Gourmet News

Kellogg to Split Cereal, Plant-Based Foods Businesses

Published June 22, 2022

Kellogg Company‘s board of directors has approved separating its North American cereal and plant-based foods businesses, via tax-free spin-offs, resulting in three independent public companies, each better positioned to unlock their full standalone potential. The three companies, whose names will be determined later, would be the following:

Global Snacking Co., with about $11.4 billion in net sales, will be a leading company in global snacking, international cereal and noodles, and North America frozen breakfast, with iconic, world-class brands and strong underlying growth momentum and profitability;
North America Cereal Co., with about $2.4 billion in net sales, will be a leading cereal company in the United States, Canada, and Caribbean, with a portfolio of iconic, world-class brands and compelling opportunities for investment and profit growth; and
Plant Co., with about $340 million in net sales, will be a leading, profitable, pure-play plant-based foods company, anchored by the MorningStar Farms brand, with a significant opportunity to capitalize on strong long-term category prospects by investing further in North America penetration and future international expansion.

“Kellogg has been on a successful journey of transformation to enhance performance and increase long-term shareowner value. This has included re-shaping our portfolio, and today’s announcement is the next step in that transformation,” said Steve Cahillane, chairman and CEO. “These businesses all have significant standalone potential, and an enhanced focus will enable them to better direct their resources toward their distinct strategic priorities. In turn, each business is expected to create more value for all stakeholders, and each is well positioned to build a new era of innovation and growth.”

In recent years, the company has transformed its portfolio into one that has expanded geographically and shifted toward growing businesses, particularly in snacking categories. To achieve this, it has directed resources and investments toward growth categories and markets around the world, made several acquisitions and partnerships in emerging markets, and strengthened its snacks business through acquisitions, divestitures, and the freeing up of resources by exiting from direct-store delivery. The successful execution of these actions has expanded Kellogg’s portfolio, resulting in a scaled global snacking business and significant emerging markets presence, complemented by strong and profitable breakfast and plant-based foods businesses. The outcome of these strategic actions has been improved growth in recent years, with momentum sustained into 2022.

After several years of transformation and improving results, the company believes it is the right time to separate these businesses so they may pursue their particular strategic priorities.

As independent companies, all three businesses will be better positioned to:

Focus on their distinct strategic priorities, with financial targets that best fit their own markets and opportunities;
Execute with increased agility and operational flexibility, enabling more focused allocation of capital and resources in a manner consistent with those strategic priorities;
Realize improved outlooks for profitable growth; and
Shape distinctive corporate cultures, rooted in Kellogg Company’s strong values, and rewarding career paths for employees of each company.

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Smashburger Adds Eclipse Plant-Based Milkshakes to Menu

Published June 22, 2022

Eclipse Foods has partnered with Smashburger to create the industry’s first nationally available plant-based milkshakes for the fast-casual chain. The milkshakes are now available for purchase in all Smashburger locations nationwide (for $6.19, price may vary based on location) in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Peanut Butter, Tangerine Dream and Oreo. Customers can also order the plant-based milkshakes for take-out or delivery on Smashburger.com or on Smashburger’s mobile app, and for delivery on DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats and GrubHub.

“This partnership marks an incredible milestone in advancing the plant-based movement and signals Smashburger’s confidence in Eclipse as the plant-based dairy brand that mainstream consumers will crave,” said Aylon Steinhart, co-founder and CEO of Eclipse. “Our shakes perfectly mimic the delicious taste and texture of traditional dairy milkshakes, and require no flavor sacrifice from consumers. And now that the shakes are available nationwide, even more people will have access to exceptionally delicious plant-based options that are better for the planet, animals and people.”

To create its first dairy-free menu item, Smashburger’s corporate chef, Ty Goerke, worked closely with Eclipse’s co-founder and James Beard nominated chef, Thomas Bowman. After months of testing, both teams were confident they had created a world-class offering all customers would love, no matter their diet.

“As part of Smashburger’s aggressive approach to menu innovation and catering to our guest’s evolving tastes, we have continued to diversify our product portfolio with the launch of new plant-based milkshake offerings,” states Carl Bachmann, president of Smashburger. “As part of our commitment and passion to deliver high caliber products with quality ingredients, we knew Eclipse was the best partner for us to develop the brand’s first dairy-free menu offerings. This felt like a natural next step in Smashburger’s journey to offer more diverse and plant-based options for our guests, while still delivering the premium, top-quality menu items that Smash fans know and love.”

Eclipse was co-founded in 2019 by Steinhart and Bowman with the mission to create a more sustainable, healthy, and ethical food system. Since then, Eclipse has scaled faster and more efficiently than competitors in the space in order to make this mission of fighting climate change, animal suffering, and the human health crisis a reality.

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Smartwater Names Zendaya as Brand Ambassador

Published June 22, 2022

As Smartwater’s global brand ambassador, acclaimed actor and performer Zendaya will appear in a series of new creative from the brand and support community water programs that will directly affect thousands of women.

Created in partnership with VMLY&R and WPP/OpenX, the campaign creative began rolling out in the United States from June 21 across television, audio, social and streaming channels, with global markets to follow. The campaign celebrates those who keep it smart, whatever the choice, and aren’t afraid to free themselves from the restraints of convention.

Zendaya will work with Smartwater to support community water quality and access improvements in various cities around the world, starting with Zendaya’s hometown of Oakland, Calif., by partnering with the Global Water Challenge – a coalition of leading organizations collaborating to achieve universal access to clean drinking water. In the United Stttes alone, 2.2 million people have no water at home and 44 million Americans are served by water systems that don’t function optimally.

The brand, GWC and Zendaya are launching the Smart Solutions: Global Water Challenge, which will invite local organizations to apply for grant funding to GWC’s women for water action platform that uplifts women and their communities through the power of clean water access. These efforts build on more than a decade of investments in clean water access around the world from The Coca-Cola Company, which have reached more than 18.5 million people since 2010. GWC’s work has proven that with access to clean water, people, especially women and girls, are healthier, safer, educated and employed.

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