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About the Breakfast Cereal Industry

It happened in 1894 during an experiment to make healthier food for patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. A batch of cooked wheat accidentally was left out and dried. Rather than throw it away, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, director of the Sanitarium, and his brother, William Keith (better known as W. K.), passed the wheat through rollers, creating thin flakes. These early wheat flakes, called Granose, were tough and rather tasteless, but they were a hit. On May 31, 1894, Dr. Kellogg applied for a patent on flaked cereals made from wheat, barley, oats, corn and other grains. The Kelloggs discovered the wheat flake, but it took Charles W. Post to make Battle Creek the cereal city. This Illinois businessman opened his own spa in Battle Creek where he experimented with health foods. In 1895 Post introduced Postum Cereal Food Coffee, a noncaffeine coffee substitute created from wheat, bran and molasses. One of the first entrepreneurs to use extensive retail promotion to sell a food product, Post placed advertisements in magazines and newspapers. The results were startling. Formed in 1896, the Postum Cereal Company was a multimillion-dollar operation by the turn of the century. Others followed Post. In June 1902 a reporter visiting Battle Creek noted, everyone has gone daft over [the] food cereal business. At that time there were more than thirty cereal firms offering a variety of foods whose claims greatly exceeded their product. One exception was W. K. Kelloggs Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, which was formed in 1906. Although a cautious man, W. K. was fearless when it came to advertising. Kelloggs advertising campaigns proved legendary, most notably the Sweetheart of the Corn. The healthy, pretty, country girl (modernized over the years), along with Kelloggs signature (none genuine without this signature) quickly moved Kellogg to top of the cereal industry.

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