Kashi Savory Bars will hit the market at the end of the second quarter.

BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — The leadership team in charge of the Kashi business of The Kellogg Co. is working hard to build a pipeline of ideas to get back ahead in terms of a food-focused mission-based operation.

Paul Norman, president of Kellogg North America, said during a May 5 conference call with analysts that the company has seen sequential improvement in the Kashi business over the past 15 to 18 months. Specifically, the company has seen better performance in its cereal business.

Mr. Norman said new Kashi and Bear Naked cereals recently launched, and Kashi Savory Bars will hit the market at the end of the second quarter. The company also will debut Bear Naked granola bites during the second and third quarters, and has a new range of Kashi GoLean and Kashi branded protein powders that are shipping now.

Kellog recently launched its new Kashi Plant Power cereal.

He said the Bear Naked granola business is growing at a solid mid-single to high-single digit rate, while Kashi fruit snacks are growing at a strong double-digit rate.

“There’s been a lot of reinvestment in food to renovate,” Mr. Norman said. “And now a lot of innovation about to come, which gives us the confidence that we’re going to get this business back to growth over the coming months in 2016 and into 2017.”

Kashi and Bear Naked are two brands Mr. Norman sees as key to growing Kellogg’s wholesome snacks business.

Paul Norman, president of Kellogg North America

“They really have been absent over the last two or three years, and therefore we are renovating our core Kashi granola bars,” he said. “We’re bringing new-to-the-world savory bars on Kashi. We’re bringing new granola bites from Bear Naked as we go into the end of the second quarter. You will see more innovation coming on bars from Kashi and Bear Naked in that, what I would call, lifestyle performance area of wholesome snacks.