Kellogg Faces Hurdles in Selling Cereal to Chinese
By wchung | 26 Apr, 2025

Kellogg’s effort to sell more American-style cereal in China is hampered by both the quality of local milk and by Chinese tastes.

China’s cereal consumption this year is projected to reach just $225.4 million, just 2.25% of the $9.99 billion US market, according to AP. But that modest sum is double what it was five years ago. But Kellogg is convinced that Chinese will inevitably embrace American style cereal, and when they do, the Battle Creek, Michigan company wants to be there to tap what in five years will be the world’s biggest market for packaged foods.

But some things will have to change in China before Chinese will be waking up to bowls of Frosted Flakes or Cheerios. One is the milk. The melamine-tainted milk scandal of 2008 in which hundreds of thousands of infants were sickened is one reason many Chinese don’t want to make milk a big part of their daily diet. Another is that in China even non-tainted milk may be so adulterated or watered down that it just doesn’t appeal to Chinese the way it appeals to Americans.

Another obstacle faced by Kellogg and its American rival General Mills is the Chinese preference for European-style muesli, which contain crunchy kernels of nuts or grain and dried fruits, over flakes or puffs of corn or wheat found in most American cereals.

But Kellogg is enlisting the help of Singapore-based Wilmar International to help it distribute more of its cereals, breakfast foods like Pop-Tarts and Eggo, and snacks like Pringles chips. The two firms will form a distribution joint venture to get the packages in front of the tens of millions of Chinese consumers entering the urban middle class each year.

Kellogg currently sells Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and Special K in China, while General Mills is selling Cheerios, Wheaties and other cereals through a joint venture with Nestle, called Cereal Partners Worldwide.