Cerealously, where's the Tropicana Crunch?

A curious market has blossomed around a new product from a local company.

• Orange you wondering what we're talking about?

Driving the news: On May 4, Bradenton-based Tropicana announced that something called Tropicana Crunch — "Cereal Made for OJ" — was "available now" via the website TropicanaCrunch.com.

• Cereal … made for orange juice.

Yes, but: Boxes of the honey almond madness were gone quick, apparently. The website soon said "Sad it's over. But happy it happened."

• People who missed out were miffed, and some cereal experts were scratching their heads and wondering if it was all a stunt.

The latest: Vendors have listed boxes for sale on eBay for as much as $149.99 and as little as $60.

• But a search Tuesday turned up no actual images of boxes, just screenshots of the Tropicana Crunch website.

The rub: We wanted to try some, but Tropicana's PR team brushed us off: "We unfortunately sold out the day of the release, as so many consumers were eager to get their hands on the cereal!"

• We noticed the ingredients listed here, so we found the closest thing to it on Publix shelves — Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds — and gave it a whirl with some fresh squeezed from Ridge Island Groves.

The verdict: A friendly review would call to mind sorbet in a waffle cone, but don't do this to your orange juice. It's just gross.