Mars and Kellanova Forge Ahead in Digital Innovations Post-Acquisition

In the wake of Mars’ recent acquisition of Kellanova, both companies are navigating a digital landscape to assert their leadership in digital innovation.

Mars, a global powerhouse with a diverse portfolio spanning pet care, snacking and food, is committed to enhancing its digital footprint. The company’s strategy revolves around a nuanced understanding of consumer behavior. Mars’ portfolio includes brands like Snickers, M&M’s and Twix, along with 10 pet care brands and more than $50 billion in net sales in 2023.

“We leverage a deep understanding of consumer behavior and preferences to drive our digital strategies,” Praveen Moturo, global vice president enterprise digital platforms at Mars, explained in a company video.

Technology Investments

A cornerstone of Mars’ digital strategy is its technology investments, which are geared toward enhancing operational efficiency and enriching customer engagement.

“We aim to create immersive and engaging digital experiences that captivate and retain consumers,” Moturo said.

Personalization is a key piece in Mars’ digital marketing efforts. “Personalization is at the core of our digital marketing efforts, helping us deliver more relevant and targeted content to our consumers,” Moturo added, noting tailored content in digital campaigns that strengthens customer relationships.

To drive digital engagement, Mars uses targeted digital advertising. “Through targeted digital advertising, we attract consumers to our platforms by showcasing our most compelling offers and innovations,” Moturo said. This approach channels traffic to the company’s digital platforms by promoting relevant offers.

Creating engaging content and interactive experiences as part of Mars’ digital platforms keeps customers coming back, Moturo noted. Additionally, Mars leverages loyalty programs and incentives to enhance digital engagement. “Our loyalty programs and incentives encourage consumers to engage more deeply with our digital platforms and reward their continued patronage,” he explained.

A seamless user experience is another priority for Mars. “We focus on creating user-friendly digital platforms that offer a seamless and intuitive experience, making it easy for consumers to interact with our brands,” Moturo said. By prioritizing ease of use, Mars ensures that its digital platforms are accessible for repeat visits.

Kellanova, which boasts brands like Pringles, Cheez-It and Pop-Tarts, reported net sales exceeding $13 billion in 2023. Kellanova is also making strides in digital strategy, particularly through artificial intelligence (AI).

Tying Digital and Physical Brands

As Ramesh Kollepara, global chief technology officer at Kellanova, outlined in an article he wrote, “We aim to seamlessly integrate our digital and physical brand experiences,” highlighting the company’s focus on creating a unified consumer journey. Kellanova is adopting core strategies to leverage AI for business growth, he noted.

Kollepara outlined Kellanova’s YODA (Year of Development Always) education program, designed to prepare employees for an AI-driven future. The program emphasizes three core areas: technical skills, soft skills, and industry-specific knowledge. It ensures IT teams remain updated on the latest programming languages, data science techniques for enhanced predictions, and machine learning algorithms essential for developing advanced AI models.

Additionally, it focuses on improving communication of complex AI concepts across departments, refining creative processes, and boosting emotional intelligence to foster better collaboration on AI projects. Industry-specific training aims to build domain expertise and understanding of AI applications, including ethics, governance and bias.

Kollepara also highlighted a structured framework Kellanova has developed to guide its AI initiatives. The approach begins by addressing clear business problems, ensuring that AI solutions focus on solving specific challenges. It involves translating these business problems into data problems with precise briefs for AI teams.

Kellanova promotes a test-and-learn approach, Kollepara wrote. The company launched “Kuriosity Clinics,” where employees can explore generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot. These clinics have been well-received, with nearly 6,000 participants engaging and contributing ideas. This exploratory culture aims to inspire new products and strategies, such as optimizing supply chain operations, enhancing eCommerce search, improving product assortment, and reducing stockouts to drive sales.

“As a result of our AI pilots, we’ve unlocked growth by optimizing supply chain efficiencies, optimized eCommerce search, improved assortment, and reduced out of stocks to increase sales and leveraged data to get closer to our consumers,” Kollepara wrote.

Continuous innovation is “essential to stay relevant and engaging in the digital space,” Kollepara wrote to ensure the company remains at the forefront of digital trends and evolving consumer expectations.

Other key elements of Kellanova’s digital strategy include the use of interactive content, such as engaging social media campaigns and personalized marketing messages. Investments in digital platforms like mobile apps, websites, and social media channels facilitate dynamic consumer interactions. Kellanova also leverages data analytics to provide tailored experiences and promotions that resonate with individual consumer interests.