by Leigh Goessl

Created on: August 10, 2010

Kellogg's has ventured to reach beyond the consumer breakfast table and has decided to bring their own dining area to the public. On Tuesday, August 10, 2010 the company who has been selling breakfast items since 1906 is opening a Pop-Tarts store in New York city at one of the Big Apple's most busiest locations, Times Square.

The New York Times reports Kellogg's has rented a 3,200 square-foot storefront located in Times Square on the south side of 42nd Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway until at least January 2011. At this time a more long-term decision will be made as to whether or not the Pop-Tarts shop is a valued extension of the company brand.

The Pop-Tarts store is being promoted as "Pop-Tarts World".

While the company itself has been operating for more than 100 years, Pop-Tarts are newer to the company lineup of popular products. Created in the 1960s, these sweet pastries have been popular in the consumer market and with the store opening comes a few new products.

One of the products garnering a lot of Internet attention is Pop-Tarts sushi. This specialty is created by mincing up three different kinds of Pop-Tarts and then wrapping the pieces in a fruit roll-up.  According to internal testing at Kellogg's this concoction was "a winner".

In addition to the sweet flavored sushi, other new interesting items on the menu are 'Fluffer Butter' which is a marshmallow spread between two frosted Fudge Pop-Tarts and 'Sticky Cinna Munchies' which is described as cinnamon rolls topped with cream-cheese icing and chunks of cinnamon Pop-Tarts. 'Ants on a Log' is a piece of celery with peanut butter and topped with chunks of Wild Grape Pop-Tarts.

Overall the menu will have about 30 items and visitors can custom order their own pastries to taste including the type of frostings, toppings and drizzles, all full serve. In addition to the menu, there will be custom-built vending machines, dubbed "The Varietizer", to carry regular Pop-Tart flavors which will be self-serve, and customers can build their own 12 packs with an ability to select favorite flavors.

Even those individuals who have no interest in consuming the sweets might find their curiosity peaked and stop by to see the brief hourly light show which according to the New York Times will feature a red light and a white light followed by brief pulses of light. The intent is to mimic sprinkles and the final bright light "evokes wrapping the tarts in foil".

From a marketing standpoint, the idea of a storefront in such a high-traffic, very visible location such as Times Square can prove to be very lucrative. Even if sales in the store do not yield amazing results, the brand name itself can garner a lot of attention. In January we'll find out if this marketing venture proves to be successful when the company makes the decision of whether or not to extend their lease.

Additional Source: CBS News 

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