WK Kellogg CEO Gary Pilnick earlier this month while appearing in a news program at CNBC US suggested people to eat cereal for dinner in order to save money on groceries. His comments led to widespread criticism, with many accusing him of being tone-deaf as more than 11% of disposable consumer income goes toward purchasing food. This is the highest people are spending on food than at any point in the last 30 years.
“Cereal for dinner is something that is probably more on trend now, and we would expect to continue as that consumer is under pressure,” Pilnick told CNBC US host Carl Quintanilla.
“But, in general, the cereal category is a place that a lot of folks might come to because the price of a bowl of cereal with milk and with fruit is less than a dollar. So you can imagine why a consumer under pressure might find that to be a good place to go,” he further added.
People quickly took to the internet to point out that Pilnick made more than $4 million last year. A report by the CNN also pointed out that food costs have risen significantly since the pandemic as companies aim to cover higher costs for labour, ingredients and transportation incurred during the pandemic. The company reported $651 million in net sales as of December 30.
The prices of cereal alone increased 28% since January of 2020, as per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kellogg raised prices by 12% in its latest fiscal year.
Concerned netizens also highlighted, according to CNN that cereals are not a healthy substitute for dinner.
“Greedflation is forcing families to make choices like eating cereal for dinner to save money. Kellogg’s CEO is bragging about it while they show the huge climb in corporate profits that helped create the problem in the first place,” a person wrote on social media site X.
“Meanwhile, he’s eating at 5 star restaurants every night and when he isn’t, his personal chef cooks him dinner. Absolutely disgusting. Eat. The. Rich,” another person commented on the clip of the interaction posted on Instagram.
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