RETAILERS WELCOME READY-TO-EAT BREAKFASTS

JENNIFER QUAIL

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- Retailers are hoping to bring a breakfast boost to their in-store deli and meal solution centers with the incorporation of new, prepackaged, ready-to-eat breakfast kits.

Supermarkets such as D&W Food Center Inc. based in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion Inc.; and Safeway Inc. headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif., have begun to carry Kellogg's new Snack-a-longs breakfast snacking kit.

Priced for retail at $2.99, the kit comes fully assembled and contains a Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bar, a 6.75-ounce box of Minute Maid Calcium Enriched Fruit Punch, a snack-size bag of either Kellogg's Corn Pops or Froot Loops cereal, a Kellogg's character finger puppet and a napkin. The kits are packaged in reusable see-through plastic carrying cases and do not require refrigeration.

"Parents have said the packaging is a bonus," said Karen Kafer, director of communications for Kellogg USA. "The kids get a healthy breakfast and can then reuse the containers to carry their toy trucks and other little toys."

The introduction of Kellogg's to the deli and meal solutions departments is a first for the company.

"We're moving into new territory with a new concept, but with established brand names," added Kafer. "This is a great opportunity for our products to branch out within the stores themselves."

Kellogg Company is a producer of ready-to-eat cereal and a leading producer of other convenience foods, such as toaster pastries, frozen waffles, bagels and cereal bars.