Kellogg’s CEO is likened to Marie Antoinette for ‘dystopian’ suggestion Americans eat cereal fore dinner

The CEO and chairman of Kellogg’s is being compared to Marie Antoinette after he suggested Americans start eating cereal for dinner to cope with rising food costs amid inflation.

Gary Pilnick made the controversial comments during an appearance on CNBC last week, sparking reactions online from many offended by the suggestion from the CEO, who makes more than $4 million a year.

“The cereal category has always been pretty affordable and tends to be a great destination when consumers are under pressure,” the cereal company’s CEO said while talking about Kellogg’s new campaign that suggests “giving chicken the night.” free”.

“If you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they could do otherwise, it will be much more affordable,” Pilnick said, saying it could help a “consumer under pressure” because the price of a bowl of cereal with milk and fruit ‘costs less than a dollar.’

Pilnick’s tone-deaf suggestions were received like a bowl of dry cereal on social media, with many accusing him of being out of touch with the financial struggles of ordinary people, as more than 11 percent of disposable income goes to food, the highest rate in more than 30 years. .

Pilnick’s six-bedroom home, valued at nearly $1 million, is pictured above

‘Hey, what stage of capitalism is this?’ one TikToker asked before sharing images of the CEO’s suggestion.

One X user said: “This is so fucking dystopian… America is falling SO fast.”

“I love that the CEO of Kellogg’s is seriously pitching dinner cereal to price-sensitive consumers,” said another reviewer on brand instead of generic.

‘Wasn’t it Marie Antoinette who said, when she was informed that the peasants in France were starving: ‘Well, then, let them eat cereal’? “We all know how that turned out,” added another.

Some pointed to Pilnick, who has been at Kellogg’s since 2000 but only became CEO in October.

Pilnick has been with the company since 2000, but did not become CEO until October 2023.

One post read: ‘What does Kellogg’s CEO have for dinner?’

Others noted that grain prices also increased by 28 percent thanks to inflation.

‘Have you seen the price of cereal lately Mr. Kellogg CEO???’ wrote a user

When asked if Kellogg’s messages had the potential to “land on the wrong path,” Pilnick said he didn’t feel it was a problem.

‘It’s landing very well at the moment. It turns out that more than 25 percent of our consumption occurs outside of breakfast. A lot of it is during dinner. And that opportunity continues to grow,’ he told CNBC.

‘We talk about making sure we have the right package at the right price in the right place. So having a different size package that will be priced differently will take some of the pressure off the consumer while shopping.

Pilnick’s tone-deaf suggestions fell like a bowl of dry cereal on social media, with many accusing him of being out of touch.

Kelloggs’ CEO suggested customers eat more cereal, at any time of the day or night, if they have difficulty affording other types of foods.

‘But in general, the cereal category is a place that a lot of people can go to because the price of a bowl of cereal with milk and fruit is less than a dollar. So you can imagine why a consumer under pressure might find that a good place to turn.’

‘Greed is forcing families to make decisions like eating cereal for dinner to save money. Kellogg’s CEO brags about it as he shows off the huge increase in corporate profits that helped create the problem in the first place. “Fuck this shit,” Evan Sutton wrote in X.

‘In the meantime, he eats at 5-star restaurants every night and, when not, his personal chef prepares dinner for him. Absolutely disgusting. Eat. The. Rico, added another.