The BBC reports that Kellogg's CEO Carlos Gutierrez says the company is looking at the low-carb craze for clues as to how it will affect its traditional businesses.
"That isn't to say we would begin to deny our science, or change the shape of our total portfolio," he told the BBC's World Business Report. "But to give consumers a choice, we believe, is the right thing to do."
Gutierrez indicated that Kellogg's believed that in the long term, low-carb would not be a matter of absolutes. "What consumers tend to be looking for is just something that's lower than the average, or lower than what's typical," he told the BBC. "They still do have a certain allowance that they can eat every day."
"That isn't to say we would begin to deny our science, or change the shape of our total portfolio," he told the BBC's World Business Report. "But to give consumers a choice, we believe, is the right thing to do."
Gutierrez indicated that Kellogg's believed that in the long term, low-carb would not be a matter of absolutes. "What consumers tend to be looking for is just something that's lower than the average, or lower than what's typical," he told the BBC. "They still do have a certain allowance that they can eat every day."
- KC's View:
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Gutierrez says that Kellogg's is "staying very close" to the low-carb issue, and we recognize that it is tough to decide whether this is a fad or a long-term lifestyle change. But we think that the time has come to either make a move or not…just "staying close" would seem to be some version of paralysis by analysis.
After all, when we were in Trader Joe's yesterday, we noted at least a couple of cereals (each one cheaper than $3 per box) pitched as "low carb." If Trader Joe's can do it with its suppliers, why can't major manufacturers?
