New offerings address consumer interests in key trends including wellness and convenience
General Mills unveiled its line-up of new products set to debut this summer. Leading this collection is a host of new products to align with growing consumer interest in wellness, including new Yoplait Plenti, Nature Valley Toasted Oats Muesli, and Annie's organic soups.
"General Mills has been growing for more than a century, constantly innovating and investing to meet changing consumer needs. As we enter fiscal 2016, we are keenly aware of our consumers changing food preferences. This presents a tremendous opportunity to create growth for General Mills," said Ken Powell, General Mills Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We remain deeply committed to following our consumers and adapting our portfolio to their tastes and interests."
Addressing Wellness
Around the world consumers are focused on wellness and have new interests in products made with simple ingredients, foods free from gluten, natural and organic foods, foods that deliver more fiber, more protein and more whole grain, and foods free from artificial ingredients. General Mills is responding to these evolving consumer preferences with:
The company has also announced significant moves to update the recipes for existing products in the U.S. including reducing sugar in Yoplait Original by 25 percent. General Mills has also made significant announcements on cereal. In February, General Mills said it would make the most popular flavors of Cheerios gluten-free, thanks to the company's newly developed technology that separates its oats, which are naturally gluten-free, from other gluten-containing grains that find their way into the oat supply.
And just last month, General Mills announced it would remove artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources in Big G cereals, replacing these ingredients with fruit and vegetable juices and spice extracts. Seventy-five percent of the Big G portfolio will meet this claim by January with the remainder by the end of calendar year 2017.
Meal time short-cuts
While consumers are increasingly interested in wellness, they are also seeking contemporary solutions to help save time in the kitchen.
"Many millennials enjoy cooking and are interested bringing ethnic, international flavors to meal time. They cook from scratch less often than previous generations and look to convenient short cuts that not only satisfy their desire to cook, but also allow them to put dinner on the table in 20 to 30 minutes," said Jeanine Bassett, vice president of Global Consumer Insights at General Mills.
General Mills, which has a long history of convenient meal helpers, is introducing new, convenient products that allow consumers to customize meal time. Most notable, this includes: