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Kellogg's CEO faces backlash for saying people should eat cereal for dinner to save money

Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats and Special K cereals arranged in Germantown, New York, US, in July 2023. (Gabby Jones / Bloomberg / Getty Images via CNN) Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats and Special K cereals arranged in Germantown, New York, US, in July 2023. (Gabby Jones / Bloomberg / Getty Images via CNN)
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鈥淟et them eat Corn Flakes鈥 appears to be Kellogg鈥檚 CEO Gary Pilnick鈥檚 advice to cash-strapped shoppers who are spending the highest portion of their income on food than at any point in the last 30 years.

In an interview with CNBC last week, WK Kellogg CEO Pilnick said the company was to consumers looking for more affordable options. 鈥淕ive chicken the night off,鈥 the ad鈥檚 cheery tagline reads. WK Kellogg owns cereals such as Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran and others.

鈥淭he cereal category has always been quite affordable, and it tends to be a great destination when consumers are under pressure,鈥 Pilnick said. 鈥淚f you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they might otherwise do, that鈥檚 going to be much more affordable.鈥

His advice hasn鈥檛 landed well with people frustrated by spending 26 per cent more on groceries since 2020; on social media the campaign is being seen as insensitive.

CNBC host Carl Quintanilla asked Pilnick if encouraging weary customers to eat cereal for dinner could 鈥渓and the wrong way.鈥

Pilnick thought the opposite.

鈥淚n fact, it鈥檚 landing really well right now,鈥 Pilnick said. 鈥淐ereal for dinner is something that is probably more on trend now, and we would expect to continue as that consumer is under pressure.鈥

Prices for groceries and restaurants have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic. In 2022, consumers spent 11.3 per cent of their disposable income on food, the highest level since 1991, the Wall Street Journal last week, citing data from the US Agriculture Department

Food companies have raised prices since the start of the pandemic to cover higher costs for labor, ingredients and transportation 鈥 and because they could.

Cereal prices alone increased 28 per cent since January of 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In its latest fiscal year, Kellogg raised prices by 12 per cent.

Food brands under fire

Despite the CEO鈥檚 assurances, Kellogg鈥檚 advertisement and Pilnick鈥檚 comments have led to a backlash on social media.

Some consumers have called the comments tone deaf from an executive who made more than US$4 million last year. They note that boxes of popular cereals now cost more than US$7 and cereal is not an adequate substitution for a full dinner.

The backlash highlights consumer anger at companies for raising prices on everyday foods and, in some cases, boasting about it.

鈥淭his is what [companies] think of you,鈥 one on TikTok wrote of Pilnick鈥檚 suggestion. 鈥#CorporateGreed鈥 another.

McDonald鈥檚 also has become a regular target for social media users complaining about prices. Viral stories lamenting the cost of a Big Mac meal 鈥 particularly the US$18 ones at a widely maligned Darien, Connecticut, location off I-95 鈥 have become a TikTok genre unto themselves.

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