Malt-O-Meal

Malt-O-Meal is an American breakfast-cereal brand whose signature product is a hot cereal made from farina wheat and malted barley. The brand originated in Minnesota in 1919, when miller John Campbell developed the product through the Campbell Cereal Company as a competitor to Cream of Wheat. The cereal combined a wheat-based porridge texture with malted-barley flavor and was sold under the Malt-O-Meal name. Production moved to the Ames Mill in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1927. The company later moved its corporate headquarters to Minneapolis and adopted the Malt-O-Meal Company name in 1953, while Northfield remained the principal production location. The brand's identity was built around affordable, convenient breakfast food, particularly hot cereal, although its owner progressively expanded into cold ready-to-eat cereals and adjacent grain products. The business experienced both unsuccessful product extensions and periods of financial pressure. Attempts to market Campbell's Corn Flakes in the 1940s and State Fair Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice in the 1960s did not overcome strong competition. In the late 1990s, the company began constructing a large cereal plant in Tremonton, Utah, but halted the project in 2001 after a sharp deterioration in sales and profits. The site was later retained when business performance improved, and production began there in 2004. Malt-O-Meal expanded beyond its original hot-cereal franchise through acquisitions and new product development. In 2002, the company acquired Quaker Oats' bagged-cereal business. It acquired the Farina hot-cereal brand from U.S. Mills in 2009 and later purchased the CoCo Wheats brand in 2012. It also introduced cold cereals, including products positioned around value and family consumption. By 2012, cold cereals represented more than three-quarters of the broader company's sales, even though Malt-O-Meal remained strongly associated with hot cereal. The brand gained wider visibility in 2007 through a promotional tie-in with The Simpsons Movie. A Malt-O-Meal cereal was temporarily packaged as Krusty-O's and sold through 7-Eleven stores in the United States. In 2012, the operating company changed its name to MOM Brands to signal a portfolio broader than the flagship Malt-O-Meal product. The company stated that it had become the third-largest U.S. cereal producer by that time, and its market share had grown substantially during the preceding decade. Post Holdings announced the acquisition of MOM Brands in January 2015 and completed it on May 4 of that year. The transaction combined Malt-O-Meal and related cereal brands with Post's cereal operations. The business was subsequently organized under Post Consumer Brands, with production of cold cereal continuing at Northfield. Malt-O-Meal remains an active brand in Post Consumer Brands' cereal portfolio, although the brand's current corporate structure, complete product assortment, and standalone financial performance are not separately disclosed in the cited material.

Malt-O-Meal traces its origins to 1919, when John Campbell, a miller in Owatonna, Minnesota, founded the Campbell Cereal Company. Campbell developed a hot breakfast cereal combining farina wheat with malted barley and named the product Malt-O-Meal. Its intended market position was competitive with Cream of Wheat, another established wheat-based hot cereal. In 1927, cereal production moved to the Ames Mill in Northfield, Minnesota. Northfield subsequently became the enduring manufacturing center for the business. Corporate headquarters moved to Minneapolis in 1936, and the company adopted the Malt-O-Meal Company name in 1953. The business later expanded its Northfield infrastructure, including the Campbell Mill in 1965 and a distribution center in 1987. The company tested several extensions beyond its core product. Campbell's Corn Flakes was marketed in the 1940s, while State Fair Puffed Wheat and State Fair Puffed Rice were introduced in the 1960s. These efforts were discontinued in the face of competition. The company nevertheless continued to broaden its cereal portfolio over time, particularly through ready-to-eat and bagged cereal. A major expansion project began in 1998, when Malt-O-Meal started construction of a 225,000-square-foot cereal plant in Tremonton, Utah. The project was halted in early 2001 after the company suffered a significant decline in sales and profits. The company also implemented layoffs and briefly offered the site for sale. Improved business results in 2002 changed that course: the site was withdrawn from sale, construction resumed, and the Tremonton facility began production in 2004. The business expanded through acquisition in 2002 by purchasing the bagged-cereal operations of the Quaker Oats Company. In 2007, it participated in a promotional campaign connected with The Simpsons Movie, temporarily selling Tootie Frooties in packaging styled as Krusty-O's through 7-Eleven stores. That same year, it began converting a former Unilever Best Foods site in Asheboro, North Carolina, into another cereal plant; operations began there in late 2008. In December 2009, Malt-O-Meal acquired the Farina hot-cereal brand from U.S. Mills. Farina had earlier been associated with Pillsbury and added another established hot-cereal name to the company's portfolio. In 2012, the company bought the CoCo Wheats brand from the owners of Little Crow Foods while the remainder of Little Crow's assets, apart from the factory building, went to Gilster-Mary Lee. On February 21, 2012, the Malt-O-Meal Company changed its corporate name to MOM Brands. The change reflected the company's growing range of cereal brands while preserving the initials associated with Malt-O-Meal. During this period, the company expanded its cold-cereal business and introduced Mom's Best Naturals products, helping it gain additional retail shelf space. By 2012, cold cereal accounted for more than 75 percent of the broader company's sales, even though Malt-O-Meal hot cereal remained its best-known product. Post Holdings announced in January 2015 that it would acquire MOM Brands for a combination of cash and Post stock. The transaction closed on May 4, 2015. Post moved its cereal headquarters operation from New Jersey to the MOM Brands offices in Minnesota, and the combined business was renamed Post Consumer Brands. MOM Brands chief executive Chris Neugent and his senior leadership team were placed in charge of the combined enterprise at the time of integration. Malt-O-Meal continued as a brand within Post Consumer Brands, with cold-cereal production continuing in Northfield.

• 2015

  Acquired by Post Holdings

  [1]MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org

  Post Holdings completed its acquisition of MOM Brands, after which the business became part of Post Consumer Brands.

• 2012

  Malt-O-Meal becomes MOM Brands

  [1]MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org

  The company adopted the MOM Brands name and acquired the CoCo Wheats brand.

• 2009

  Farina brand acquired

  [1]MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org

  Malt-O-Meal acquired the Farina hot-cereal brand from U.S. Mills.

• 2004

  Tremonton plant begins production

  [1]MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org

  The expanded Utah facility began manufacturing cereal.

• 2002

  Turnaround and Quaker bagged-cereal acquisition

  [1]MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org

  Improved performance led the company to resume the Tremonton project, and it acquired Quaker Oats' bagged-cereal business.

• 1953

  Company adopts the Malt-O-Meal name

  [1]MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org

  The corporate business was renamed the Malt-O-Meal Company while production remained in Northfield.

• 1927

  Production moves to Northfield

  [1]MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org

  Manufacturing of the cereal moved to the Ames Mill in Northfield, Minnesota.

• 1919

  Campbell Cereal Company founded

  [1]MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org

  John Campbell founded the Campbell Cereal Company in Minnesota and developed the Malt-O-Meal hot cereal formula.

An affordable, accessible American breakfast-cereal brand spanning traditional hot cereal and value-oriented ready-to-eat cereal.

• Hot cereal · 1919

  Malt-O-Meal hot cereal

  The brand's original signature product is a hot breakfast cereal made from farina wheat and malted barley. It was developed by John Campbell in 1919 as a wheat-based alternative intended to compete with Cream of Wheat. The product established the brand's core association with warm, quick-prepared cereal and remains the principal historical foundation of the Malt-O-Meal identity.

• Ready-to-eat cereal

  Malt-O-Meal cold cereals

  Malt-O-Meal expanded into ready-to-eat cold cereals, many of which occupied familiar mainstream cereal categories and competed with products from Kellogg's, Quaker Oats, and General Mills. Cold cereal became the dominant part of the wider company's sales by 2012. The range supported the brand's value-oriented retail presence beyond its original hot-cereal niche.

• Ready-to-eat cereal

  Tootie Frooties

  Tootie Frooties was one of the company's ready-to-eat cereals and was used in a 2007 promotional activation tied to The Simpsons Movie. For that campaign, the cereal was temporarily presented in packaging styled as the fictional Krusty-O's brand and distributed through 7-Eleven stores in the United States.

• Hot cereal · 1898

  Farina

  Farina is an established hot-cereal brand acquired from U.S. Mills in 2009. Its addition strengthened the company's presence in the hot-cereal segment and complemented Malt-O-Meal's original wheat-based breakfast offering.

• Hot cereal

  CoCo Wheats

  CoCo Wheats is a chocolate-flavored hot-cereal brand acquired by MOM Brands in 2012. The acquisition added another established hot-cereal name to the company's portfolio and broadened its coverage of flavored wheat-based breakfast products.

• 2007The Simpsons Movie / Krusty-O's promotion

  United States

  Malt-O-Meal participated in a promotional campaign for The Simpsons Movie by packaging its Tootie Frooties cereal as Krusty-O's, a fictional cereal associated with the animated series. The product was sold through 7-Eleven stores alongside other movie-related merchandise.

  Outcome. The campaign gave the cereal brand a temporary entertainment tie-in and retail presence built around a recognizable fictional product.

  Source

• 2015

  Acquisition by Post HoldingsM&A

  Background

  MOM Brands had developed a broad cereal portfolio and a substantial manufacturing and distribution network.

  Action taken

  Post Holdings agreed to purchase MOM Brands and completed the transaction on May 4, 2015.

  Aftermath

  The business was integrated into Post Consumer Brands. Post moved its cereal headquarters operation to Minnesota, and Malt-O-Meal continued as a brand in the combined portfolio.

  Transaction consideration. US$1.15 billion announced consideration, consisting of US$1.05 billion in cash and 2.5 million Post Holdings shares (Announced January 2015; completed May 4, 2015)

  Source

• 2012

  Corporate rebranding as MOM BrandsStrategy

  Background

  The business had expanded substantially beyond the original Malt-O-Meal product into cold cereals and acquired brands.

  Action taken

  The company changed its corporate name from Malt-O-Meal Company to MOM Brands while retaining a reference to the flagship brand.

  Aftermath

  The wider portfolio operated under MOM Brands until its acquisition by Post Holdings in 2015.

  Source

• 2012

  Acquisition of CoCo WheatsM&A

  Background

  MOM Brands continued to add established hot-cereal products to its portfolio.

  Action taken

  MOM Brands purchased the CoCo Wheats brand from the owners of Little Crow Foods.

  Aftermath

  CoCo Wheats joined the company's family of hot-cereal brands.

  Source

• 2009

  Acquisition of FarinaM&A

  Background

  The company continued to build its position in hot cereal through established brands.

  Action taken

  Malt-O-Meal acquired the Farina brand from U.S. Mills.

  Aftermath

  Farina became part of the company's expanded hot-cereal portfolio.

  Source

• 2002

  Acquisition of Quaker's bagged-cereal businessM&A

  Background

  The company sought to broaden its cereal portfolio beyond its original hot-cereal franchise.

  Action taken

  Malt-O-Meal acquired the bagged cereal business of the Quaker Oats Company.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition supported the company's expansion into broader cereal categories.

  Source

• 2001

  Mothballing and attempted sale of the Tremonton plantStrategy

  Background

  A significant decline in sales and profits placed pressure on the company while construction was underway on a large cereal facility in Tremonton, Utah.

  Action taken

  The company halted construction, implemented layoffs, and put the building and site up for sale.

  Aftermath

  Improved results in 2002 led the company to withdraw the site from sale, resume construction, and begin production at the plant in 2004.

  Source

1. 1MOM Brandsen.wikipedia.org