When it comes to creating lifestyle brands, few have done it better than Kellogg with its Special K line and General Mills with its Fiber One brand. By focusing Special K on women’s lifestyle issues as well as weight control, diet, exercise and other health concerns, the brand has attracted more than 2 million consumers to become My Special K Members.

Perhaps more importantly, by positioning the brand as integral to a woman’s healthy lifestyle, Kellogg has been able to extend the Special K line beyond the cereal aisle into all areas of the supermarket — including crackers, snacks, sweet goods, hot cereal and frozen foods. Kellogg has channeled it also into drug stores as snack bars, breakfast shakes and even protein water mixes.

Likewise, General Mills has taken Fiber One’s halo of health and moved it into new categories, including the bread aisle, with ease. Instead of focusing on gluten-free, fat-free and other specific health claims, bakers and snack producers would be better off looking at a much bigger picture and focus on what’s really important to most every consumer.