BATTLE CREEK, Michigan — For Battle Creek’s 52,000 residents, cereal is more than just breakfast, it’s a daily reminder of what put the central Michigan town on the map more than a century ago. Arguably no company has closer ties to the town, known as “Cereal City,” than WK Kellogg Co.
The company is a central figure in a yearly festival celebrating Battle Creek’s role as the birthplace of the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry. The town’s welcome center has an exhibit on the history of cereal that features many of WK Kellogg’s most popular products. Battle Creek is also home to the Kellogg Community College and the 2,000-seat WK Kellogg Auditorium.
Hundreds of people work in town for WK Kellogg and arch-rival Post, either in office roles or at the two nearby factories. And locals, many of whom grew up in Battle Creek, can identify which cereal is being produced at any given time depending on the smell in the air, especially after it rains…