BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — Kellogg Company has announced the names of the two companies it will soon split into.
The WK Kellogg Co will focus on North American cereals, like Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes. Kellanova will include the company’s snack brands, which include Pop-Tarts, Cheez-Its and Pringles, and international cereals.
The split should happen by the end of the year.
“The name WK Kellogg Co honors the legacy of founder W.K. Kellogg, celebrating his spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. At the same time, we are looking forward, focused on propelling the company into the future. We eliminated the use of periods in the name to signal the start of a new, unwritten chapter,” Gary Pilnick, who will serve as CEO of the cereal company, said in a statement.
Kellogg initially announced last summer that it was splitting into three companies: one focused on cereal, one on snacks and one on plant-based food. A Wednesday release indicated there would be only two companies and the plant-based brand names, MorningStar Farms and Gardenburger, will be part of Kellanova.
“The name Kellanova signals the Company’s ambition for the future, building on the strong brand equity and legacy built over the past 117 years as Kellogg Company,” Kellogg Co. Chair and CEO Steve Cahillane, will serve as CEO of Kellanova, said in a statement. “The ‘Kell’ overtly recognizes our enduring connection to Kellogg Company, while ‘anova,’ which combines ‘a’ and the Latin word ‘nova,’ meaning ‘new,’ signals our ambition to continuously evolve as an innovative, next generation, global snacking powerhouse.”
Both logos will contain the traditional Kellogg K and the WK Kellogg Co logo uses founder Kellogg’s signature.
“We have taken his instantly recognizable script and then underlined and elevated the ‘Co,’ emphasizing our ambition as a 117-year-old start-up taking Mr. Kellogg’s original company to new heights,” Pilnick said.
The Kellogg’s brand will still be on the packaging of WK Kellogg Co and Kellanova products.
Kellogg said the cereal company will remain headquartered in Battle Creek. Kellanova will have its corporate headquarters in Chicago, though it will still have a campus in Battle Creek. The company stressed that it’s not moving or closing any offices and no employees are being asked to move.