soulsight®

A recent article on Wall St. 24/7 calls out 10 brands that need to go away or will disappear in 2012. In addition to easy pickings like Sears and Nokia, they had the audacity to call out (by name, mind you) Kellogg's Corn Pops, stating that the cereal business is not what it used to be, at least for products that are not considered “healthy.” Puh-lease! There is plenty of room for all of God's creations, especially the superdelicious (one word).

They also went on about how sales of the brand dropped 18% over the year (which ended in April) down to $74 million. That puts it well behind brands like Cheerios and Frosted Flakes, each which have sales of over $200 million a year. Private label sales have also hurt sales of branded cereals. Revenues in this category were $637 million over the same April-end period. There is also profit margin pressure on Corn Pops because of the sharp increase in corn prices. (Ah-Ha! There IS real corn in it people!) Kellogg’s describes the product as being “Crispy, glazed, crunchy, sweet.” Again, I describe it as superdelicious.

Yes, Corn Pops also contain mono- and diglycerides, used to bind saturated fat, and BHT for freshness. None of these are likely to be what mothers want to serve their children in an age in which a healthy breakfast is more likely to be egg whites and a bowl of fresh fruit. But, perhaps instead of calling for its head, we could take another look at Corn Pops cereal and who might be better targeted, in lieu of the assumed health conscious moms with young kids. Let's take a look at the main point of communication, the actual box, and uncover the soul of what made this cereal a fan favorite once upon a time. Maybe consider consumer lifestage and lifestyle insights to fuel a restage. (Maybe it can live in the snack world.)

Suggesting that Kellogg's needs to let the brand go can't be the only answer. Redesign, restage or reformulate (slightly) but don't get rid of those Pops!