Kellogg Co. is facing a boycott after its CEO suggested cash-strapped families struggling with inflation should have “cereal for dinner.”
Furious consumers will send a message to Kellogg during the fiscal second quarter and boycott Kellogg from April 1 to June 30 in an effort to pressure the company to lower prices, officials said. The plan is to do so. report According to MarketWatch.
Calls for a boycott come after Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick said families worried about inflation should eat “cereal for dinner,” and that such predicaments were a good marketing opportunity for Kellogg. It happened after he told CNBC that Cereal “tends to be a great destination.” When consumers are under pressure. ”
“Some of the things we’re doing is messaging, first of all,” the Kellogg CEO said. “We need to reach where the consumer is, where we’re advertising about dinner cereal.”
Asked whether it might be taken the “wrong way” to offer “cereal for dinner” to families struggling under inflation, Pilnick said he didn’t think so, saying the concept was “very popular right now. It is well established,” he added.
“More than 25 percent of our consumption occurs outside of breakfast occasions,” said Kellogg’s CEO. Estimation His net worth is said to be $15.7 million. “A lot of that is at dinner time, and that opportunity continues to grow.”
Pilnick predicts that the “cereal for dinner” trend will continue “as consumers are under pressure,” adding, “A bowl of cereal with milk and fruit costs $1. “It’s less than that,” he claimed.
But consumer advocacy groups said Kellogg was among the companies that raised prices over the past two years, driving higher-than-normal inflation.
“Kellogg’s CEO found a way to use an industry-driven food crisis to increase his company’s profits, but everyday families shouldn’t have to make that choice in the first place,” said Liz, Director of Economic Security.・Zelnick says. He spoke to MarketWatch about left-wing consumer advocacy group Accountable.US’ Corporate Power Program.
A Kellogg spokesperson confirmed to MarketWatch that the last time the company raised prices significantly was in March 2023.
Additionally, breakfast companies have been promoting the cereal-for-dinner concept since the summer of 2022, when inflation hit its highest level in 40 years.
“There’s no reason to jack up prices like this other than to screw us over,” one social media user said in a TikTok video that has been viewed 2 million times and received more than 300,000 likes. Ta.
“And you know what? Eating other brands of cereal will now mess you up,” the social media user added.
“Inflation keeps rising year after year and they keep doing nothing about it,” said another TikTok user calling for a boycott of Kellogg, in a video that has been viewed more than 655,000 times. The number of “likes” exceeded 118,000.
“First we were told we were drinking too much Starbucks. Then we were told we should stop eating so much avocado toast. Now the CEO of Kellogg was telling us, ‘I can’t afford dinner, but it’s okay. , just buy Frosted Flakes and you’ll be fine,”’ the TikTok user added. “I understand that, but I don’t eat Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes.”
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