Kellanova, We Hardly Knew You
That didn’t take long.
Have you heard of the name Kellanova? The spinoff from WK Kellogg Co. collected all of its non-breakfast-cereal brands into one location – big names including Pop Tarts, Eggo, Pringles, Cheez-It and (for some reason its non-cereal) Rice Krispies Treats.
It’s been around for less than a year, spinning off from Kellogg last September. It debuted at 107 on the 2024 Industry U.S. 500 list of the country’s largest manufacturers. WK Kellogg, where most of the cereal brands remain, was No. 363.
Well, don’t bother learning the name. Perhaps adding nova to the Kellogg name was a sign that it would flash brightly and disappear. On Wednesday, privately held Mars Inc., makers of Snickers, M&Ms, Whiskers cat food and Tasty Bite brands, agreed to buy Kellanova for $35.9 billion.
“We have a substantial opportunity for Mars to further develop a sustainable snacking business that is fit for the future,” Mars CEO Paul Weihrauch said. “We will honor the heritage and innovation [emphasis added] behind Kellanova’s incredible snacking and food brands while combining our respective strengths to deliver more choice and innovation to consumers and customers.”
Sure, Kellogg’s is a foundational American brand with more than a century or history and roots tracing back to 19th Century health food craze/abstinence movement. Kellanova, in its storied 11 months in existence gave the world the Pop Tart Party Pastry, a $60 toaster pastry designed to serve 73 people.
Mars explained its purchase by saying that adding Cheez-It and Coco Pops to its lineup “advances [its] strategic vision for the future of snacking.”
—Robert Schoenberger
