Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) has announced it is opening a new Design Studio for employees. The 40,000 square-foot studio is the final piece of the company’s Innovation Suite at the Kellogg Institute for Food & Nutrition Research, also known as WKKI, on its Battle Creek headquarters campus. WKKI also includes the world-class Center for Sensory and Consumer Discovery, Kellogg Center for Culinary Innovation and Innovation Engine Room.
“Innovation is the lifeblood of Kellogg and an important driver of our growth,” said Nigel Hughes, senior vice president of innovation and research and development at Kellogg Company. “We like to say innovation breathes fire into our vision and purpose as a company. I’m excited for our teams to use this world-class facility to create the future of food.”
The Design Studio opening follows the 2019 opening of the Kellogg Center for Culinary Innovation, just down the hallway. The new studio will further accelerate Kellogg’s ability to innovate and includes collaboration space reserved for innovation projects, a prototyping workshop and a virtual reality hub with floor-to-ceiling LED monitors so teams can see in 3D how innovations might come to life on actual store shelves. It is wired for remote collaboration so colleagues working from home and around the world can participate in projects virtually.
“Our Innovation Suite gives us a dedicated home for experimentation, from ideation all the way to execution. It gives our teams the opportunity to get fully immersed in their projects for extended amounts of time,” added Hughes. “These new capabilities will help us continue strengthening the innovation we deliver in 2021 and beyond, even at a time when many of us are working remotely.”
Kellogg delivered new innovation in 2020 even amid the global pandemic as customers had less shelf space for new foods. Recent food innovations in the United States include Eggo Cereal, Cheez-It Extra Cheesy, Pop-Tarts Pretzel and Jumbo Snax. Kellogg also launched Incogmeato from MorningStar Farms, a line of plant-based proteins. Globally, Kellogg launched new noodle flavors in Africa, Green Onion Chex cereal in South Korea and Churros cereal in Mexico—just to name a few.
Kellogg has a long history of innovation since its inception that includes when W. K. Kellogg himself made a serendipitous "mistake" that resulted in the recipe for Kellogg's Corn Flakes and forever changed the way the world eats breakfast. As Kellogg launched its ‘Deploy for Growth’ strategy in 2018, the company bolstered its focus on innovation. Late last year, Kellogg also opened the Menuvation Center at The Hatchery in Chicago. The space is a science lab, kitchen and think tank all rolled into one, designed to help customers find the next big thing for their menus utilizing Kellogg foods.
