Kellogg seeks buyer for cookies, fruit snacks businesses
Kellogg Co. has announced two significant changes to its North American business designed to ensure it has the right operating model and portfolio to deliver profitable growth in the future.
Kellogg Co. has announced two significant changes to its North American business designed to ensure it has the right operating model and portfolio to deliver profitable growth in the future. First, Kellogg is exploring the sale of its cookies and fruit snacks businesses to enable the company to bring a sharper focus to its core businesses. Second, beginning in January 2019, Kellogg’s North American (KNA) organizational structure will be redesigned to better enable the company to deliver top-line growth.
After a thorough assessment, Kellogg is exploring the sale of its cookies business (including Keebler, Famous Amos, Mother’s, and Murray brands) and fruit snacks business (including Stretch Island brand). “We need to make strategic choices about our business and these brands have had difficulty competing for resources and investments within our portfolio,” said Steve Cahillane, chairman and CEO, Kellogg Co. “Yet, we wholeheartedly believe these iconic and beloved brands can thrive in the portfolio of another organization that can focus on driving growth in these particular categories.”
To increase agility, Kellogg is making four primary changes to its KNA organizational structure:
- Consolidating U.S. Morning Foods, Snacks and Frozen Foods business units into a single, categories-focused organization comprising 80% of KNA revenue.
- Combining Morning Foods, Snacks and Frozen, and Retail Channels sales teams within a single Kellogg U.S. sales organization to improve customer focus.
- Building a consolidated, end-to-end KNA supply chain including procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and customer service to increase scale, enhance capability, and ensure delivery of the company’s growth goals.
- Investing in new e-commerce and integrated business planning capabilities.