MARKETING MIX OF KELLOGG’S BREAKFAST

MATES

INTRODUCTION
“You are what you eat “is a belief what made Kellogg’s a must breakfast
every morning. It was set up by brothers Will Keith Kellogg and Dr John
Harvey Kellogg in year 1870’s. In 1876, while experimenting with
different ways to cook and crush wheat to make it more palatable
without losing its goodness, he inadvertently ran a batch of cooked
wheat through the rollers that had been standing around for a day or so.
And out of the other side came Kellogg's Corn Flakes!
 MARKETING MIX STRATEGIES
1. Product-
 Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including
crackers and toaster pastries, etc.
 Kellogg's mission statement is "Nourishing families so they can
flourish and thrive."
 Kellogg’s Mate was a concept in ‘kit form’ a box of cereal, a 4 oz.
container of aseptically packaged milk (no refrigeration required)
and a plastic spoon.
 The line consisted of four popular Kellogg’s brands; Corn Flakes;
Fruit Loops; Mini Wheats; and Frosted Flakes.

 Breakfast Mate used the concept of warm milk. It contained

“aseptically packaged” milk which didn’t need refrigerator.

2. Price-
 Kellogg’s follows competitive pricing. Pricing is based on
research and market conditions.
 Retailing at way over a dollar, Cereal Mates was considered too
expensive by many consumers.
 Consumers did not expect to pay as much as they did for a four
ounce box of cereal.
3. Place-
 As Kellogg’s focused on large volume production of
cereals they were unable to realize that retailers stock
only fast moving brands executed at market.
 Not much awareness was there
 It was not widely available everywhere and was not suited
for all kinds of cultural habits.

4. Promotion-
 As if the consumer wasn’t confused enough, Kellogg’s
complicated matters further with the advertising campaign
for Cereal Mates.
 The TV ads featured young kids helping themselves to
the product, while their parents lay snoring contentedly in
bed. However, the packaging of the product was far from
child-friendly, and if they left their kids to help themselves,
the parents would have probably been crying over spilt
milk.
Why did the product fail?
 Cereal Mates may have enabled people to take their
cereal with them, but they still had to pour the milk over
it, and spend valuable time eating the cereal with a
small spoon. Breakfast Mates ‘failed to catch on
because it was impossible to eat while driving.’
 Consumers don’t like warm milk on their cereal.

Few recommendations-
 Don’t mix your messages. On one hand, Cereal Mates
was an ‘eat anywhere’ product. On the other, Kellogg’s
was implying it needed to be stored in a refrigerator.
 Sell the brand in the right place. Cereal Mates was,
essentially, a cereal rather than a milk product.
Consumers would have therefore expected to see it on
the shelves next to the other cereal products.
 Be the best in at least one thing. As a cereal product
Cereal Mates failed because there because were tastier
and equally healthy alternatives. As a convenience
product it failed breakfast bars proved to be a faster,
more flexible option.
 Don’t price too high. Consumers did not expect to pay
as much as they did for a four ounce box of cereal.