Introduction

When Will Kellogg accidentally invented a new breakfast food in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1894, he did not realise that he was on the threshold of forming a major food manufacturing company. His name would become one of the most instantly recognised throughout the world.

Today, Kellogg's is an American owned organisation that has a true global market. It has four main divisions covering North America, South & Central America, Asia Pacific, and finally Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The European Headquarters is in the UK, which along with Ireland has the highest per capita consumption in the world. However, Kellogg's has manufacturing operations in several different European countries. The supply chain management, covering all aspects of production, logistics and finance is organised on a pan-European basis, which gives substantial economies of scale. However, marketing and sales tend to be more locally based to meet the different cultural needs as the markets across Europe can vary enormously.

This case study looks at the Kellogg's brands and considers both the branding of the corporate image and the individual products. How have they developed and how are they maintained?