Kellogg Cuts Loose with Split Plan

By Brent Hofacker @ Shutterstock.com

Kellogg has announced a plan to split into three businesses. The largest leftover business will be made up of the company’s snack business, which produces 80% of the revenues for the company in its current configuration. The company will split off its cereal business and its plant-based-foods unit into separate companies. Annie Gasparro reports for The Wall Street Journal:

Kellogg Co. said it plans to break up its business into three companies, seeking to jump-start its larger, faster-growing snacks business while helping its namesake cereal brands regain their footing on supermarket shelves.

The move, which Kellogg said would separate snacks such as Pringles, Cheez-Its and Pop-Tarts from cereal-aisle staples including Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops, aims to create more agile, focused companies and marks a shift from the food industry’s decadeslong strategy of pursuing acquisitions and building scale.

“Bigness for bigness sake doesn’t make a lot of strategic sense,” said Kellogg’s Chief Executive Steve Cahillane, who will head the $11.4 billion snacking business, which accounted for 80% of Kellogg’s net sales last year.

The Covid-19 pandemic delivered a boost in sales for Kellogg and other food makers, as families prepared more meals in their kitchens while they stayed home from work and school. The grocery industry now is working to retain that momentum, but food makers over the past year have been battered by rising costs for fuel, labor, ingredients and packaging, creating what Mr. Cahillane called an unprecedented stretch of inflation.

Kellogg said it expects to complete the split by the end of 2023, with the North America cereal business potentially separating first, followed by its plant-based-foods business as the third company. Kellogg said it also is considering selling the plant-based-foods unit, which is predominantly composed of the MorningStar Farms brand. It has yet to name the individual companies.

Action Line: Maintaining focus on what works is very important. Perhaps that’s the point of this Kellogg breakup. The focus for any investor should be on developing a plan that works for you and cutting out the rest of the noise. If you need help, get in touch.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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