Innovation breathes fire into Kellogg Company's vision and purpose—it connects its past, present, and future. The business was founded on a great idea and it's creating the future through great ideas in support of the company's Deploy for Growth Strategy. This summer, Kellogg interns were challenged to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit for the 2021 Intern Innovation Challenge, held in partnership with eighteen94 capital, Kellogg's venture capital fund.
For seven weeks, Kellogg interns worked in three groups to develop a new product pitch for one of three participating Kellogg's eighteen94 investment companies, Kuli Kuli, Siren Snacks, or Taali Foods. Each company's respective group studied their business and pitched them an idea that could potentially make it to market. The interns were challenged to be creative, work together to understand the business, the competitive landscape and the consumer, while also maintaining brand identity. Each week, they met with a Kellogg mentor to help guide them, offer feedback, and ensure that they were on the right path.
"115 years after our founding, the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of W.K. Kellogg lives on today and we know innovation must be the basis for how we operate within all functions and at every level of the organization," said Simon Burton, eighteen94 co-fund manager. "And in just seven weeks, the interns proved that when collaboration, a shared passion and commitment to success are in the mix, the innovative ideas are limitless."
Kellogg is creating its future through great ideas and broadening its innovative landscape through a variety of means in support of its Deploy for Growth Strategy. From the Innovation Suite—including the world-class Center for Sensory and Consumer Discovery and the Kellogg Center for Culinary Innovation—to the opening of the state-of-the-art Menuvation Center at the Hatchery in Chicago, of which Kellogg is a founding member, the ability to move with agility and think like a start-up is more important than ever, especially as the food industry evolves to meet the ever-changing demands and needs of consumers.
"The first-hand experience the interns gained by working with these entrepreneurs will certainly equip them with invaluable skills that will help them to succeed throughout their careers, regardless of their chosen path," Burton added. "The excitement and creativity the interns displayed was inspiring, and while we can't share any of the 2021 innovations yet, if and when one makes it to market, we'll be sure to highlight the product's innovation journey."
Each year, the Intern Innovation Challenge focuses on a different area of the business and over the years, some of the winning innovations made it to market. To date, the most successful innovation is the Pop-Tart Bites, developed by the 2017 intern class.
Discover what the 2021 summer interns had to say about their experience here.