Kellogg's in India
Report on the case: “Kellogg’s – Moving Beyond
Breakfast”
1.
Kellogg’s encountered tremendous problems when faced with the Indian breakfast market and cultural habits. Kellogg’s offered an upscale product that provided a light, healthy breakfast at a relatively high price for the traditional
Indian market. There are three main obstacles that I believe should make
Kellogg’s move to a segment different from the breakfast one: • Cultural aspect – Indian breakfast consumers are used to a substantial amount of cooked food on their table in the morning. They are used to a wide variety of cooked, spicy food that is consumed warm and gives them a sense of fullness before they start their day. This does not fit the value proposition and the positioning of Kellogg’s breakfast cereals in the
Indian market. Since these habits are inherited from many generations, they naturally are very complicated to break, even for a firm as big as
Kellogg’s. Therefore, the only option available for Kellogg’s in order to satisfy the Indian cultural demands would be to change its products completely, which seems a bit farfetched and would go against the history and the values of the company. • Price – The price of Kellogg’s breakfast cereals, comparing to the prices obtainable by Indian consumers of traditional Indian breakfasts is another barrier for the settling of Kellogg’s in the breakfast segment of the Indian market. • Not used to processed food – Since the traditional Indian breakfast is composed of home cooked food, including vegetables, the introduction of
Kellogg’s processed breakfast cereals on this meal is even further complicated. The low awareness for processed food in India further contributes for this argument. With the arguments
Breakfast”
1.
Kellogg’s encountered tremendous problems when faced with the Indian breakfast market and cultural habits. Kellogg’s offered an upscale product that provided a light, healthy breakfast at a relatively high price for the traditional
Indian market. There are three main obstacles that I believe should make
Kellogg’s move to a segment different from the breakfast one: • Cultural aspect – Indian breakfast consumers are used to a substantial amount of cooked food on their table in the morning. They are used to a wide variety of cooked, spicy food that is consumed warm and gives them a sense of fullness before they start their day. This does not fit the value proposition and the positioning of Kellogg’s breakfast cereals in the
Indian market. Since these habits are inherited from many generations, they naturally are very complicated to break, even for a firm as big as
Kellogg’s. Therefore, the only option available for Kellogg’s in order to satisfy the Indian cultural demands would be to change its products completely, which seems a bit farfetched and would go against the history and the values of the company. • Price – The price of Kellogg’s breakfast cereals, comparing to the prices obtainable by Indian consumers of traditional Indian breakfasts is another barrier for the settling of Kellogg’s in the breakfast segment of the Indian market. • Not used to processed food – Since the traditional Indian breakfast is composed of home cooked food, including vegetables, the introduction of
Kellogg’s processed breakfast cereals on this meal is even further complicated. The low awareness for processed food in India further contributes for this argument. With the arguments