There`s a hot version of Quaker 100% Natural cereal on the burner, industry sources say.
Presumably, this is one of the new cereals that Quaker Oats Co. told securities analysts Wednesday it is working on, refusing to be specific.
At an Amelia Island, Fla., breakfast meeting of New York analysts, William Smithburg, Quaker`s chairman-chief executive, said the firm will introduce a number of products in the ready-to-eat and hot-cereal categories in fiscal 1993, beginning in July.
Jetting back to Chicago by noon, the Quaker chief told this column that
”we`ve got some (new cereals) on the drawing board that we very much like.”
Without offering details, Smithburg acknowledged that any cereals in the hot category would be under the Quaker name and ready-to-eat entries would be brand names like its Cap`n Crunch, Life, 100% Natural and Oat Squares.
Quaker has an estimated 7.5 percent share of a $7 billion ready-to-eat business led by Kellogg`s 39 percent and General Mills` 28 percent. In hot cereals, Quaker holds 60 percent of what may be a $700 million market. General Mills last year withdrew its hot oatmeal brands.
By introducing a hot version of its 100% Natural, probably next fall with the advent of the ”cold season,” Quaker would be leveraging the franchise of a brand that has been the top seller in what remains a small segment of ready- to-eat natural cereals. Introduced in 1972, 100% Natural has 1 percent of the cold cereal business.
In the past, Quaker has promoted the idea that the 100% Natural ready-to- eat version could be cooked hot.
As reported, Quaker next month will introduce a low-fat 100% Natural, this ready-to-eat version containing 2 grams of fat per ounce versus the original`s 5 grams of fat.
– Also at the analysts meeting Wednesday, Pet Inc. said it probably will begin looking later this year for a European acquisition to augment its Old El Paso line of Mexican foods there. St. Louis-based Pet indicated that the search probably would focus on Germany and France, the likely target being a company with a good market position and established distribution.
Lois lands First Alert
Lois USA Chicago has won the $4 million advertising account of Pittway Corp.`s Aurora-based BRK Electronics, maker of First Alert products, after a competition that included incumbent D`Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles-Chicago. Others vying for the business were Cramer-Krasselt Chicago; Arian, Travis & Lowe and media buying service CPM.
– Lands` End Inc. in Dodgeville, Wis., elevated William T. End, executive VP of marketing and corporate planning, to president-chief operating officer. Lands` End also boosted David F. Dyer, 42, executive VP of merchandising, to vice chairman of merchandising. End, 44, who still will be in charge of marketing, assumes the president`s post from Richard C. ”Dick” Anderson, 62, who continues as vice chairman of the board and chief executive. End and Dyer report to Anderson, who maintains a home in the Chicago area, once the firm`s headquarters. Gary Comer, 64, who founded Lands` End, is chairman, but he is not active in day-to-day operations. Lands` End, with a major presence in apparel direct marketing, has annual sales exceeding $600 million.
Rumors have been swirling around town that Eagle Food Centers Inc. is being sold, but Herbert Dotterer, the firm`s chief financial officer, on Wednesday denied a sale is under discussion. Dotterer, based at Eagle headquarters in Milan, Ill., acknowledged that company officials had heard the rumors but couldn`t determine how they began. Eagle, a publicly held firm with 109 supermarkets in Illinois, northwest Indiana and Iowa, was spun off by Lucky Stores Inc. in Dublin, Calif., in mid-1989. Investment firm Odyssey Partners owns 55 percent of Eagle, which has 45 stores in the Chicago area. Rumors had indicated that Safeway, a major West Coast chain, and/or Super Valu Stores Inc., a Minnesota-based firm and parent of Cub Foods, were interested in Eagle.
On the move: Kenneth E. Krom, a group creative director at Leo Burnett Co., was elected an executive VP; the agency also elevated Jonathan Moore, a VP, to a creative director. . . . Paul F. Burgoyne was named VP of corporate marketing and Ken Cotuno was appointed VP of national accounts and specialty sales at Edward Don & Co. . . . Lynne Wallace and John Kroening were named senior VP-management supervisors at Campbell-Mithun-Esty Chicago; the agency elected Patricia O`Neill, its manager of broadcast production, to a senior VP. Strictly Personal: Birthday greetings to Joan Bongiorno, Karl Vollmer, Ed Devaney Jr. and Ruby Anik.
Hyatt Hotels Corp. appointed Cynthia Frisina manager of hotel advertising. She and David Marks, manager of national advertising, report to Marc Yanofsky, senior VP of marketing.
Appointment: Illinois Restaurant Association to Kurman Communications for media relations and promotions; Tom Doody & Associates recently was retained by the same client for selected event projects.
