Kraft Foods is selling its Cream of Wheat cereal brand to B&G Foods for $200 million.
The brand, with 2006 sales of about $60 million, has gotten no consumer marketing support in recent years, a spokesperson says. Kraft has engaged in limited trade promotion of Cream of Wheat, but no advertising.
The sale, which includes sister brand Cream of Rice, continues Kraft’s efforts to hone its portfolio in order to focus on its strongest brands.
Kraft sold its Milk-Bone business to DelMonte Corp. last March for $580 million. That followed the December 2005 sale of its $30 million Stella D’oro business to Brynwood Partners. In first-quarter 2006, Kraft Canada sold a combined $300 million business (vegetables, beans, soups and pasta) to CanGro Foods.
“Our decision to sell Cream of Wheat is part of a broader effort at Kraft to focus our portfolio,” said Rick Searer, president of Kraft North America Commercial, in a statement. “The divestiture allows us to focus our resources on businesses that offer potential long-term competitive advantages for us, creating value for Kraft shareholders, while providing B&G Foods with a great business.”
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