Cereal: The preferred breakfast

As we continue with this week's series on cereal, today you'll learn how ready-to-eat cereal is the preferred breakfast in many countries – and it just keeps getting better. As a testament to our global popularity, Kellogg's cereals are a mainstay in two-thirds of the homes in our major markets around the world, and in the U.S., 82 percent of women and 79 percent of men start their day with a cereal breakfast.

This worldwide popularity of Kellogg's cereals is due, in part, to our achievements as a breakfast innovator.

"Since 1906, we've focused on both offering a wide variety of cereals to meet consumers' taste preferences and improving the nutrition credentials of these cereals without sacrificing taste or quality," says Margaret Bath, Vice President, Research, Quality and Technology.

For example, we recently reformulated several of our most popular cereals – Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Rice Krispies, Cocoa Krispies and Apple Jacks – to reduce the sugar and sodium content.

We have also recently added fiber to many of our most popular cereals in response to the fact that nine out of 10 Americans – adults and children alike – do not get the daily recommended amount of fiber. Kellogg is a leading provider of cereals that deliver at least a good source of fiber, including All-Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks and Corn Pops.

While these are just two examples of recent enhancements we've made to our cereals, the timeline below illustrates our company's ongoing commitment to nutrition and the strides we've made since 1906.

• In 1923, Kellogg hired the first dietitian to work in the food industry.
• In the 1930s, Kellogg was one of the first companies to include nutrition messages, recipes and product information on the side and back panels of cereal boxes.
• In 1938, Pep became the first cereal fortified with vitamins, marking the beginning of the cereal industry's food fortification practice.
• In 1955, Special K was the first high-protein breakfast cereal ever offered to consumers.
• In the 1970s, Kellogg became the first company to voluntarily list the amounts of sugar on its product packaging.
• In 1997, the W.K. Kellogg Institute for Food and Nutrition Research opened. The world-class food research and development facility consolidates all of our company's global food research efforts to more effectively interact and improve the speed of bringing new foods to people around the world. 
• In 2005, Kellogg pioneered the use of Guidelines Daily Amount (GDA) front-of-pack labeling so consumers can easily discover total calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar and other nutrient information. 
• In 2007, we introduced the Kellogg Global Nutrient Criteria, based on a broad review of scientific reports. Products marketed to kids must meet these strict KGNC guidelines. Since this time we have reformulated more than 100 products worldwide with lower sugar and sodium contents.
• Last year, in response to America's fiber deficit, Kellogg committed to ensuring that the majority of our ready-to-eat cereals in the U.S. are at least a good source of fiber by the end of 2010.