Following the news that Kellogg Company has reached an agreement to sell Keebler Cookies and other related businesses to Ferrero, Richard Parker, Principle Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on this latest development:

“Kellogg’s divestiture reflects an emerging trend for portfolio consolidation and the company’s commitment to focusing on its core brands by directing investment where it believes it has the best chance of reviving fortunes, examples being Pringles and Cheez-Its, that have seen health-focused consumers shying away.

“Cookies constitute a challenging category in the grocery market, given the continuing pressure that the drive for health and wellness exerts on it, and such brands are possibly better served within a corporate environment where they are a core business rather than a relative side-line.

“Campbell’s has also been exploring opportunities to divest some of its snacking businesses, highlighting that this is not only an issue for Kellogg’s. The direction of travel suggests that we will see further divestiture/acquisition activity in snacks, as leading players create more focused portfolios.”