BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — The Kellogg Co. is exploring the sale of its cookie business and its fruit snacks business, the Battle Creek-based company said Nov. 12. Cookie brands include Keebler, Famous Amos, Mother’s Cookies and Murray. Stretch Island is a fruit snacks brand.
“We need to make strategic choices about our business, and these brands have had difficulty competing for resources and investments within our portfolio,” said Steven A. Cahillane, chairman and chief executive officer. “Yet, we wholeheartedly believe these iconic and beloved brands can thrive in the portfolio of another organization that can focus on driving growth in these particular categories.”
Kellogg also plans to redesign its North American organizational structure by making four changes, which will become effective in January.
U.S. Morning Foods, Snacks and Frozen Foods business units will consolidate into a single unit comprising 80% of North American revenue. Kellogg’s cookie brands are part of U.S. snacks. The sales teams of Morning Foods, Snacks and Frozen and Retail Channels will be combined within a single Kellogg U.S. sales organization to improve customer focus. Building a consolidated, end-to-end Kellogg North America supply chain, including procurement, manufacturing, logistics and customer service, will be designed to increase scale, enhance capability and ensure delivery of the company’s growth goals. Finally, Kellogg in North America will invest in new e-commerce and integrated business planning capabilities.
“Successfully achieving our deploy for growth strategy in K.N.A. requires that we grow our business through strong commercial ideas and innovation, prioritized investment choices, excellence in execution and increased speed to market,” said Christopher M. Hood, president of Kellogg North America. “We are confident the changes we are putting in place will help us achieve these objectives.”
Kellogg acquired Keebler in 2001 in a transaction valued at $3.9 billion.