Kellogg’s CEO Suggests to Eat “Cereal for Dinner” in Order to Save Money in Tight Times

Gary Plinick, the multimillionaire CEO of US company Kellogg's is facing fire, right now, after his recent suggestion – much like Marie Antoniette's historical one – that poor families should consider "eating cereal for dinner" in order to save money.

This rather tone deaf comment was made on February 21st, last week, during an appearance on CNBC and immediately was spread on social medias. There, they ended up striking various people's nerves, being compared to Marie Antoniette‘s (misquoted) aforementioned words.

"The cereal category has always been quite affordable, and it tends to be a great destination when consumers are under pressure. If you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they might otherwise do, that’s going to be much more affordable." – these were Plinick's words in regards to groceries' rising prices.

CNBC's host, Carl Quintanilla, had asked the multimillionaire CEO if he thought that such affirmations could be taken "the wrong way", considering that all consumers have been spending much more money (studies calculate it being a 26% increase from previous years, since 2020) on daily and basic groceries.

Despite Plinick's answer – "Cereal for dinner is something that is probably more on trend now, and we would expect it to continue as that consumer is under pressure" – the comment hasn't been taken so well.

Social media users from TikTok have been calling out the CEO, showing his annual salary of 1 million dollars, with more than 4 million incentives, saying that he's surely not feeding himself and his family cereals for dinner. Comments have been escalating ever since, with appearances of "Eat the rich instead" here and there.

Moreover, other comments have been made in regards to how Kellogg's cereals aren't cheap, therefore, can't be considered as a viable option for a family's dinner. According to one social media user, a $10 family-sized box of cereal – along with a milk carton – would cost them the same as a family-sized frozen lasagna package. And, of course, other users have been raising concerns over the overall healthiness of consuming cereal for dinner.

The statistics released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics have shown that the price of cereal – indeed – has been rising of 28% in the last four years, more than any year since 1979; and, additionally, Kellogg's has increased its cereal prices of an additional 12%. All the while campaigning for "cereal for dinner" ever since 2022. Reddit users have pointed out that, despite the rise in price, the contents of the cereal boxes have stayed the same – and in some cases, they have shrunk.

While some of these price increases are tied to ingredient costs, many industry experts have been saying that fuel, labor and packaging are the biggest drivers in snacks' and cereal's rising prices. Americans are, however, still buying, and companies like Kellogg's have a pretty loyal customer base, and according to experts, this might feel like "permission" to the companies to manipulate prices.