Kellogg debuts portable cereal with ‘instantized milk’

Dive Brief:

• Kellogg has launched Instabowls, pre-portioned cereal that allows the consumer to create “instantized milk” by adding cold water to the bowl and stirring. 
• Instabowls are available for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks and Raisin Bran Crunch at Walmart for a suggested retail price of $1.98. They will roll out at more retailers nationwide in the future, the company said.
• With people returning to school and work, Kellogg is aiming to innovate around on-the-go consumption as it also prepares for the launch of its dedicated cereal business.

Dive Insight:

Reaching consumers who travel to work and school has always presented difficulties for cereal brands, given the difficulty that accessing milk presents, but Kellogg believes its Instabowls provide a solution. According to the cereal giant, 68% of consumers like cereal but prefer eating breakfast foods that are easy to consume on-the-go.

Kellogg has sold portable, single-serve bowls of its cereal products for a while, but this new product could make them even more convenient. Since bottled water is more commonly available than milk, the company is pitching Instabowls as an easier way to eat a bowl of cereal.

“In recent years, there has been a huge trend toward portability for food, especially as busy schedules and life’s everyday curve balls prevent traditional sit-down meals,” said Kellogg Marketing Director Chris Stolsky in a statement. “We created Kellogg’s Instabowls as an easy solution for the ‘anytime cereal break’ so you can now bring your favorite Kellogg’s cereals with you wherever life takes you and not have to worry about milk, dishes, or clean-up.”

The cereal giant told Food Dive in an email statement that the “instantized milk” was designed specifically for the Instabowls, the first time it has been used with its products. Kellogg said the technology behind the milk is “quite complicated” because it is made of real milk and contains the same amount of nutrients as the dairy beverage.

Kellogg’s focus on innovation comes as it prepares to split into three companies, including one dedicated to its cereal business. Last month, it announced the team of Kellogg veterans who will be at the helm of what it is tentatively referring to as North America Cereal Co., with Gary Pilnick as CEO.

At this week’s Barclays Consumer Staples Conference, current Kellogg CEO Steve Cahillane said the split will help the company’s cereal presence grow because it will be the sole focus and priority of the new business. This will also make any potential competitor’s job even tougher.

“Would you rather compete with North American cereal as a category that’s not the highest priority in a larger company, or would you rather compete with a singular-focused [cereal company]? I’d rather compete with the former than the latter,” Cahillane said.