Kellogg’s US breakfast foods division has had another decline in quarterly sales, but the company says trends in the cereal category are improving.
The maker of Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops is trying to revamp the marketing for its cereals as Americans reach for other breakfast options, like Greek yoghurt and fast food.
One strategy has been trying to reposition Special K to be more in line with changing health trends, which Kellogg CEO, John Bryant, has said are moving away from weight loss and dieting.
Among the recent Special K cereal line extensions are gluten-free and protein varieties.
For the quarter, Kellogg Co said sales in its flagship US Morning Foods segment fell 2.3 per cent when stripping out the impact of currency exchange rates and other one-time factors. Although he declined to provide a breakdown, Bryant said cereal sales were probably “down a little bit”.
Paul Norman, president of Kellogg North America, said a decline in breakfast drink sales contributed to the drop in the Morning Foods segment. Sales of Pop-Tarts were “flat to down”, he said.
Kellogg’s international division was hit by unfavourable exchange rates for the period.
That also hurt its performance for the quarter, dragging total sales down by five per cent to $US3.5 billion ($A4.8 billion).
Profit fell to $US223 million, or 63 cents per share.
AP
