As consumers continue to battle inflation and the rising cost of groceries, the CEO of Kellogg has some advice: eat cereal for dinner.
The suggestion, which has been met with online backlash, comes courtesy of Gary Pilnick, Chairman and CEO of Kellogg, whose annual compensation is reportedly over $4 million.
During an appearance on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, Pilnick urged consumers to consider swapping out their usual dinner for a bowl of cereal as a solution for rising grocery prices.
"We gotta reach the consumer where they are. So we're advertising about cereal for dinner. If you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they might otherwise do. That's gonna be much more affordable," he explained.
Pilnick added that eating cereal for dinner "tends to be a great destination when consumers are under pressure," referring to people who are on a tight budget.
The host of the show asked Pilnick if he thought the controversial suggestion had the "potential to land the wrong way."
"We don't think so," said Pilnick. "In fact, it's landing really well right now...It turns out that over 25 percent of our consumption is outside the breakfast occasion. A lot of it's at dinner. And that occasion continues to grow."
In fact, it is not landing so well. A TikTok that features a snippet of Pilnick's interview is riddled with comments like "corporate gaslighting at its finest" and "he’s talking like cereal is still $2.50 a box." Another user wrote, "Give the peasants cereal for dinner!"
Interestingly enough, a segment from Denver's NBC 7 from March of last year revealed that year-over-year cereal prices were up a staggering 14.2 percent. So, you know, there's that. And it shouldn't go unmentioned that a bowl of cereal with milk and even fruit isn't the most balanced, nutritious dinner, Gary.
