When cereals meet India

The popularity of a brand and its might doesn’t mean a guaranteed success. A good example is Kellogg’s.
Kellogg’s is one of the best known cereal producers in the world, with its sub-brands it commanded in the 1980’s, 40 per cent of the US ready-to-eat market from cereal products alone. Began of the 90’s was the period when Kellogg’s  started to struggle as the nearest competitor increased the pressure on the market. Expansion was the only solution.
Already controlling the both US and European markets, the best option for Kellogg’s seemed India. After all India is a country with over 950 million inhabitants, with a very large middle class. In 1994 Kellogg’s decided to invest 65 million dollar and launch its number one brand Corn Flakes. The news was welcomed as a success by the Indian economic experts, but not by the locals. Eating cereals was a brand new experiences after being used to start your day with a bowl of hot vegetables. The first sales figures were optimistic, the cereal breakfast consumption was on the rise. However it soon became clear that many people had bought Corn Flakes as a one-off, novelty purchase. After research on local Indian market cereal buyers were introduced to many new sub-brands and flavors but without any success. The only solution for Kellogg’s was to launch an alternative biscuit brand and cover the Indian market.
Because changing  a culture is harder than launching a brand.

Hristov D.

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