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Kellogg's Donates Michael Phelps Cereal Boxes to Food Bank

YumSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:00:22 -0700

Unwanted publicity from former spokesperson Michael Phelps has forced cereal giant Kellogg's to think outside the box.

Last August, Kellogg's debuted its limited-edition Corn Flakes cereal boxes with the gold medalist on the cover. But when a photo of the Olympian smoking marijuana out of a bong surfaced, Phelps - and, some say, in turn, Kellogg's - were swimming in controversy. Ultimately, the cereal maker decided not to renew a contract with Phelps. One question remained, however. What would be done with all the cereal boxes graced by the champion?

As it should happen, one company's trash is another organization's treasure: Roughly 3,800 pounds of the the boxes were donated to the San Francisco Food Bank two weeks ago.

With the economy in shambles and more people in need than ever, the Food Bank was all too happy to take the boxes off the company's hands. As for cereal, says San Francisco Food Bank executive director Paul Ash: "It's become very hard to get ahold of."

Now that the boxes are no longer on supermarket shelves, they'll probably be collector's items - ones that can only be found at the food bank. Even if I do think the so-called scandal was blown out of proportion, I'm happy to hear that the leftover cereal will further a good cause. Are you surprised to hear of the outcome?

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Phelps Supporters Boycott Kellogg's Products

YumSugar — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:01:07 -0800

On Monday, a photo broke of Olympian Michael Phelps smoking marijuana out of a bong. The backlash was immediately palpable, with Kellogg's dropping its endorsement deal with the champion and USA Swimming suspending him from competition. Now supporters of Phelps, finding the reactions to be far too harsh, are taking matters into their own hands and petitioning to boycott Kellogg's products.

The online petition includes some amusing (and rather valid) points, such as the fact that "Kellogg's has profited for decades on the food tastes of marijuana using Americans with the munchies." Kellogg's was one of the first companies to bring Phelps on board for a mega-endorsement deal after he earned eight gold medals in last year's Summer Olympics. His splashy photo adorned boxes of Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes.

Although non-food sponsors such as Omega and Speedo are standing by Phelps, I wonder if his other food sponsor, Subway, will do the same. What do you think of the scandal? Will you sign the petition to boycott the company's products?

Update: BuzzNewsRoom reports that Subway has removed all semblance of Michael Phelps from its website as it prepares to drop his endorsement deal.

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Kellogg's Debuts Michael Phelps Cereal Box

partysugar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:15:24 -0700

An honor of winning the most Olympic gold medals of all time is getting to grace the cover of a cereal box. This morning Kellogg's released the first images of the Michael Phelps Corn Flakes cover. Come Fall Phelps will front both Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes boxes.

Normally athletes are featured on Wheaties boxes, but this year Phelps's agent, Peter Carlisle, decided to go with Kellogg's.

I find the cover inspirational and patriotic and definitely prefer it to the image of Phelps on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

What do you think? Will you buy a box of Michael Phelps Corn Flakes?

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Hydrox Cookies Are Back!

partysugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:00:47 -0700

A couple of months ago, many of you were upset by the death announcement of the Hydrox cookie. Over the past few years, the black and white sandwich cookie had become harder and harder to find until it was practically extinct. However, Hydrox fans have bombarded manufacturer Kellogg, and thanks to consumer demand, the company has decided to bring the cookie back! There's a catch: The cookies will only be around for a limited time - long enough for Kellogg to see how well they sell. Michael E. Allen, the senior VP of marketing for Kellogg snacks, explains:

It's all up to the consumer. If it sells a lot and makes sense for the supermarkets and the grocery stores to keep it on the shelves, then we'll keep making them.

Thus, the fate of the Hydrox cookie lies in the hands of the consumers. Will you help save the cookie? Will you buy Hydrox while you still can?

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Sorry Folks, the Hydrox Cookie Is Dead

YumSugar — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:28:31 -0800

When I say two chocolate cookies with a thick, sweet white layer sandwiched between them, most of you will immediately think of Oreo cookies. However, there's a small percentage of folks who think of the Hydrox cookie instead. The Hydrox - originally produced by Sunshine Biscuits, then Keebler, and finally Kellogg's - debuted in 1908, four years before the Oreo.

Fans like them for several reasons, one being that they stand up better in milk, and the feud is often compared to Pepsi/Coke. Either you're a "Droxie" person or you're an Oreo person. Interestingly, a taste test done in 1988 by Advertising Age showed that 29 tasters voted for Hydrox and 16 voted for Oreo.

Yet despite the devotion of its fans and the taste test win, the Hydrox cookie has gone the way of the dinosaur. For the last several years, Hydrox cookies have been harder to find, and a report from the Wall Street Journal is confirming that the Hydrox cookie is dead. Fans of the product have voiced their opinions, but at this time Kellogg's has no plan on bringing the cookie back. They have, however, confirmed that the Hydrox still lives in "crushed cookie form" as a mix-in for yogurt and ice cream - many fans have noted sightings in several brands such as Edy's/Dreyer's and Carvel.

So tell me, were you a Hydrox fan?

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Kellogg's Testing Logo Corn Flakes in the UK

YumSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:20:07 -0700

From Chanel suckers to LV-inspired cupcakes, fashion labels and food have been teaming up in unusual ways. But this trend may be headed in a direction that even the most brand-beset consumers couldn't have comprehended.

In an effort to quash imitators, cereal brand Kellogg's is developing laser technology in the UK to burn its logo onto individual Corn Flakes. "Now you'll always be able to tell your Corn Flakes from your corn fakes!" Kellogg's UK tweeted yesterday.
The company intends to use concentrated beams of light to print a toasted trademark logo without altering the cereal's taste, and is going to test batches before deciding whether or not to put branded flakes in all Corn Flakes boxes. If successful, the logos could be put on other brands, such as Special K and Bran Flakes.

Helen Lyons, lead food technologist for Kellogg, said, "We want shoppers to be under absolutely no illusion that Kellogg's does not make cereal for anyone else. We're constantly looking at new ways to reaffirm this, and giving our golden flakes of corn an official stamp of approval could be the answer."

Source: Twitpic User KelloggsUK

How Well Do You Know Kellogg's Products?

partysugar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:03:31 -0700

On today's date in 1860, Will Keith Kellogg was born. Kellogg founded the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company that later became the W.K. Kellogg company. First known for their cereal manufacturing skills, the Kellogg Co. grew into a big time producer of all cereals, crackers, and more.

To celebrate Kellogg's birthday I've put together a quiz. I'll describe a Kellogg's product and you tell me the name of it. Sound fun? Get started!

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Take the quiz

Kellogg's Will Bring Back Mother's Cookies

partysugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:00:56 -0800

Kellogg's has acquired the trademarks and recipes of Mother's Cookies. The beloved maker of the childhood-favorite circus animal cookies filed for bankruptcy in early October. Now Kellogg's plans to bring the brand back and reintroduce Mother's most popular cookies. Although the terms of the deal were not revealed, the president of Kellogg, David Mackay, stated that "Kellogg will use its understanding of the cookie category and distribution infrastructure to expand sales of Mother's Cookies."

I'm excited by the news. What do you think of the rebirth?

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Kellogg's Recalls Peanut Butter Sandwiches

YumSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:00:05 -0800

Could peanut butter be the new milk? Following a salmonella outbreak thought to be caused by tainted peanut butter, Kellogg's announced late yesterday that it has asked stores to halt sales of all Austin and Keebler peanut butter sandwiches.While the company says it hasn't received any complaints or found any issues related to the products, Kellogg's has voluntarily ceased the sale of these products as a precautionary measure, after its supplier, Peanut Corp. of America, issued a recall for its peanut butter, due to possible contamination.

Austin and Keebler are pulling toasted peanut butter sandwich crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwich crackers, cheese and peanut butter sandwich crackers, and peanut butter-chocolate sandwich crackers from store shelves across the country.

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February 19: Cherry Coke, Cracker Jacks, Kellogg's & ...

partysugar — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 00:03:12 -0800

February 19 is a great day in food history. Not because one hugely momentous thing happened, but because lots of little interesting things (translation: fun facts!) happened throughout the years. We have to give a big happy birthday hug to Coke's Cherry Coke who turns 22 today. Coke mixed with cherry flavored syrup (grenadine or maraschino) has been around for a lot longer, but Coca-Cola classic's canned version debuted on today's date in 1985. Jump back a few decades to 1913 when Cracker Jack began to put prizes in each box starting on February 19. Guess what cereal company was founded on today's date way back in 1906? If you guessed Kellogg's, congrats you were right! The company was started by Will Keith Kellogg and was originally called the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. Three years earlier in 1903, Tsingtao, China's first brewery was opened by German settlers. Finally for one last little tidbit that has nothing to do with food (unless you happen to be a cannibal): the Donner Party was rescued on February 19, 1847 after being lost in the snow of the Sierra Nevada mountains.