MOM Brands produced both hot and cold cereals. As of 2012, cold cereals manufactured by MOM Brands accounted for over 75% of its total sales. Most of its cold cereals are similar to cereal brands produced by its competitors, Kellogg's, Quaker Oats Company, and General Mills.[5] Even so, between 2001 and 2012, Malt-O-Meal more than tripled its market share during a very challenging time for the breakfast cereal category. It was the fastest growing cereal company in America.[6][7][8][9]
MOM Brands was bought by Post Holdings in 2015.[10] After the acquisition was finalized, Post Holdings moved its cereal headquarters office from New Jersey to the MOM Brands offices in Lakeville, Minnesota. The business was renamed Post Consumer Brands, and the MOM Brands CEO, Chris Neugent, and his senior leadership team were put in charge of the new combined enterprise.[11]
History
Malt-O-Meal with coffee
The company was founded in 1919 as the Campbell Cereal Company by John Campbell, a miller in Owatonna, Minnesota. He invented a combination of farina wheat and malted barley[12][13] hot breakfast cereal he called Malt-O-Meal. Campbell intended to compete with Cream of Wheat.
In 1927, the company moved production of its cereal to the Ames Mill in Northfield, Minnesota. Nine years later, corporate headquarters were moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in 1953, it was renamed the Malt-O-Meal Company.
Attempts in the 1940s to market Campbell's Corn Flakes, and in the 1960s to sell State Fair brand Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice, were abandoned in the face of competition.[14]
In 1998 Malt-O-Meal began construction of a 225,000 square foot $100,000,000 cereal production facility in Tremonton, Utah. In early 2001, construction was stopped and the plant was mothballed because the company had a significant decline in sales and profits. At that time, the company also had to implement layoffs to reduce costs. Later in 2001, the building and site were put up for sale for $10 million. in 2002, Malt-O-Meal began a dramatic turnaround in sales and profits. Because of the much improved results, the site was taken off the market, construction was resumed, and the Malt-Meal Tremonton plant began production in 2004.[15][16]
In 2007, Malt-O-Meal took part in the "reverse product placement" marketing campaign for The Simpsons Movie and packaged one of their cereals, Tootie Frooties,[18] as "Krusty-O's". The cereal was sold in 7-Eleven stores across America along with other The Simpsons Movierelated products.[19]
In 2007, Malt-O-Meal began construction on their new manufacturing facility in Asheboro, North Carolina. The building, formerly occupied by Unilever Best Foods, became the fourth manufacturing facility for Malt-O-Meal. Operations at the plant began in late 2008.[20]
In December 2009, Malt-O-Meal acquired the Farina brand of hot cereal from U.S. Mills. Farina was started by Pillsbury in 1898.
On February 21, 2012, the Malt-O-Meal Company re-branded as MOM Brands—the new name is intended to reflect the company's wider product range, while still acknowledging its flagship product through the use of its abbreviation. At the same time, it also announced that it had surpassed Post to become the third largest producer of cereals in the United States.[5]
MOM Brands purchased the CoCo Wheats brand from Denny and Kim Fuller on June 30, 2012, while the rest of the company assets except the factory building were sold to Gilster-Mary Lee, a major competitor. The Fullers had become the fourth generation to own and operate Little Crow in 1983.[21]
In 2013 MOM Brands introduced Mom's Best Naturals cereal and gained significant shelf space in retailers. This was a part of its success which helped it surpass Post cereal in total market share of cereal sales. After Post bought MOM brands it kept the MOM's best brand and it is still a part of its portfolio.[22]
On January 27, 2015, Post Holdings announced that it was purchasing MOM Brands for $1.15 billion ($1.05 billion cash and 2.5 million shares of Post Holdings stock).[23] The sale was completed on May 4, 2015.[10] Production of cold cereal continued in the Northfield plant.[1] As of January 2024, Post is continuing the Malt-O-Meal brand.[24]
As listed on Malt-O-Meal's site.[25] Most are available regionally or through specific chains. All listed mention their use of natural ingredients, reduced packaging, and/or renewable energy
Sally's Cereals (hot and cold varieties sold in Canada Safeway, Wal-mart and Superstores stores)
Three Sisters cereal (hot and cold varieties, sold only at Whole Foods stores)
Mom's Best Naturals (hot and cold varieties)
Bear River Valley (cold varieties only)
I Love Oats (hot varieties only)
Better Oats (hot varieties only) (most sub-brands available in multiple flavors[26])
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat, or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge and congee is a savoury variation of porridge of Asian origin.
Breakfast cereal is a breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in Western societies.
Weetabix Ltd., trading under the name Weetabix Food Company, is a food processing company that is responsible for the production of breakfast cereal brands, including Weetabix, Alpen, Crunchy Bran and Ready Brek. The company also produces Puffins cereal and Snackimals snacks through their Barbara's Bakery division.
Post Consumer Brands is an American consumer packaged goods food manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota.
Golden Crisp, also known as Sugar Crisp in Canada, is a brand of breakfast cereal made by Post Consumer Brands that consists of sweetened, candy-coated puffed wheat and is noted for its high sugar content. It was introduced in the United States in 1948.
Groats are the hulled kernels of various cereal grains, such as oat, wheat, rye, and barley. Groats are whole grains that include the cereal germ and fiber-rich bran portion of the grain, as well as the endosperm.
Puffed grains are grains that have been expanded ("puffed") through processing. They have been made for centuries with the simplest methods like popping popcorn. Modern puffed grains are often created using high temperature, pressure, or extrusion.
Pebbles is a brand of breakfast cereal introduced in the United States by Post Consumer Brands on October 20, 1971 featuring characters from the animated series The Flintstones as spokestoons. The product line includes Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles.
Farina is a form of milled wheat popular in the United States. It is often cooked as a hot breakfast cereal, or porridge. The word farina comes from the Latin word for 'meal' or 'flour'.
Honey Bunches of Oats is a breakfast cereal owned by Post Holdings and produced by its subsidiary Post Consumer Brands. Created by lifelong Post employee Vernon J. Herzing by mixing several of Post's cereals together and having his daughter taste them, Honey Bunches of Oats was introduced to markets in 1989 after three years of development. The cereal is made up of three kinds of flakes and oat clusters baked with a hint of honey. It is marketed as a source of whole grain. Other varieties have almonds or fruits added into the mix.
CoCo Wheats is a brand of instant, chocolate flavored breakfast cereal introduced in 1930 and currently owned by Post Holdings. The brand was originally owned by Little Crow Foods, and bought by MOM Brands in 2012. Three years later, MOM Brands was bought by Post Holdings in 2015.
Marshmallow Mateys is an American brand of breakfast cereal produced by the MOM Brands food company located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company presented their first line of ready-to-eat cereals in 1965, intending to compete with General Mills' Lucky Charms. Marshmallow Mateys includes marshmallow shapes in various colors.
Tiger Brands Limited is a South African packaged goods company. In addition to the company's South African operations, Tiger Brands has direct and indirect interests in international food businesses in Chile, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho and Cameroon. Tiger Brands is South Africa's largest food company.
Alexander Pierce Anderson was an American plant physiologist, botanist, educator and inventor. His scientific experiments led to the discovery of "puffed rice", a starting point for a new breakfast cereal that was later advertised as "Food Shot From Guns".
The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national advertising campaign for Quaker Oats.
Post Holdings, Inc. is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in St Louis, Missouri with businesses operating in the center-of-the-store, refrigerated, foodservice, and food ingredient categories. Its Post Consumer Brands business manufactures, markets, and sells both branded and private label cereal products. Its Michael Foods Group business supplies value-added egg products and refrigerated potato products to the foodservice and food ingredient channels. Through its Post Refrigerated Retail business, Post offers potato, egg, sausage, and cheese refrigerated side dishes products. Post participates in the private brand food category through its investment in 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, a leading, private brand centric, consumer products holding company.
Energen is a cereal mix brand owned by PT Mayora Indah and the Philippines-based Vouno Trade Marketing Services Inc. This brand was fortified with SIGMAvit.
Ames Mill Dam is a 6-foot (2 m) low-head dam located near South Water Street in Northfield city, in southeastern Minnesota, in the United States. It lies on the Cannon River, a tributary of the Mississippi River 35 miles (55 km) south of St. Paul. Ames Mill was originally built as a wooden dam in 1855 and then rebuilt as one of the six concrete dams on the Cannon River in 1919. The Cannon River was central to industrial development in the late 19th century through hydroelectric power production. The presence of dams along the river has influenced geomorphologic changes which affect fish, mussel populations and sediment. The Ames Mill Dam was used to power the Ames Flour Mill; however, it is no longer used for hydroelectric power because the dam is old and nearing the end of its lifespan. Currently the dam serves no functional purpose. The Cannon River is an essential part of Northfield's economic community and the Ames Mill Dam is a part of Northfield's historic identity. The dam is currently owned by Malt-O-Meal, a breakfast cereal company founded in 1919 and headquartered in Northfield, Minnesota.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
