WK Kellogg Co

WK Kellogg Co is an American food manufacturing company, split from Kellogg's on October 2, 2023, and headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan. It was formed in October 2023 as part of Kellogg's spin-off of its North American breakfast cereal business, and it existed as an independent company for about two years before being acquired.

It was purchased by Ferrero SpA in September 2025.[2]

History

On October 2, 2023, WK Kellogg Co (named after Will Keith Kellogg, one of the original founders of the Kellogg's company) was spun off from the Kellogg Company and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and the Kellogg Company was renamed Kellanova.[3][4][5][6] WK Kellogg produced cereal products for the North American market, while Kellanova continued making products for other markets.

On January 4, 2024, the company released two flavors of Eat Your Mouth Off for millennials and the Generation Z, it is the first vegan product by WK Kellogg.[7][8][9] On August 6, WK Kellogg announced that it would close a plant in Omaha, Nebraska at the end of 2026 and also reduce production at a plant in Memphis, Tennessee starting in late 2025. And that its plants in Battle Creek, Michigan, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Belleville, Ontario would increase production. It would spend $100 million for restructuring and another $390 million to purchase new technology and infrastructure.[10][11][12] On October 15, hundreds of protesters demanded at the companies headquarters to remove all artificial colors from its products.[13][14][15]

On April 5, 2025, Ken Paxton began an investigation into WK Kellogg, due to it claiming that its products are healthy.[16][17][18] Paxton argued that many of the artificial food colors are made from petroleum, which he claims have been linked to autoimmune disorders, cancer, endocrine disease, hyperactivity and obesity.[18][19] On May 6, the company announced that its net sales would decrease 2 percent to 3 percent, due to the weak sales of its products and the high costs of tariffs.[20][21][22] On July 10, it was announced that Ferrero would buy WK Kellogg for $3.1 billion,[23][24][25] causing the stock of the company to increase to 30%.[26][27][28] Cerberus Capital Management and Dean Metropoulos also had tried to purchase WK Kellogg.[29] In late July, the company announced that it was going to remove all artificial colors from its products by the end of 2027,[30][31] becoming reportedly the first company to sign a legally binding agreement for their removal.[32][33] On September 19, shareholders approved the sale of WK Kellogg to Ferrero,[2][34] and seven days later the acquisition was completed.[35][36][37]

In late January 2026, the company released three new Froot Loops for a limited time: Cocoa Loops, Glazed Donut Holes and Sweethearts.[38][39] In early February, Ferrero chose Jean-Baptiste Santoul as the chief operating officer of WK Kellogg.[40][41][42] In March 3, it was announced that Lapo Civiletti would become the new president of the company on the first day of September.[43][44][45]

Data breach

On February 27, 2025, WK Kellogg Co learned that it became a victim of a data breach.[46][47] They reported it to Cleo Communications, which confirmed that the data breach took place on December 7, 2024.[48] WK Kellogg reported the attack to the Maine Attorney General on April 4, they did this after one employee in the state had their name and social security number stolen.[47][49] They notified the employee and offered them credit monitoring, it also required all of its vendors and CLEO to add strict security protocols.[48] Clop was responsible for the ransomware attack on Cleo.[46][48]

Finances

In 2024, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, Frosted Mini Wheats, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies and Special K made up seventy percent of the sales.[50][51]

Interview controversy

In an interview with CNBC, CEO Gary Pilnick said this:[52][53][54]

"Consumers are under pressure...so we're advertising about cereal for dinner... Cereal for dinner is something that is probably more on trend now, and we would expect to continue as that consumer is under pressure. The cereal category is a place that a lot of folks might come to because the price of a bowl of cereal with milk and with fruit is less than a dollar. So you can imagine why a consumer under pressure might find that to be a good place to go. If you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they might otherwise do, that's going to be much more affordable."

Peter Welch after seeing the interview said: "A worker at Kellogg's making $20 an hour would have to work 96 years to equal the $4 million that CEO Gary Pilnick makes annually. People don't need to eat cereal for dinner, they need corporations to stop ripping them off."[54] Marianne Williamson also responded by saying: "Advertising to hungry people that cereal might be good for dinner is not meeting people where they are. It's exploiting the hungry for financial gain."[53] TikTok user James Li said this: "And how do you think consumers became under pressure? It's companies like Kellogg that have used the excuse of inflation in order to price gauge consumers."[52]

And many people on social media after seeing the interview were angry.[52][54]

Marketing

In early January 2026, it was announced that Raisin Bran would appear in a Super Bowl ad for the first time, ending a fifteen-year Kellogg's absence.[55] William Shatner appeared in the ad as a captain of a spaceship, hinting of his former role as James T. Kirk.[56][57][58]

Brands

Brands include:[59]

• All-Bran
• Apple Jacks
• Cocoa Krispies
• Corn Flakes
• Corn Pops
• Cracklin' Oat Bran
• Crispix
• Froot Loops
• Frosted Flakes
• Frosted Mini-Wheats
• Honey Smacks
• Kashi
• Krave
• Bear Naked
• Raisin Bran
• Rice Krispies
• Special K

Further reading

External links