Using new product development to grow a brand
Introduction
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Kellogg’s and the marketing mix
With annual sales of more than £4.5 billion, Kellogg’s is the world’s leading producer of cereal products and convenience foods, such as cookies, crackers and frozen waffles. Its brands include Corn Flakes, Nutri-Grain and Rice Krispies.

Managers can decide when to make key changes to a core product by analysing its position within the product life-cycle. Life-cycle analysis accepts that products have a finite life, and analysts chart a product’s performance through several phases, from its launch through various phases of growth until it reaches maturity and eventually decline. A product’s life cycle may last only a few months (e.g. with a fad, or

In a rapidly changing and competitive business environment, it is not easy to predict:

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future trends in consumer tastes and preferences competitors’ actions market conditions.

Kellogg’s is a global organisation. Its products are manufactured in 19 countries worldwide and sold in more than 180 countries. In an uncertain world where the organisation’s strategy is to focus on products and brands that are either the market leader or in a strong second position the company believes that this focus upon core and successful products enables it to provide consistent and reliable returns and rewards for its stakeholders.

craze) or, as with Special K, for many years. Although it was a successful product, Kellogg’s recognised the opportunity to stretch the brand by investments that would:

Creating new products or making changes to existing brands can be expensive. It involves making investment decisions now, in the hope of making a return later. Weighing up future returns against an investment is a crucial part of a manager’s job.

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revitalise it extend and further develop its growth phase help to