Consumers have been waking up to Kellogg's products since 1906 when the company launched Corn Flakes, the first ready-to-eat breakfast cereal. The brand revolutionised the way people ate breakfast and created a market that is now worth more than 拢1bn in the UK.
However, while sales of other cereals are growing, Kellogg's Corn Flakes is in decline. The brand suffered a 14% slump in sales in the year to 22 April, according to the TNS Worldpanel Biggest Brands survey exclusively compiled for Marketing (22 August).
A recent surge in healthy eating has put the product under pressure. In 2005, it was forced to reduce the amount of salt in its flakes by 25% because of criticism from health campaigners.
The brand's advertising has also had a detrimental effect. Last year, a Corn Flakes ad that claimed children who ate the cereal were 9% more alert was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, following 19 complaints that the claim was misleading. Moreover, viewers complained that Corn Flakes was not a good breakfast choice for children because of its high salt content.
The brand has also suffered from aggressive NPD in the sector, with other Kellogg's products eating into its share.
Special K, which now has nine variants, has been the focus of Kellogg's 'Drop a jean size' initiative, leaving Corn Flakes to take a back seat as the former's sales rose 14% year on year.
Rival manufacturer Weetabix has caught up with Kellogg in recent years, with sales of its core brand increasing 7% from 2006-07. Corn Flakes also faces competition from niche products, such as organic cereals, muesli and microwaveable hot options such as Quaker Oatso Simple.
This year Kellogg introduced a set of guidelines to reinforce its commitment to responsible advertising to children and axed licensed promotions in a bid to pre-empt rules restricting marketing aimed at children.
It plans to capitalise on a trend to eat breakfast away from home by enticing consumers into eating Corn Flakes when they get to work, and is aiming to run more educational promotions targeting mums.
But is this enough to put Kellogg's Corn Flakes back on breakfast tables? We asked Praveen Vijh, co-founder and director of Eat Natural, and Michael Sugden, managing partner at VCCP, which handles the advertising for Jordans Cereals.
DIAGNOSIS 1 - PRAVEEN VIJH CO-FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, EAT NATURAL
No single brand has changed the way we feel about breakfast more than Kellogg's Corn Flakes - it's the break-fast 'Daddy', the heavyweight champion.
It is a stroke of genius that has stood the test of time for more than a century, with generations of families waking up to Corn Flakes. It's what kick-started our day, every day. Its uniqueness and simplicity is its appeal - add a bowl, milk and a spoon, and it delivers every time. It's healthy, honest, straightforward and wholesome.
However, breakfast has changed dramatically. It has become a bit more complicated. Loads of us don't even bother anymore, which is a real shame.
On the shelves, own-label 'equivalents' are offered at knock-down prices alongside premium adult breakfasts such as mueslis and granolas, as well as hot and cold options. The flakes we grew up on as kids just aren't 'special' enough any more. It's a tragedy.
Having greater consumer choice means there'll always be casualties. Could one of these really be Kellogg's Corn Flakes? It's hard to believe so.
REMEDY
- Kellogg's Corn Flakes is iconic, so build upon the heritage. Ride the waves.
- Emphasise and promote the product's real benefits. Today's Corn Flakes are better than ever, both taste and healthwise, so sing their praises. Breakfast equals Kellogg's Corn Flakes.
- Don't water down the brand into poor spin-offs with no heritage. Maybe look to extend outside the food market. Iconic branding is a valuable commodity - just ask JCB.
DIAGNOSIS 2 - MICHAEL SUGDEN MANAGING PARTNER, VCCP
Kellogg's Corn Flakes is probably one of the iconic brands and products of the latter half of the 20th century.
Yet, while Kellogg is still a powerful brand and maintains its status as the provider of quality breakfast cereals, Corn Flakes is stagnating in the past, unable to adapt to the ever-changing cereal landscape.
There is certainly nothing innately wrong with Corn Flakes, yet as new ingredients and formulations of other cereals have developed and entered this burgeoning market, it seems to have steadfastly refused to join the race.
Rather like salad cream, a stalwart of the traditional dining table, Corn Flakes is mired in the past, with no new taste or health-related ingredients. The product seems to have been unable to regenerate and appeal to additional markets, preferring to maintain its status quo among a shrinking older audience.
That said, its heritage is exemplary and there is something quietly quirky about its refusal to contemporise and respond to changing food habits and preferences.
REMEDY
- Corn Flakes could simply continue to offer a quality, traditional cereal. Sales might fall but Kellogg would be able to take up the slack via its wide product range.
- Alternatively, it could focus on its originality and heritage as a provider of a simple, yet unadulterated breakfast cereal.
- It could also change its formulation to adapt to the health-related market, but it would have to be careful not to alienate its core audience by doing so.