Kellogg Company, known as Kellogg's, was an American company that made food sold in many countries. It was based in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produced breakfast cereal and easy-to-make foods like crackers and toaster pastries. Its products were sold under brand names such as Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Pringles, Eggo, and Cheez-It. In 2018, the company's mission was to "Nourish families so they can flourish and thrive."

Kellogg's products were made and sold in more than 180 countries. Its largest factory was located in Trafford Park, Trafford, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, which also housed its UK headquarters. Other offices outside of Battle Creek included locations in Chicago, Dublin (European Headquarters), Shanghai, and Querétaro City. Kellogg's received a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II until her death in 2022.

In October 2023, the company changed its name to Kellanova and split off some parts into a new company called WK Kellogg Co. In 2025, Kellanova was bought by Mars, and WK Kellogg Co. was bought by Ferrero.

History

In 1876, John Harvey Kellogg became the leader of the Battle Creek Sanitarium (originally called the Western Health Reform Institute, founded by Ellen White). His brother, W. K. Kellogg, worked as the bookkeeper. This is where corn flakes were created, leading to the formation of the Kellogg Company.

For many years, W. K. Kellogg helped his brother research ways to improve the vegetarian diet of the sanitarium’s patients, especially by finding a wheat-based granola. The Kelloggs are most famous for inventing the popular breakfast cereal corn flakes. The flaked cereal was developed in 1894, though there is disagreement among family members about who was involved and their roles. It is generally believed that John Kellogg left a batch of wheat-berry dough behind one night. The next day, instead of throwing it away, he sent it through rollers and discovered it made delicate flakes that could be baked.

W. K. Kellogg encouraged his brother to serve the food in flake form. Soon, the flaked wheat was packaged to meet requests from guests who had left the sanitarium. However, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg refused to let his brother, Will Keith Kellogg, sell the cereal to people outside the sanitarium. This disagreement caused the brothers to separate. In 1906, W. K. Kellogg started the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. A fire destroyed the main factory in 1907, but W. K. Kellogg reopened the plant six months later.

Will Keith Kellogg convinced his brother to let him use the family name for his company. His company produced and sold the successful Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes. In 1909, the company was renamed the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company and later became the Kellogg Company in 1922.

By 1909, Will’s company produced 120,000 cases of Corn Flakes daily. John, who disliked his brother’s success, sued Will’s company in 1906 over the use of the family name. A court trial lasting one month ended in 1920 when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in Will’s favor.

In 1931, the Kellogg Company changed most of its factories to a 30-hour workweek instead of the usual 40 hours. W. K. Kellogg explained this change would allow more workers to be hired to help people during the Great Depression. This practice continued until World War II and briefly after the war, though some factories kept the 30-hour week until 1980.

From 1969 to 1970, Kellogg’s used the slogan “Kellogg's puts more into your day” on Sunday morning TV shows. Between 1969 and 1977, Kellogg’s bought several small businesses, including Salada Tea, Fearn International, Mrs. Smith’s Pies, Eggo, and Pure Packed Foods. However, the company was criticized for not diversifying like General Mills and Quaker Oats. After spending less on marketing and product development, Kellogg’s U.S. market share dropped to 36.7% in 1983. A Wall Street analyst called the company “a fine company that’s past its prime,” and the cereal market was seen as “mature.” This led Kellogg’s chairman, William E. LaMothe, to focus on marketing to adults, especially baby boomers. By emphasizing convenience and nutrition, Kellogg’s helped increase cereal consumption among U.S. adults aged 25 to 49. The U.S. ready-to-eat cereal market grew from $3.7 billion in 1983 to $5.4 billion by 1988. Kellogg’s also introduced new products like Crispix, Raisin Squares, and Nutri-Grain Biscuits and expanded internationally with products like Just Right for Australia and Genmai Flakes for Japan. During this time, Kellogg’s outperformed competitors like General Mills and Post.

In 2001, Kellogg’s bought the Keebler Company for $3.87 billion. Over time, it also acquired Morningstar Farms and Kashi. Kellogg’s owns brands like Bear Naked, Natural Touch, Cheez-It, Murray, Austin cookies and crackers, Famous Amos, Gardenburger (acquired in 2007), and Plantation. Currently, Kellogg’s is part of the World Cocoa Foundation.

In 2012, Kellogg’s became the world’s second-largest snack food company after buying Pringles from Procter & Gamble for $2.7 billion.

In 2015, Kellogg’s announced it would use 100% cage-free eggs and eliminate gestation stalls in its pork supply chain by 2025.

In 2017, Kellogg’s bought Chicago-based Rxbar for $654 million. It also opened new office space in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart for global growth and IT departments. In the UK, Kellogg’s released the W. K. Kellogg brand of organic, vegan, and plant-based cereals with no added sugars.

In 2018, Kellogg’s stopped operating in Venezuela due to the country’s economic crisis. Its factories were taken over by the Venezuelan government. In 2019, cereal boxes in Venezuela featured the Venezuelan flag and a motto from President Nicolás Maduro. Kellogg’s called this use illegal and said it would take legal action.

In 2019, Kellogg’s sold Famous Amos, Murray’s, Keebler, Mother’s, and Little Brownie Bakers to Ferrero SpA for $1.4 billion. Kellogg’s kept the Keebler cracker line and replaced the Keebler name with its own.

In June 2019, Kellogg’s announced its “Better Days” global commitment, focusing on hunger, children, and farmers, with goals to achieve by 2030.

In October 2019, Kellogg’s partnered with GLAAD to launch a limited-edition “All Together Cereal” and donated $50,000 to support LGBTQ advocacy. The cereal package highlighted anti-bullying efforts.

In January 2020, Kellogg’s decided to stop using glyphosate, a chemical used to dry wheat and oats, by 2025.

In October 2021, workers at Kellogg’s U.S. cereal plants went on strike over labor contract disagreements. A tentative agreement was rejected by workers, and management planned to replace striking employees. A new agreement was approved in December 2021, ending the 77-day strike.

In June 2022, Kellogg’s announced it would spin off three divisions: cereal, snacks, and plant-based foods. The North American cereal and plant-based food divisions will keep

Finances

In the fiscal year 2017, Kellogg's had earnings of US$1.269 billion and total revenue of US$12.932 billion, which was a decrease of 0.7% compared to the previous fiscal year. In November 2018, Kellogg's market value was worth more than US$22.1 billion.

Marketing

Throughout its history, Kellogg's has used many different methods to promote its company and brands. One example is the design of the Kellogg's logo by Ferris Crane, with guidance from typeface designer Y. Ames. Another example is the memorable jingle "K E double-L, O double-good, Kellogg's best to you!"

In the early 20th century, as patent medicine became more popular in advertising, The Kellogg Company of Canada published a book called A New Way of Living. The book explained how readers could improve their health, stay energetic, and enjoy life more fully by using All-Bran cereal to avoid constipation.

Kellogg's was a major sponsor of the CBS panel show What's My Line? and also supported the PBS Kids animated series Dragon Tales, which features Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies as sponsors.

Kellogg's has sponsored USA Gymnastics and organized the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics, a 36-city event held in 2016. The tour included performances by U.S. gymnasts who won medals at the Olympics.

Currently, Kellogg's is the title sponsor of three college football bowl games. In 2019, it became the sponsor of the Sun Bowl, now called the "Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl." In 2020, the company used its Cheez-It brand to sponsor the Pop-Tarts Bowl. In 2022, Kellogg's added the Citrus Bowl to its sponsorships, now named the "Cheez-It Citrus Bowl."

W.K. Kellogg introduced prizes inside cereal boxes, a strategy that led to the distribution of billions of different prizes over time.

Starting in 1909, Kellogg's Corn Flakes included a premium called The Funny Jungleland Moving Pictures Book. Initially, customers could receive the book by purchasing two boxes of cereal. Later, the company changed the offer to a mail-in request for a dime. Over 2.5 million copies of the book were distributed in various editions over 23 years.

In 1945, Kellogg's began placing pin-back buttons inside boxes of Pep cereal. These buttons featured U.S. Army squadrons and comic characters. There were five series of comic characters, with 18 buttons in each set, totaling 90 in the collection. Other cereal companies, such as General Mills, Malt-O-Meal, Nestlé, Post Foods, and Quaker Oats, later followed this practice to boost sales and brand loyalty.

Kellogg's has not included licensed brands in some promotions, as the mascots would be too obvious (for example, Spider-Man is the mascot for Spider-Man Spidey-Berry).

Kellogg's first entered auto racing in 1991 and 1992 by sponsoring the #41 Chevrolets driven by Phil Parsons, Dave Marcis, Greg Sacks, Hut Stricklin, and Richard Petty. Later, the company gained more recognition by sponsoring Terry Labonte, a two-time Winston Cup Champion, from 1993 to 2006. Kellogg's supported Labonte, Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, and Mark Martin until 2010, and later became an associate sponsor for Carl Edwards' #99 car with Roush Fenway Racing.

Kellogg's featured Dale Earnhardt on Corn Flakes boxes in 1993 and 1994, and Jeff Gordon on Mini Wheats boxes for his achievements, including Rookie of the Year in 1993 and the 1997 Championship. A special three-pack box set included Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, and Dale Jarrett in 1996.

Kellogg's has used merchandising for its products. The company once released Mission Nutrition, a PC game included with special cereal packs. The game allowed players to control characters like Tony the Tiger, Coco the Monkey, or Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Kellogg's also created "Talking" games, such as Talking Tony and Talking Sam, where players used a microphone to interact with characters. Talking Snap Crackle and Pop was another software product.

Kellogg's often partners with the Olympic Games to feature American athletes on its cereal packaging. In 2017, the company announced a marketing campaign for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, highlighting athletes such as Nathan Chen, Kelly Clark, Meghan Duggan, and Mike Schultz.

Misleading claims

We expect more from a great American company than making untrue claims—not once, but twice—that its cereals improve children's health.

On June 3, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that Kellogg's made unsupported and misleading claims in its advertising for cereal products.

Kellogg's responded by saying, "We support the accuracy of our product claims and research, so we agreed to an order covering those claims. We believe the changes to the existing agreement addressed any remaining concerns."

The FTC had earlier criticized Kellogg's for claiming that Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal improved children's attentiveness by nearly 20%.

The Children's Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus suggested that the phrase "Made with Real Fruit" on Kellogg Pop-Tarts packages should be removed. In July 2012, the UK banned a "Special K" advertisement because it included caloric values that did not account for the calories from milk eaten with the cereal. In 2016, another UK ad claiming Special K was "full of goodness" and "nutritious" was also banned.

Some of Kellogg's marketing has been questioned in the media, as more people notice the difference between the messages in advertisements and the actual products.

Food bloggers have also raised concerns about how cereal companies like Kellogg's market their products, pointing to high sugar content and ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup.

A class-action lawsuit was filed against Kellogg's in October 2021, claiming the company did not include enough strawberries in its strawberry-flavored Pop-Tarts and sought $5 million in damages. In April 2022, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.

Another lawsuit was filed in 2021, with the plaintiff stating Kellogg's misled customers about the ingredients in its Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts. The plaintiff said she would not have bought the product if she had known it did not contain milk, milkfat, or butter. In June 2022, a U.S. district judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating that a reasonable consumer would not expect those ingredients.

Recalls

On June 25, the company began a recall of about 28 million boxes of Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops, and Honey Smacks. This was because some packages had an unusual smell and taste that might cause illness. Kellogg's reported that about 20 people said they had problems with the cereals, including five who experienced nausea and vomiting. Some consumers described the cereal as smelling or tasting like wax, metal, or soap. A company representative said some people said it tasted stale. No serious health issues were reported.

The chemical suspected to cause the problems is called 2-methylnaphthalene. It is used in the cereal packaging process. Scientists know little about how this chemical affects human health. The Food and Drug Administration does not have data about its effects on people. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also does not have health or safety information about it, even though it has asked the chemical industry for details for 16 years. This chemical is found in crude oil and is similar in structure to naphthalene, a substance in mothballs and toilet-deodorant blocks. The EPA considers naphthalene a possible human carcinogen.

Kellogg's offered refunds to customers. Only products with the letters "KN" after the use-by date were included in the recall. These products were sold in the United States and reached stores in late March 2010. Products in Canada were not affected.

Kellogg's also recalled some "Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size Original" and "Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size" products because they might contain tiny pieces of metal mesh. The affected items came in sizes ranging from single-serving bowls to large 70-ounce containers. The use-by dates on the recalled packages ranged from April 1, 2013, to September 21, 2013, and were marked with the letters KB, AP, or FK.

Human rights violations and strikes

In 2016, Amnesty International reported that Kellogg's palm oil supplier, Wilmar International, used labor from children aged 8 to 14 and forced labor. Some workers were threatened, not paid for their work, or suffered serious injuries from chemicals like Paraquat. Kellogg's claimed it did not know about the child labor because it could not track the labor sources. Amnesty's human rights director said, "Using weak excuses about 'traceability' is a complete failure to take responsibility."

In October 2021, more than 1,000 workers at four Kellogg's manufacturing plants in the United States went on strike to demand better working conditions and higher wages. After two months of strikes, Kellogg's fired all the striking workers and announced job openings in December following failed negotiations with the BCTGM union. During the talks, Kellogg's threatened to move jobs to Mexico if the union did not accept its proposal. Kellogg's also filed a lawsuit against the union. As a result, many people called for a boycott of Kellogg's products.

Political involvement

Kellogg's gave about US $2 million to oppose California Proposition 37, a 2012 ballot measure that would have required labels on foods made with genetic engineering. In March 2016, the company promised to label all its products with genetically modified organisms by 2020.

In August 2014, Kellogg's asked the President to support the Paris Agreement on climate change. In 2016, Kellogg Company asked President-elect Donald Trump to "continue the Paris Climate Agreement."

Kellogg's has donated to groups that oppose voter-ID laws, such as the Applied Research Center (now RaceForward). The company also decided to take out its ads from the Breitbart News website. Breitbart News then asked people to stop buying Kellogg's products.

In January 2012, Kellogg's gave the Calhoun School a $250,000 grant for a "three-part youth-based project on issues of white privilege and institutionalized racism."