Breakfast Battle: The Cereal industry vs MAHA

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Journal.

Episode: Breakfast Battle: The Cereal industry vs MAHA
Date: August 28, 2025
Hosts: Allison Poley (guest hosting), Jesse Newman (WSJ reporter)
Theme: How changing American breakfast habits, activist health movements, and new regulation are pushing cereal giant Kellogg to the edge — and signaling a new era for the food industry at large.

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Journal. explores Kellogg’s transformation from an American breakfast icon to a central target of the surging "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement, led in part by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Host Allison Poley, alongside reporter Jesse Newman, delves into how public health pressure, consumer habits, and politics are colliding—and what it means for the future of American food.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Decline of Cereal in American Breakfasts

• Nostalgia vs. Reality: Jesse Newman recalls his childhood desire for sugary cereals like Froot Loops, contrasting with today’s adult breakfast choices like yogurt and eggs.
  • "It was mostly all the sort of like, dry, boring cardboard stuff... Grape Nuts entered our lives. Compliments of my mother and, you know, what a way to just ruin a kid's breakfast." (01:00)
• Shift in Perception: The food pyramid once recommended 6–11 servings of carbohydrates, but now cereals are seen as sugar-laden treats rather than nutrition staples.
  • "Cereal consumption has really fallen off... A lot of families now perceive cereal as...a treat rather than a nutritious breakfast." (05:49)

2. Kellogg’s Corporate Shift

• Origins and Evolution: Founded in 1906 as the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, Kellogg became synonymous with classic American cereals and pop culture mascots (Toucan Sam, Tony the Tiger).
  • "I had some family that's from Battle Creek...there is this scent of toasted grain that wafts around on the wind in Battle Creek." (04:29)
• Diversification into Snacks: As cereal sales declined, Kellogg’s snacks (Pringles, Cheez-Its, Pop Tarts) outgrew their cereal business, leading to a 2022 split into WK Kellogg (cereal) and Kellanova (snacks).
  • "Snacks were all the rage. Like everybody is just snacking all day long." (07:26)

3. The Rise of the MAHA Movement

• Activism and Public Pressure: The Make America Healthy Again movement, fueled by activists like Bonnie Hari ("thefoodbabe") and RFK Jr., is laser-focused on artificial dyes in food, especially in cereals marketed to children.
  • Bonnie Hari at Kellogg HQ protest:
    "I'm here for all Americans who don't know the truth about our food industry." (10:34)
• Health Claims: RFK Jr. claims artificial dyes are linked to health problems (ADHD, etc.), leading to calls for bans and reformulations.
  • "He doesn't think that artificial dyes have any place in the American food supply." (12:05)

4. The Regulatory and Political Battle

• Industry Pushback: Food industry lobbyists, including Kellogg, targeted “MAHA-curious” lawmakers, emphasizing ingredient safety and affordability.
  • "They would bring toxicologists...to impress upon them, like, how seriously they take safety." (12:53)
• Patchwork Legislation Fears: State bills banning dyes create logistical nightmares for food companies who stress it’s unfeasible to produce state-by-state variants.
  • "They can't make one product for West Virginia and another product for another state." (13:54)

5. Kellogg’s Concessions & Industry Impact

• Commitments Made: Under pressure, Kellogg became an early mover, promising to:
  • Remove artificial dyes from foods made for schools.
  • Not launch any new dyed products after Jan 1, 2026.
  • Work toward reformulating the rest.
  • "They said, okay, we're going to remove artificial dyes from the foods that we make for schools..." (14:43)
• Supply Chain Challenges: Reformulating means sourcing costlier natural dyes, retooling factories, and tweaking recipes—all with uncertain customer acceptance.
  • "They are going to have to change their, you know, manufacturing and their equipment in their plants." (15:19)

6. The Ferrero Acquisition & Financial Ramifications

• Sale to Ferrero: Italian company Ferrero (Nutella) agreed to buy WK Kellogg for $3.1 billion, but cut their offer by $75 million due to “significant political and regulatory headwind”—the MAHA effect.
  • "They wound up reducing their offer...because of Kellogg's financial performance and also...significant political and regulatory headwind." (16:48)
• Broader Industry Response: Companies are now forming teams to monitor risky ingredients and legislative trends, recognizing MAHA's real influence on profit and strategy.
  • "Some companies have assembled special teams...tracking ingredients under scrutiny." (17:23)
  • "It's a significant force at the moment that companies really have to reckon with." (18:04)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On childhood cereal desires:
  "When we got a treat...it was always Froot Loops." – Jesse Newman (00:39)
• On cereal’s decline:
  "Cereal consumption has really fallen off. A lot of families now perceive cereal as...more of a treat." – Jesse Newman (05:49)
• On activist pressure:
  "I'm here for all Americans who don't know the truth about our food industry." – Bonnie Hari (10:34)
• On logistical nightmares from new laws:
  "They can't make one product for West Virginia and another product for another state." – Jesse Newman (13:54)
• On MAHA’s real business impact:
  "Maha in that case, had actual financial ramifications...it's a significant force at the moment." – Jesse Newman (18:04)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:19–01:44: Jesse Newman’s childhood with (and without) sugary cereals; setting the stage for Kellogg’s cultural status and challenges.
• 04:14–07:41: History of Kellogg, its branding, mascot magic, and move from cereals to snacks.
• 10:11–11:10: Live audio from MAHA-aligned protest in front of Kellogg HQ (Bonnie Hari/TheFoodBabe).
• 12:05–12:28: RFK Jr’s health claims about artificial dyes and specific pressure on Froot Loops.
• 12:53–13:54: Industry lobbying response and fears around patchwork legislation.
• 14:39–15:06: Kellogg’s official commitments to reduce/remove dyes.
• 16:27–16:48: Ferrero’s acquisition and how MAHA influenced the price.
• 17:23–18:04: Discussion on how Kellogg’s experience is a warning for the whole food sector.

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Conclusion

This episode provides a crisp, engaging primer on the fast-changing landscape of American food. Kellogg’s struggle is both uniquely acute and emblematic of a broader reckoning for the food industry: legacy brands face not just health-conscious consumers, but coordinated activist movements and muscular political intervention. How companies adapt, and whether MAHA’s regulatory push becomes the new norm, could reshape what ends up on our breakfast tables for years to come.

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Transcript

[Allison Poley]

Hey, everyone, it's Jess. I'm here to say that my colleague Allison Poley is guest hosting today's episode. Enjoy. Like many of us, my colleague Jesse Newman grew up eating cereal, but it wasn't the fun kind.

[Jesse Newman]

It was mostly all the sort of like, dry, boring cardboard stuff. At a certain point, Grape Nuts entered our lives. Compliments of my mother and, you know, what a way to just ruin a kid's breakfast.

[Allison Poley]

What was the cereal you wanted to eat?

[Jesse Newman]

When we got a treat, some sort of treat. If we had a choice, it was always Froot Loops.

[Allison Poley]

But these days, like a lot of Americans grown up, Jesse usually has yogurt or eggs and toast for breakfast. And that shift in breakfast habits across America has been bad news for cereal companies. And one company in particular, Kellogg, is.

[Jesse Newman]

You know, an American icon.

[Allison Poley]

Kellogg, one of America's oldest cereal companies, has struggled in recent years.

[Jesse Newman]

They're just like the behemoth in the cereal aisle. Like, they. They're the OG of cereal. I mean, they, you know, they invented Cornflakes.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

Nothing gets you growing in the morning like the crisp corn taste of Kellogg's Corn Flakes.

[Jesse Newman]

They've been around for over 100 years. They make Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes and just so many of those cereals that a lot of kids love.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

Frosted Flakes. Good. They're great.

[Allison Poley]

And now they're facing a new problem. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Secretary of Health and Human Services.

[Jesse Newman]

He said, look, I'm going to tell the cereal companies to take artificial dyes out of their cereals. And he particularly talked about Fruit Loops.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

A box of Fruit Loops from Canada or from Europe. And it has a completely different group of ingredients actually colored with vegetable oils, which are safe. Ours are colored with chemical oils, which are very, very dangerous. They're colored.

[Jesse Newman]

And so this became one of his central talking points for the, you know, what would become Maha, The Maha movement.

[Allison Poley]

And now other big food companies are watching Kellogg closely as the company tries to navigate the powerful Make America Healthy Again movement.

[Jesse Newman]

They're just in the spotlight now and being targeted as a source of what's making Americans so sick. So it's just an incredibly fraught time for them with pressure coming from all different corners.

[Allison Poley]

Welcome to the. Welcome to the show about money, business, and power. I'm Alyson poley. It's Thursday, August 28th. Coming up on the show, Kellogg's journey from American icon to Maha target.

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[Allison Poley]

When kellogg started in 1906, it wasn't named Kellogg. It was named the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company.

[Jesse Newman]

That's because Kellogg was founded in Battle Creek, Michigan, which is also known as Cereal City.

[Allison Poley]

Love it.

[Jesse Newman]

I had some family that's from Battle Creek who I talked to as I was writing this story. And one thing that is for sure is that when Kellogg's factory is producing, you know, there is this scent of toasted grain that sort of wafts around on the wind in Battle Creek.

[Allison Poley]

It's definitely cereal city. Yes. In the decades that followed, Kellogg's factories made Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Corn Pops, Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, and some of these cereals even had mascots attached to them like Toucan Sam.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

We like em Toucan Sam.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Me too.

[Jesse Newman]

So Toucan Sam and Tony the Tiger that certain generations of American kids grew up with as Saturday morning cartoons. So the mascots of these brands were just a part of people's lives.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

Oh, hi, I'm Tony the Bagger. Got my one man band here to help tell you about these great Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes.

[Allison Poley]

The marketing worked. Kellogg's cereals infiltrated seemingly every American household. For decades, cereal was convenient, cheap and available everywhere. It was also seen as nutritious at a time when the U.S. government's food pyramid suggested six to 11 servings of carbohydrate carbohydrates a day. But then.

[Jesse Newman]

More recently, I would say over the past decade or so, it's been pretty well accepted that cereal is just in like long term decline and cereal consumption has really fallen off. A lot of families now perceive cereal as. There's a lot of cereal that is heavily sweetened, it's just full of sugar. And you know, a lot of families are Perceiving it more as sort of a treat rather than a nutritious breakfast.

[Allison Poley]

So what kinds of foods are people turning to instead?

[Jesse Newman]

There are breakfast burritos and eggs and yogurt. So it's just our palates have really diversified and are looking for different things when it comes to breakfast. And in fact, people, a lot of families are even seeking even more convenience. So, you know, a lot of people will just grab like a granola bar or a protein bar for breakfast.

[Allison Poley]

Now, since 2017, the percentage of US adults who eat heavily sweetened cold cereal went from 43% down to 31%, which hasn't been great for Kellogg. But for decades, the company had diversified out of the cereal aisle and had a whole other snack side of the business. And eventually the snacks outperformed the cereal side.

[Jesse Newman]

Over the years, it really expanded and Kellogg as a company started selling all kinds of snacks. So they started selling Pringles, Pringles sour cream and onions. Then Cheez. Its we like eating Cheez.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

Its great cheese, taste in every bite.

[Jesse Newman]

And Pop Tarts, part of your complete breakfast.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

New wild berry Pop Tarts you may want to buy.

[Jesse Newman]

So it wasn't just a cereal company. And in fact, over time, the snacks business became the much more sort of exciting part of Kellogg's business. It was faster growing. 0 had this was in decline. But snacks were all the rage. Like everybody is just snacking all day long.

[Allison Poley]

Yep.

[Jesse Newman]

And so in 2022, Kellogg announced that they were going to split.

[Allison Poley]

Kellogg eventually turned into two different companies. A cereal business called WK Kellogg and a snack company called Kelanova.

[Jesse Newman]

Essentially, they were just both going to be able to operate independently and have the focus that they needed in order to, you know, keep snacks growing and try to revive. And folks in the market saw that as putting a for sale sign on what was renamed W.K. kellogg. So the cereal business, which was W.K. kellogg.

[Allison Poley]

W.K. kellogg, the standalone cereal company, tried to change with the times. It released a high protein vegan cereal called Eat yout mouth off in 2024. It also collaborated with a sports nutrition brand and launched a Froot Loop flavored protein shake. But nothing really broke through. And that was all before the MAHA movement. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says he wants food makers to stop using synthetic dyes made from petroleum to color what we eat and drink. That's next.

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[Jesse Newman]

We'Re just steps away from Kellogg's front door. Thank you for everyone for being here.

[Allison Poley]

That's food activist Bonnie Hari at a protest in front of Kellogg's headquarters last fall. On social media, she goes by the handle thefoodbabe and she's got 2.3 million followers on Instagram.

[Jesse Newman]

I'm here for all Americans who don't know the truth about our food industry.

[Allison Poley]

Hari and hundreds of protesters marched on a street in Battle Creek toward the front door of Kellogg's headquarters. They asked to be let in and were denied entry.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

Let us in. Let us in.

[Allison Poley]

Kellogg's cereal had recently become a big target of the Maha movement. People like Hari and RFK Jr are highly critical of food that is processed, sugary and filled with artificial food dyes and many of Kellogg's products. Check all those boxes. Here's another protester speaking out against artificial food dyes. There's no way that you can deny that it's doing something negative to your body. It doesn't belong there. It's not natural. It shouldn't be in our food. A Kellogg spokeswoman said that the company agrees with the Trump administration's focus on health and wellness, and that it has changed its cereals over time to suit consumers changing tastes, such as adding offerings with less sugar. She said many cereals contain just four ingredients, plus vitamins and minerals, which the company has recently begun noting on some packaging. The Maha movement has exploded in the last few months, and now with RFK Jr in government, it has a lot of power.

[Jesse Newman]

RFK Jr believes that artificial dyes can cause all different kinds of problems for consumers. But in particular, he says that they cause ADHD and other problems in kids. And so he doesn't think that artificial dyes have any place in the American food supply. And he started going after Fruit Loops in particular.

[Allison Poley]

So what was his goal with those comments?

[Jesse Newman]

So he said very early on, he was asked what he would do if he, you know, were part of the Trump administration. And he said, I will ask the cereal companies to take dyes out of their products.

[Allison Poley]

Food companies and industry groups have said artificial dyes are safe. Immediately after Trump's election and RFK Jr. S nomination to lead the HHS, big food companies, including Kellogg, tried to push back.

[Jesse Newman]

After Trump was reelected, food industry lobbyists descended on Capitol Hill and started to. One of my favorite details that we learned from reporting was that they. They. They started out by targeting lawmakers that they referred to as Maha. Curious. So this was lawmakers who they thought might be sympathetic to some of Maha's messages. And they went in and they were, you know, trying to defend the products that they make and talk about how, you know, the products that they make are safe and affordable. And in some cases, they were bringing toxicologists with them to explain what certain ingredients do to impress upon them, like, how seriously they take safety. And so they really ramped up their lobbying game.

[Allison Poley]

But RFK Jr. S ideas around food have already spread to state houses across the country, from Democratically controlled states like Massachusetts to Republican ones like West Virginia and Utah. All have introduced bills that ban many artificial dyes used by big food.

[Jesse Newman]

And this is a huge concern for food companies. So food companies are, you know, they have been very, you know, clear that they sort of cannot operate in a world in which, you know, there's what they refer to as, like, a patchwork of legislation which bans certain ingredients in certain states and other ingredients in other states and requires warning labels in, you know, Texas and a QR code on packaging in Louisiana. And what the food companies will tell you is that, you know, they can't make one product for West Virginia and another product for another state.

[Allison Poley]

An HHS spokesman said that Kennedy values ongoing engagement with the food industry and is encouraged by the steps many companies are taking to improve nutrition and public health. Under this pressure, Kellogg relented.

[Jesse Newman]

And they were, you know, one of the first to make any sort of commitment.

[Allison Poley]

Okay?

[Jesse Newman]

And they said three things. They said, okay, we're going to remove artificial dyes from the foods that we make for schools. They said that starting January 1, 2026, we won't come out with any new products that use artificial dyes. And then they also said that they were working with the administration to come up with a way to remove dyes from the rest of their products.

[Allison Poley]

Although Kellogg's made these commitments, it remains to be seen whether US Consumers will buy naturally dyed Fruit Loops. And switching away from artificial dyes will not be easy.

[Jesse Newman]

So this is a huge effort for their supply chains. First of all, they have to, like, find, you know, natural dyes. They've got to source these natural dyes often, you know, natural dyes can be more expensive, particularly in their. If they are in short supplies, than artificial dyes. So they have to source these new dyes. They are going to have to change their, you know, manufacturing and their equipment in their plants. They're. They're going to have to retool their plants. They are going to have to change their processes, and they will likely have to tweak their recipes.

[Allison Poley]

So how are Kellogg's challenges impacting its bottom line?

[Jesse Newman]

Kellogg, as we've talked about, like, has Maha challenges, and then they just have serial challenges. You know, the category is struggling, and they won't draw a line and say, you know, Maha has impacted sales in this way, but we can see that their sales have really slowed and have. Are declining quarter after quarter.

[Allison Poley]

Under all this pressure, Kellogg attracted a buyer. Ferrero, the Italian food company most famous for making Nutella, announced in July that they were going to buy the cereal company for $3.1 billion. Originally, Ferrero was going to offer more, but then it realized that Maha was a big concern.

[Jesse Newman]

And what was fascinating to see was that over the course of several months, they wound up reducing their offer by about $75 million. And they said that that was because, you know, both of Kellogg's financial performance and also because of what they refer to as significant political and regulatory headwind. You know, it was what we learned through reporting was that Maha was a real concern for Ferrero.

[Allison Poley]

Jesse's reporting shows that executives across big food companies are trying to determine the best way to deal with Maha. Do they fight or do they acquiesce? Their challenge? Balancing America's new hunger for healthier ingredients with the realities of what people will actually buy. Some companies have assembled special teams for this new political moment. They're tracking ingredients under scrutiny and assessing which ones they might have to remove or label. What message does Kellogg's Maha problem send to the rest of the food industry?

[Jesse Newman]

You know, I think in a lot of ways, Kellogg's Maha problem really mirrors what the rest of the industry is going through. Kellogg is unique in the amount of pressure that it's faced because they were this early target. But really, the entire food industry faces the same Maha problem. And I think what is really interesting that we learned through the course of the deal, however, is that Maha in that case, had actual financial ramifications. So Maha's a genuine force. And we can debate the scientific bona fides of, you know, the various things that it wants to do, and we can debate how much of it will actually get done. But I don't think there's any debating that. It's a, you know, it's a significant force at the moment that companies really have to reckon with.

[Allison Poley]

That's all for today. Thursday, August 28 the Journal is a co production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode from Owen Tucker Smith. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.