Kellogg's History

In 1894 they were experimenting with different food production techniques at the Battle Creek Sanatorium in Michigan. The Sanatorium was well renowned for its specialization towards healthy diet products and programs. The brothers decided to run boiled wheat dough through rollers which enabled them to produce thin sheets of wheat. After a sudden interruption in their laboratory activities left cooked wheat exposed to the air for more than a day, the Kellogg brothers decided to run the wheat through the rollers despite the fact it was no longer fresh. To their amazement, instead of a single, large sheet of wheat, the rollers discharged a single flake for each wheat berry. Cereal flakes were born.

Prompted by William Kellogg's belief that diet played an important role in a healthy lifestyle and that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, he spent the next eight years further developing the newly invented cereal, culminating in its first production in 1906. That same year, in order to increase awareness of the revolutionary product, W.K. bought a full-page ad in the July issue of the Ladies' Home Journal. As a result, sales leapt from 33 cases to 2,900 cases per day.

Adhering to his strong commitment to communicating the importance and benefits of health and nutrition, in 1923, William Kellogg hired Mary Barber to establish the industry's first professional home economics department to develop recipes using Kellogg's® cereals. Her work with consumers and educators initiated a company tradition of providing the latest information about diet, nutrition and health.

W.K. Kellogg was born in 1860 in Battle Creek and before he teamed up with his brother he was a salesman for brooms.

William inspired the competitor field as well. Right during the initila phase of the cereal success a competitor everybody knows today was raring to go: C.W. Post who liked so much what he ate once at the Battle Creek Sanatorium that he took his chance, too. Many other companies followed in the next year and most of them settled down in Battle Creek to be a part of the association with this town. Until 1929 W.K. Kellogg led the company and until 1946 he remained Chairman. As a philanthropist he founded the 'W. K. Kellogg Foundation' in 1930, which is said to be one of the richest in the United States. W.K. Kellog died in 1951 but his name will be connected with the 'Cereal-Industry' for ever.

Battle Creek (162 Miles from Chicago and 112 Miles from Detroit) is worldwide known as 'Cereal City'.

U.S. Originals