Eating cereal for dinner, huh? I’m listening…
Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick went on CNBC to promote an idea that could help those struggling with high food prices. His solution? Eat that thing that you typically have for breakfast for dinner.
That means Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Corn Flakes, Special K and Raisin Bran are just some of the Kellogg’s options that you could (and possibly should) be eating as your big meal of the day. At least if you asked the CEO of Kellogg’s, who somehow said that with a straight face:
This argument in favor of dinner cereal comes after a report showed that Americans are spending the most income on food and groceries in nearly 30 years. With everyone looking for affordable options (and Wendy’s appearing to go the opposite direction), Pilnick’s argument isn’t all that ridiculous:
“The cereal category has always been quite affordable, and it tends to be a great destination when consumers are under pressure. Some of the things that were doing is first messaging. We’ve got to reach the consumer where they are.
So we’re advertising about ‘Cereal for Dinner.’ 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.”
Hey, the affordability aspect makes all the sense in the world. I have no retort for that. The only thing I will say is though you might be saving money eating cereal for dinner, there’s a good chance you’ll be sacrificing happiness and wondering to yourself “Is this my life?” as you power through your second bowl of Frosted Flakes for supper.
Eating cereal for dinner as a child? An absolute dream come true. Eating cereal for dinner as an adult? That’s the culinary form of seasonal depression. Not to mention that, oh, I don’t know… this guy OWNS THE CEREAL? There’s nothing quite like a multi-millionaire CEO getting on TV and sympathizing with the plight of the working class by suggesting you give him more money. Bet that’ll go over well… oh, wait… it didn’t:
Good for his pocket who would’ve thunk
— Wildrose Craft Cannabis (@CraftWildrose) February 27, 2024
Of course the guy would say that man 💀
— Alyan Malik (@Axiphack) February 27, 2024
But the Kellogg’s CEO didn’t back down when the CNBC broadcaster asked how his suggestion might be critically viewed:
“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 fruit, is less than a dollar… it turns out that over 25% of our consumption is outside the breakfast occasion. A lot of it is at dinner, and that occasion continues to grow.”
I’ll admit that I’ve had cereal around dinner time before in my life, but it usually acted as a snack to hold me over to dinner, or a dessert following my actual meal. Though I say that, I’m not opposed to cycling in a “cereal for dinner” night every once in a while. Especially in this economy…
You can hear Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick’s pitch in the interview below:
