MOM? Malt-O-Meal Is Going Maternal

Breakfast-food marketer Malt-o-Meal is renaming itself "MOM Brands" as part of a corporate rebranding effort aimed at bringing more exposure to its growing stable of breakfast offerings.

"Our new corporate identity is a better fit for the wide range of products that we now offer," Chris Neugent, MOM Brands chairman-CEO, said in a statement.

The Minnesota-based company, named an Ad Age Hottest Brand last year, once sold only Malt-O-Meal Hot Wheat cereal. Today its brands include Better Oats instant oatmeal and Mom's Best Naturals, a line of cereals marketed as free of artificial ingredients, flavorings, coloring, and preservatives. No brand names will change.

While "MOM" might sound like an appeal to grocery-buying moms, that is not what's behind the change.

"Malt-O-Meal decided that it didn't make sense to go by a name that was tied to just one of its brands, and 'MOM' was how the company referred to itself internally for years, so it felt like a very natural and organic transition for the company," said a spokeswoman in an email.