Kellogg Company Dedicates Expansion of Premier Product Development Institute
On September 29, 2009, Kellogg Company celebrated the completed expansion of its W.K. Kellogg Institute for Food and Nutrition Research with a dedication ceremony attended by elected officials and community and company leaders. The W.K. Kellogg Institute is the epicenter for the Company’s global product development, research and innovation and an important driver of the company’s ongoing success. The $54 million, 157,000 square foot pilot plant and office space expansion demonstrate the Company’s ongoing commitment to growth and building powerhouse brands that meet the needs of customers and consumers worldwide.
“For more than 100 years, our commitment to innovation has served as a key driver to our company’s success. The synergies we will gain from this expanded facility will be realized in product renovations and innovations that further strengthen our Company’s reputation for building great brands and delighting consumers with high-quality, nutritious and great-tasting foods,” said David Mackay, Kellogg Company president and CEO.
Since the opening of the W.K. Kellogg Institute in 1997, Kellogg Company has seen net sales double from $6 billion to nearly $13 billion. Product renovations and innovations have been one of the key drivers in the Company’s focused business strategy, which concentrates on growing the company’s cereal business and expanding the snacks business. The model sets realistic growth targets that encourage long-term thinking, emphasizing innovation and keeping a sharp focus on cost savings. In 2008, 15 percent of sales, approximately $2 billion, came from products launched in the past three years. The expanded W.K. Kellogg Institute will support Kellogg’s continuing commitment to innovation and its proven track record of delivering results from new product developments.
The significantly expanded Institute now has nearly 400,000 square feet devoted to product development. The facility includes innovation labs, research facilities, a flexible experimental production area and a food pilot plant. The expansion enables Kellogg researchers and technical experts to more effectively interact and improve the speed with which new products are successfully introduced to customers around the world. In total, 87,000 square feet were added to the pilot plant and the office space nearly doubled with an additional 70,000 square feet.
“The W.K. Kellogg Institute is one of the premier product development institutes in the industry,” stated Margaret Bath, vice president, Research, Quality and Technology, Kellogg Company. “In the 12 years since we held the grand opening ceremony for this facility, we have built Special K into a global brand by introducing Special K protein meal bars, snack bars, waters and shakes, as well as crackers and hugely popular cereal varieties like Red Berries and Blueberry. We’ve also reduced sugar and sodium in many of our products, added fiber to our most popular children’s cereals, and led the industry in front-of-pack nutrition labeling with our Guideline Daily Amounts. If we’ve achieved all these innovations while spread out in four locations across town, imagine what awaits us now that we can just walk across the hall.”
"The WKKI expansion also demonstrates Kellogg Company’s continued commitment to support environmental sustainability,” said Mackay. “The expansion we are dedicating today is by being certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Environmental sustainability is increasingly driving more of our customers’ and consumers’ decisions. They expect us to care about the same things they care about,” said Mackay. Among other things, the expanded facility features a white roof to reduce the heat load and more than 700 tons of construction waste was recycled in nearly doubling this facility.