[DuPontFan]

Kellogg To Modify Products, Marketing For Children

June 13, 2007: 05:15 PM EST


NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Kellogg Co. (K) plans to make popular brands like Pop Tarts, Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks healthier. But if the company's test kitchens can't match the taste, Kellogg said it will leave the recipes alone and simply stop marketing such products to children under 12.
The move, which will be unveiled Thursday morning, highlights the dual pressures on food companies. Everyone agrees food companies need to cut the sugar and fat to help battle childhood obesity, but food and beverage companies also know that tinkering with tried formulas can alienate customers. Think New Coke. Changing the old formula for Coke ticked off consumers and prompted Coca- Cola to change it back.
An immediate impact of the move is assuaging a pair of advocacy groups - the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood. The two last year threatened to sue Kellogg for marketing junk food to young children. Mollified by the cereal company's latest commitments these groups have agreed not to proceed with a lawsuit against the company.
Kellogg is now setting itself new nutrition standards. The company said about 50% of the products it markets to children - including some varieties of Pop Tarts and certain cereals - don't meet these criteria.
"It means we have a lot of work to do," said Chief Executive David Mackay. "If we can't make those products taste just as good as they do today and make them as appealing, then we won't reformulate them and we won't advertise them."
Kellogg isn't saying how much the entire process will cost, but Mackay said the costs would be "more specifically in time and effort than anything else." The changes are expected to take place by the end of next year.
The company already has a policy under which it does not advertise to children under the age of 6. As part of its new commitments, Kellogg won't market to children any food that has more than 200 calories, 2 grams of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of sugar, or any trans fat, per single serving. This means that Kellogg products that don't meet these criteria can't be advertised on television, radio, print and third-party Web sites whose main audience is young children.
Products that don't meet the new standards will either be reformulated to meet those criteria, or will no longer be marketed to children under the age of 12 by the end of 2008.
Kellogg says it won't use branded toys in connection with foods that do not meet the nutrition standards. The cereal and snack company won't advertise any food in schools that include children under 12, won't pay to place its products in television shows or movies directed at young children, and won't use licensed characters on mass-media advertising directed at children. Kellogg's cereal boxes will also have key nutrition labels placed prominently at the front of the packages.
"This settlement will keep advertising for some of the least healthy foods off children's media," said Michael Jacobson, executive director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Jacobson called the move a "real advance," but said Kellogg will still be able to market products that aren't terribly healthy simply because they come in just below the required limits.
"To really solve this problem of kids being tempted to eat unhealthy foods needs legislation," said Jacobson.
Kellogg's moves come at a time when the food and beverage industry has been under fire for marketing sugary and high calorie foods to youngsters. About 19% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 in the U.S. were overweight in 2003 to 2004. Mounting pressure from parents and health group has forced food companies to make changes across the board.
The large beverage companies have pledged to cut back on the sugary drinks they sell in schools. In November, 10 of the nation's largest food and beverage companies - including McDonald's Corp. (MCD), Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), Kellogg and General Mills Inc. (GIS) - vowed to voluntarily put more controls on the way they advertise to children.
Kraft, the nation's largest food manufacturer by revenue, was the first packaged-food company to voluntarily restrict its children's marketing. The Northfield, Ill., company in January 2005 said it would stop advertising Oreo cookies, Oscar Mayer Lunchables and other sugary and fatty food to children between the ages of 6 and 11 and that it would continue an existing policy of not advertising to children under the age of 6. When Kraft made that announcement, public-health advocates expected other food companies to follow suit, but Kellogg at the time said it didn't expect to make major changes in its marketing policies.
Kellogg is implementing its new standards globally. The company said all the nutrition and marketing changes in Canada will be in keeping with the Report of the Standing Committee on Health on childhood obesity released in March by the Canadian Health Ministry. In Canada, new packaging will have a labeling system on the front of cereal boxes - called "Get the Facts" - identifying amounts of calories, total fat, sodium and sugar per serving.
-By Anjali Cordeiro, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2408; anjali.cordeiro@ dowjones.com
(Julie Jargon contributed to this article.)
Just wondering if this will affect any sponsorship for JR or HMS.

[Lefty Noob]

No, I doubt it will affect sponsorship, except maybe if they start advertising the healthier products on the cars.

They won't pull their money or anything, though.

[wingkey1]

Rumor has it Tony (the Tiger) will have "the change".

The roar has been dropped, and a purr has been inserted in his scripts.

[DuPontFan]

Originally Posted by wingkey1

Rumor has it Tony (the Tiger) will have "the change".

The roar has been dropped, and a purr has been inserted in his scripts.

Thats what local news here is saying, all the cartoony characters are being pulled. Tony the Tiger being the most famous/popular.