The Chicago-based maker of oatmeal, breakfast cereals and pasta is assuming the point position in PepsiCo's drive into the health-and-wellness food category, a growing sector even if its significance and meaning is debated by some experts.
"Just based upon the issue of being a purveyor of soda and salty snacks, they have to do something from an image point of view so they don't get beat up on," said Greggory Warren, an analyst with Chicago-based Morningstar Inc.