Great Days Start with Kellogg’s
By: Samantha March
Jordin Jones
Benjamin Hartsuff
Robert Bergeron
Marty Quertermous
Table of Contents
Title Fly ………………………………………….. Pg. 3
Memo …………………………………………….. Pg. 4
Introduction ………………………………………. Pg. 5
In The Beginning …………………………………. Pg. 5-6
The Great Depression and War …………………… Pg. 67
Expansion of Kellogg …………………………….. Pg. 7-8
Success of Kellogg ………………………………... Pg. 910
Conclusion ………………………………………… Pg. 11
Reference Page ……………………………………. Pg. 12
History of Kellogg Company
Benjamin Hartsuff
Jordin Jones
Samantha March
Robert Bergeron
Martin Quertermous
Memorandum
To: Jenell Bearnard-Keller
From: Samantha March, Jordin Jones, Robert Bergeron, and Martin Quertermous
Date: October 27th, 2013
Subject: Kellogg Report
Our group researched Kellogg for our project. Kellogg is a very popular company. Not only was our
group interested in Kellogg’s products but also the history of Kellogg’s. We wanted to research and be
able to compare the first years of Kellogg’s all the way up to now. We wanted to see the different
products, the expansion of the company, and much more.
Each group member was given a decade or years to research within the company. The years of focus
were 1906 through the present.
Group members found information that seemed interesting we pulled together all of the information
found. We then compared what has happened in the beginning stages of the company to what the
company has done now.
This report could not have been done without the work of Samantha, Jordin, Robert, and Martin. Each
put in efforts to research the years of history and products. Their efforts were truly grateful.
We want to thank you for taking the time to look at the research we have done for this project. We
hope you thoroughly enjoy reading the information found.
This report will cover the history from the very beginning of Kellogg Company in 1906
until present with a full history of what has happened over the last 100 plus years to keep the
company progressively growing and surviving the ups and downs of the economy at times.
The Kellogg Company is a multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in
Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods,
including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles,
and vegetarian foods. The company's brands include Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies,
Special K, Cocoa Krispies, Keebler, Pringles, Pop-Tarts, Kashi, Cheez-It, Eggo, Nutri-Grain and
many more. Kellogg's stated purpose is "Nourishing families so they can flourish and thrive."
Kellogg's products are manufactured in 35 countries and marketed in over 180 countries.
Kellogg's largest factory is at Trafford Park in Manchester, United Kingdom, which is also the
location of its European headquarters. Kellogg's holds a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II
and the Prince of Wales.
W.K Kellogg and his brother Dr. John Harvey Kellogg would change the world of
breakfast foods when they accidentally failed in attempting to make granola and had flaked a
wheat berry in 1898. After this, W.K Kellogg would continue experimenting in hopes of flaking
corn (Kellogg.com). He would discover a better flake was created by using the corn grit, or the
“sweet heart of corn,” (Kellogg History). In 1906, Kellogg opened the “Battle Creek Toasted
Flake Company,” with only 44 employees (Kellogg.com). This is the location of where the first
batch of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes was made. To help consumers distinguish Kellogg’s Corn Flakes
from other competitor cereals, Kellogg had applied his signature to each box of cereal (Kellogg
History). This was the beginning of “better for you foods,” the shift to more whole grain meals
from fat laden and heavy foods (Kellogg History). By 1914, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes was
introduced into Canada, which is now only one of the 180 countries Kellogg brands is located.
With people still focusing on healthier eating, Kellogg introduced Bran Flakes, the first high
fiber cereal in 1915, which would later lead to a Kellogg’s All- Bran line a year later
(Kellogg.com). Within the next five years, Kellogg expanding into new markets, this included
exporting cereals to England and later building a plant in Australia (Kellogg History). During the
1923, Kellogg became the first company to hire a dietitian, Mary Barber. She would go on to
start Kellogg’s Home Economics Department and define the roles of a proper diet
(Kellogg.com). This was also the year Kellogg introduced more new products, Kellogg Pep
wheat flakes, and then in 1927, the famous Kellogg Rice Krispies were introduced (Kellogg
History). Kellogg continued to become a very successful company by changing to consumers
needs and producing wholesome cereal foods.
The Great Depression made a huge impact on Americans all over the world. America was
in recession and companies were making cutbacks. Some companies couldn’t make it through
the Great Depression and had to close business. Instead of cutting back like other companies
Kellogg doubled their advertising expenses through the Great Depression to increase sales.
Kellogg’s sales were up to $5.7 in the early 1930’s (Overfelt). During the economic hard times
he also reduced the hours of his workers and made them work four shifts instead of three so he
could spread out the payroll amongst all of his workers. During the Great Depression Kellogg
spent money on researching the nutrition facts of the products. He wanted to make Kellogg
healthier. He wanted to promote healthier eating habits to the consumers (Mullner). Kellogg is
still known today for their healthy choices. This is what makes them so popular and successful
because people who are trying to eat healthier will choose Kellogg products.
On December 7th, 1941 America entered into World War II. A large percentage of
employees left to join the war. During this time Kellogg started to gear its business towards the
war effort. Kellogg provided packaged K-rations for the United States armed forces. Kellogg
engineering personnel used the company machine shop to manufacture for the Manhattan atomic
bomb project in 1945.As a result of the Kellogg’s efforts during World War II, Kellogg was
awarded the Army-Navy “E” flag of excellence (A Historical Overview).
During the Great Depression and World War II Kellogg was a very busy company.
Kellogg had to worry about cutting employee’s hours as well as employees
leaving for war. Kellogg also had to worry about the economy and how the
economy was going to have an impact on the company. During this entire
crisis Kellogg still managed to be ahead and create new products. In 1940
Kellogg’s Rice Krispie Marshmallow Treats recipe was first advertised (A
Historical Overview. To this day it is still very popular. In 1942 Kellogg
launched new whole-grain product lines. Kellogg’s Raisin Bran was a part of this product line.
Kellogg was also able to open a plant in Nebraska. Kellogg worked hard through the tough times
to be a successful company and that is exactly what they are today.
In the early days of Kellogg’s history, they began to make a huge impact on the nation’s
food industry. The increasing demands of consumer needs made it a task at hand for the
company to make adjustments as requested. W.K. Kellogg decided to start up the company in
1906 with a vision to create a whole new image for the breakfast food (Kellogg’s website). The
company started out of Battle Creek, MI and only wanted to increase their image, presence, and
number amount of production facilities across the continent. Once the vision was inspired
through all of the employees at Kellogg’s, the product line only began to expand and a majority
of needs were met.
Through 8 years of success, the first big expansion came to the country of Canada where
they were exposed to Corn Flakes in 1914 (Kellogg’s history). The innovation only kept
increasing, between healthier options, more kids’ friendly options, and the image of the
company. Fast-forwarding to the 1950s, the children’s’ category of cereal made a significant
increase in the number of brands. Cereals such as Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, and Apple Jacks
were announced to the company, and continue to possess the original image W.K. Kellogg had.
In order to keep up with the consumer need of healthier options, Kellogg’s was the first cereal
company to voluntarily provide nutrition labels on their products. Including the listed cereals,
other products such as Rice Krispie Treats and Smart Start Healthy Start were the pioneers of
nutrition labels provided.
On top of the innovation of the product line, Kellogg’s wanted to take their locations and
facilities to another level. Also within the 1950s, national and international expansion was under
way for the company (Kellogg’s). While the national facilities were built in California and
Tennessee, the international image increased to London, Ontario, Mexico, New Zealand, and
South Korea. While the image of W.K. Kellogg was to change the image of the breakfast food,
the impact across the world came unexpectedly and only would be beneficial for society as a
whole. In order for the company to continue the path forward, it needed to make an impact
globally and that is exactly what happened through the 1950s.
Continuing the innovation of the company, it was persistent in creating new products. It
has made a huge impact on society as a driving force in the food industry. While society has
changed countless times, Kellogg’s seems to stay consistent with the modernization of its
products for the desires of today’s culture. Kellogg’s has adapted fairly well and only continues
to be a reformer in the breakfast industry.
There is no doubt that there are many companies that have had great amounts of success
but when it comes to the cereal world there is no company with greater success than Kellogg’s.
When Kellogg’s first started they were the leader then and still continue to be the leader now.
Kellogg’s items are available in more countries than any other cereal brand and can be found
worldwide. Kellogg’s has won so many awards and achievements that on their website they
actually need to break them all down year by year because there are so many just to list. Year
after year they continue to win some of the same awards they have won in years prior and also
seem to take home some new awards and achievements and continuing with great success.
Kellogg’s has made great strides in success within healthier markets, In 1997, Kellogg
made a significant step forward in its food science research activities by opening the $75 million
W.K. Kellogg Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Battle Creek. In 1999, Kellogg
acquired Worthington Foods, the top producer of soy-based meat alternatives. In 2006 The
Kellogg Company celebrated our 100-year commitment to nutrition, health and quality. They
also celebrated their future by creating new Kellogg’s® Special K® Bars and other innovative
ways of giving your family the delicious nutrition you need to make the most of every day. In
2009-2010 after discovering that many people in the U.S. don’t get enough fiber, Kellogg
increased the fiber in many of our most popular cereals, including Kellogg’s Froot Loops. Now,
in the U.S., Kellogg Company offers more ready-to-eat cereals that provide at least one good
source of fiber (3 grams) and one-half serving of whole grains (8 grams) than any other U.S.
food company.
In 2010, United Way recognized Kellogg Company with the Spirit of America Award its highest honor for overall community efforts. Kellogg is the first Michigan-based company to
win the award, which recognizes the variety of ways Kellogg Company and its employees and
retirees continue to invest in the communities where they work and live. President and CEO
David Mackay joined First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America to
announce a new industry-wide pledge to reduce 1.5 trillion calories by the end of 2015. The
pledge was made by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a coalition of more than 100
retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, and nongovernmental and other organizations and
individuals committed to help fight the obesity epidemic.
Kellogg’s has won a number of awards and achievements, to many to ever list on a paper
but some of their most accomplished achievements recently have been:
Forbes, "World's Most Reputable Companies"
Kantar Retail, "2012 U.S. Power Ranking of Top Suppliers"
Newsweek, "2012 Global Green Ranking"
Forbes, "World's Most Powerful Brands"
Hispanic Business, "Best Companies for Diversity Practices"
APCO Worldwide, "Top 100 Most Loved Companies”
Working Mother, "Best 100 Companies"
Forbes, "100 Most Innovative Companies“
Computerworld, “100 Best Places to Work in IT”
Forbes, "World’s Most Reputable Companies"
Kellogg has been very successful over many years and is still continuing and their
proudly upholding the values W.K. Kellogg instilled more than 100 years ago, but now their
doing it in 180 countries across the world. They still provide you and your family with better
breakfasts that lead to better days, and they flake corn the same way W.K. Kellogg did back in
1898.
The Kellogg Company over the last century has overcome many obstacles to become the
company they are today. Kellogg’s has weathered many economic down turns over the years
they have been in business and has seemed to come out of the bad economies stronger than their
competitors every time. This report has shown the reasons why Kellogg has become the
company they are today how they were able to accomplish this from the expansion of a single
product all the way to becoming the second largest snack producer with many, many products
and how they were able to accomplish this.
References
A Historical Overview. (n.d.). Kellogg Company History, Timeline. Retrieved November 13,
2013, from http://www.kellogghistory.com/history.htm
Mullner, R. M. (2009). Encyclopedia of health services research. Los Angeles: Sage.
Overfelt, Maggie (2003). FSB: Fortune Small Business. Apr2003, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p58. Print.