Kodiak Taps NIQ Data to Fuel Breakfast Market Disruption

CHICAGO, IL – January 08, 2026

In a strategic move that underscores a major shift in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) landscape, protein-centric breakfast brand Kodiak has announced a partnership with consumer intelligence leader NIQ. The agreement will arm the Utah-based challenger brand with advanced retail measurement and analytics, aiming to accelerate its already impressive growth in the fiercely competitive breakfast and snacking aisles.

The collaboration signals a broader trend where agile, disruptive brands are increasingly leveraging sophisticated data to compete with, and often outmaneuver, long-established industry giants. By tapping into NIQ's comprehensive data, Kodiak aims to gain granular insights into market trends, product performance, and untapped consumer needs.

The New Competitive Edge: Data Over Dominance

The battle for the American breakfast table and snack drawer is more intense than ever. The global breakfast food market, valued at over $465 billion in 2024, is projected to climb past $650 billion by 2030. Similarly, the snack food market is on a trajectory to exceed $838 billion by 2029. This growth is fueled by a consumer base that is fundamentally redefining its relationship with food, prioritizing health, convenience, and specific nutritional benefits.

It is within this dynamic environment that Kodiak has carved out its identity as a "disruptive" force. While legacy brands built empires on sugary cereals and conventional snacks, Kodiak entered the market with a focus on 100% whole grains and high-protein formulas. This approach directly targets the modern consumer's priorities: over half of snackers actively seek out protein, and a similar number are trying to incorporate more whole grains into their diets.

By offering products like protein-packed flapjack mixes and on-the-go oatmeal cups, Kodiak has successfully challenged the notion that convenient food must be nutritionally compromised. This new agreement with NIQ is the next logical step in its evolution, moving from a brand built on a strong product proposition to one powered by precision data strategy.

"Kodiak is a strong example of a disruptive brand using advanced analytics to compete and win in a crowded category," said Brandon Galindo, Managing Director at NIQ, in the official announcement. The partnership aims to give Kodiak the data-driven firepower previously reserved for the largest CPG corporations.

Unpacking the 'Full View': How Analytics Drive Strategy

The agreement provides Kodiak access to NIQ's suite of retail measurement services, a capability that goes far beyond simple sales tracking. At the heart of the service is what NIQ calls its "omnichannel analytics," which provides a holistic picture of performance across all retail environments—from the shelves of a national supermarket chain to a customer's online shopping cart and direct-to-consumer websites.

For a brand like Kodiak, this integrated view is critical. It allows the company to understand the complete consumer journey, identifying how shoppers interact with the brand across different touchpoints and how in-store promotions might drive online sales, or vice versa.

Furthermore, the "rich attribution" capabilities mentioned by Kodiak CEO Val Oswalt provide a deeper layer of intelligence. This technology helps dissect why a product is succeeding or failing. Instead of just knowing a particular SKU saw a sales spike, Kodiak can now attribute that performance to specific factors: Was it a price reduction? A new shelf placement? An influencer marketing campaign? This level of detail empowers the brand to make smarter, data-driven decisions about everything from marketing spend to supply chain logistics.

"We are excited to collaborate with NIQ to unlock deeper insights and new opportunities,” stated Oswalt. “NIQ's rich attribution and collaborative approach will empower our team to accelerate our growth through data-driven decisions.”

Charting the 'White Space' in Breakfast and Beyond

A key objective of the partnership is to identify "white space opportunities"—untapped segments of the market where consumer needs are currently unmet. Armed with NIQ's data, Kodiak can move beyond its core offerings and strategically innovate into new categories and product formats.

Industry analysis suggests several fertile grounds for exploration. The demand for functional foods continues to expand beyond just protein. There are growing opportunities for products that offer benefits like gut health support through probiotics, cognitive enhancement from nootropics, or sustained energy from clean-label ingredients. As consumers increasingly blur the lines between meals and snacks, the demand for even more convenient, ready-to-eat formats—like protein-infused baked goods or drinkable breakfasts—is surging.

Kodiak could also leverage data to explore niche dietary trends. While its whole-grain focus is a strength, there is significant white space in developing high-protein options for consumers following plant-based, keto, or gluten-free lifestyles. By analyzing consumer purchasing data, NIQ can help Kodiak identify which of these segments holds the most commercial promise and tailor product development to meet their specific preferences for taste, texture, and ingredients.

This data-integrated approach to innovation minimizes risk and maximizes the potential for success, allowing the brand to launch new products with a high degree of confidence that a market already exists for them.

A Shifting Landscape for Consumer Intelligence

The NIQ-Kodiak deal also highlights the competitive dynamics within the consumer intelligence industry itself. NIQ, a legacy leader in market research, is competing fiercely with rivals like Circana (the entity formed by the merger of IRI and NPD Group) and specialized firms like SPINS, which focuses on the natural and organic sector.

By partnering with a high-growth, disruptive brand like Kodiak, NIQ not only secures a valuable client but also creates a powerful case study. It demonstrates its ability to provide actionable, growth-driving insights for the very brands that are reshaping the future of the CPG industry. For NIQ, success stories like this are crucial for proving its value proposition in an era where data is democratized and analytics tools are more accessible than ever.

Ultimately, this partnership exemplifies the new paradigm of CPG success. It's no longer just about scale and marketing budgets. It's about being smarter, faster, and more attuned to the consumer. As Kodiak leverages NIQ's "Full View™," the insights gained will not only shape its own product pipeline but will also influence the broader evolution of the breakfast and snacking categories, pushing the entire industry toward more innovative and consumer-centric offerings. The data gathered today will directly inform the food choices that appear on grocery store shelves tomorrow.