will keith

8/6/2019 Will Keith

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/will-keith 1/7

Will Keith (W.K.)Kellogg, was born April7, 1860. W.K., alongwith his brother, Dr.John Harvey Kellogg,

was the co-inventor of flaked cereal. AlthoughW.K. lacked a formaleducation beyond thesixth grade, the cerealgiant forever changedthe way we eat breakfast. In 1906, W.K.Kellogg entered thecereal business, asAmerican eating habits

began shifting fromheavy, fat-laden breakfasts to lighter,more grain-based meals.W.K. discovered that a better flake was produced by using onlythe corn grit or "sweetheart of the corn." Tohelp consumersdistinguish Kellogg'sCorn Flakes® cerealfrom the products of the42 other cerealcompanies in BattleCreek, Michigan, W.K. put his signature on each package, saying thatthese Corn Flakes arethe "The Original." Thecompany succeeded because it believed theentire populace, not justthose on special diets,might be interested inwholesome cereal foods,and because itcontinually improved its product line and packaging techniques to

8/6/2019 Will Keith


meet the needs of anever-changing andevolving consumer base.

1910s

With the advent of pasteurization of milk, theready-to-eat cereal business expanded. To keepup with a growing market, Kellogg Companydeveloped new product, packaging andmarketing innovations to fit consumer needs. In1914, Kellogg Company created Waxtite®wrappers, a new concept in packagingtechnology. W.K. Kellogg believed that if people tried a good product, they would keep buying it. To ensure that consumers wouldcontinue to seek out his products, he distributed

free samples of his Corn Flakes, and thenfollowed up with advertising in magazines andon billboards. Kellogg also held a children's artcontest, selecting the best entries for use inKellogg advertisements. The first Kellogg premium, the "Funny Jungleland MovingPicture Book," was distributed to consumers in1910. Kellogg's® Bran Flakes and All Bran®cereals were introduced in 1915 and 1916.After having success in the U.S. market,Kellogg opened its first foreign cereal facility

in 1914 in Canada.1920s

Kellogg continued to expand into new markets,exporting cereal to England in the early 1920sand later building a plant in Sydney, Australia.In the U.S., Kellogg introduced ready-to-eatcereals in individual servings for use inhospitals, hotels and rail dining cars. The 1920salso brought new marketing innovations. Amail-in promotion made Battle Creek,

Michigan a household word when millions of youngsters clipped and mailed in Kellogg's® boxtops for "Stuff-Yourself Nursery RhymeRag Dolls." Kellogg also established one of thefirst home economics departments in the foodindustry in 1923, the same year that Kellogg's®Pep� wheat flakes was introduced. Thefamous Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® began

8/6/2019 Will Keith


talking to consumers in 1927.

1930s

W.K. Kellogg made an unprecedented move asthe United States sank into the Great

Depression. Instead of cutting back, he doubledhis advertising spending - and Kellogg cerealsales increased. In response to the hard timescreated by the Depression, Mr. Kellogg reducedthe hours of the three plant shifts and created afourth shift, spreading the payroll among moreworkers. Others earned their paychecks bydeveloping a 10-acre park on the Battle Creek plant grounds. Declaring "I'll invest my moneyin people," in 1930, Mr. Kellogg founded theW.K. Kellogg Foundation. He also continued to

invest resources into developing the nutritionalquality of Kellogg's products. Kelloggexpansion continued with a new plant inManchester, England. Kellogg's® Pep�, became the first cereal fortified with vitaminsthrough the "spray" method. Kellogg also brought new partnerships by sponsoring "TheSinging Lady - Irene Wicker," the nation's firstradio network program for children, and the"Howie Wing" radio show, based on theadventures of a young aviator. Adm. Richard E.

Byrd's expedition to the South Pole wasequipped with a two-year supply of Kelloggcereals.

1940s

In support of the American war effort duringWorld War II, Kellogg provided packaged K-rations for the U.S. armed forces and Kelloggengineering personnel used the companymachine shop to manufacture parts for the"Manhattan" atomic bomb project in 1945. As a

result of the company's many efforts duringWWII, Kellogg was awarded the Army-Navy"E" flag for excellence. Kellogg's® RiceKrispies® Marshmallow Treats ® recipe, firstadvertised in 1940, became a popular food for mailing to service people abroad. Despite thewar, Kellogg launched new whole-grain product lines like Kellogg's Raisin Bran® in

8/6/2019 Will Keith


1942 and opened the company's second U.S. plant in Nebraska.

1950s

On October 6, 1951, Kellogg Company's

legendary founder, W.K. Kellogg, died at theage of 91. His body lay in state for three days inthe main lobby of the company office buildingso that hundreds of workers and Battle Creek residents could pay their respects. Throughoutthe 1950s the company introduced some of today's most beloved cereals including:Kellogg's® Corn Pops®, Kellogg's FrostedFlakes®, Kellogg's® Honey Smacks�,Kellogg's® Cocoa Krispies� and Kellogg's®Special K®, which was the first high-protein

breakfast cereal ever offered to consumers.Cereal icon, Tony the Tiger® also made hisfirst appearance in the 1950s and became aninstant hit as the spokescharacter for Kellogg'sFrosted Flakes®. In 1956, a Battle Creek tradition was started when more than 32,000 people sat down together at "the world's longest breakfast table" in Battle Creek, Michigan tocelebrate the company's 50th anniversary.Renowned artist Norman Rockwell produced aseries of illustrations for the company featuring

six children and Santa Claus. For Kellogg, the1950s also meant national expansion intoCalifornia and Tennessee, as well asinternationally into Mexico and New Zealand.

1960s

For Kellogg Company, the 1960s were marked by a wide range of new product introductions.There were five new cereals: Kellogg's FrootLoops®, Kellogg's Apple Jacks®, Kellogg'sFrosted Mini-Wheats®, Kellogg's Bran Buds®

and Kellogg's Product 19®, as well as Kellogg'sPop-Tarts® toaster pastries and Kellogg's®Croutettes� croutons. Kellogg's Product 19®was the first 100-percent fortified cereal createdfor consumers. Kellogg also enjoyed extensiveglobal expansion, opening facilities in SouthAmerica, Canada, Scandinavia, Europe andAsia. Kellogg even went into outer space, as

8/6/2019 Will Keith


part of the Apollo 11 space crew's breakfastduring their historic mission to the moon in1969. A growing interest in nutrition led to theexpansion of the company's already broadconsumer nutrition information programs.

1970s

Kellogg Company responded to America'srenewed awareness of the importance of nutrition and fitness. The company publishedits nutrition policy, outlining its fortification practices and commitments to nutrition,responsible advertising and consumer education. Kellogg became the first cerealcompany to voluntarily list the amount of sugar in its cereals on the side panel of its packages.

This was the strongest decade of growth in thehistory of ready-to-eat cereal consumption. New cereals included Kellogg's® FrostedKrispies® and Cracklin' Oat Bran®. Kelloggentered the frozen foods business when FearnInternational and its line of Eggo® brand frozenwaffles joined the company. Kellogg alsoacquired Mrs. Smith's Pie Company and PurePacked Foods. Company expansion continuedin Central America, Great Britain and Spain.

1980s

New cereal products of the 1980s includingKellogg's® Squares� line, Kellogg's®Crispix® and Kellogg's® Just Right®, wouldremain consumer favorites into the nextcentury. Science-based groups affirmed theimportance of grain in the diet, enablingKellogg to make health claims, particularly for high-fiber cereals such as Kellogg's® All-Bran®. The company built advanced-technology cereal plants in Battle Creek and

London, Ontario. It also opened a new plant inSouth Korea and improved its manufacturingcapabilities around the world. In 1986, KelloggCompany's new headquarters opened indowntown Battle Creek. True to its tradition of social responsibility, Kellogg stronglysupported the United Negro College Fund, theStatue of Liberty-Ellis Island renewal and the

8/6/2019 Will Keith


fight against apartheid in South Africa.

1990s

In the 1990s, as consumers purchased "On theGo" foods like never before, convenience foods

grew as a percentage of Kellogg's sales.Kellogg's® Rice Krispies Treats® squares andKellogg's® Nutri-Grain® bars won broadconsumer acceptance. Kellogg's® Pop-Tarts®toaster pastries became the company's top-selling product. In the cereal category, the1990s were the company's most difficultdecade, amid unprecedented branded and private-label competition in the U.S. andincreased competition overseas. Still, Kelloggremained the global cereal leader and opened

its first plants in India, China, Thailand andLatvia. A second Mexican plant was addedthanks to very strong growth in that market. In1997, Kellogg made a significant step forwardin its food science research activities byopening the $75 million W.K. Kellogg Institutefor Food and Nutrition Research in BattleCreek. In 1999, Kellogg acquired WorthingtonFoods, the top producer of soy-based meatalternatives.

2000s

Kellogg has generated strong upwardmomentum in the new century based ongrowing the dollar ± rather than volume ± salesof its cereal products, expanding itsconvenience foods business and pursuing profitable growth. After stabilizing in 2000, theKellogg U.S. cereal dollar share began a multi-year rise. In 2001, Kellogg completed thelargest acquisition in its history, the $4.56 billion purchase of Keebler Foods Company, a

leading producer of cookies and crackers.Cereal, once Kellogg Company's only productline, now represented 53 percent of itsworldwide sales, with 32 percent coming fromsnacks and the remaining 15 percent from other grain-based foods. Kellogg also has benefitedfrom the acquisition of health foods leader Kashi Company, the multi-country success of

8/6/2019 Will Keith


products such as Kellogg's® Special K® RedBerries cereal and a relentless focus on superior day-to-day execution of its productdevelopment and marketing initiatives. In 2006,Kellogg Company celebrated its 100th

Anniversary.

will keith

Documents