond a regional base, and even then lose their appeal over time.

Actor Paul Newman has done well with a line of salad dressing. More common are the short-lived products, such as former slugger Reggie Jackson's "Reggie Bar," Blackman said. That is because consumers who might take an athlete's advice on sneakers won't necessarily view him or her as an authority on culinary matters, he said.

"As you move farther and farther away from his domain of expertise, the less credibility it holds for consumers," he said.

"You may buy it once. But the real question is, do you pick it up a second time?" he said.

New Oriole Albert Belle had a candy bar named for him when he played in Cleveland a few years ago. Ripken, too, had a candy bar that it is no longer sold.

Flutie Flakes has shown unexpected success, selling 1.3 million boxes and raising $500,000 for autism victims since September, said Melissa Heher, marketing director for PLB Sports of Pittsburgh, which markets the flakes.

PLB Sports started out two years ago making a peanut butter named for Pittsburgh Penguin Jaromir Jagr. It has since added a steak sauce named for Cleveland Indian Sandy Alomar, a line of condiments for the Steelers' Jerome Bettis, and a pickle for the Colorado Avalanche's Adam Deadmarsh.

While none have succeeded like the Flutie Flakes -- which took off with the player's unexpected success -- they are all still being sold in their home regions.

"I think it's a good idea. Anybody can have a shoe contract, but it's nice to have your face on different products," Heher said.

Pub Date: 3/02/99