Business Development Manager

General Mills fine-tuning cereal strategy. MIAMI - General Mills Inc. has done "what it needed to do" to counteract market pressures and better align with consumer preferences in the cereal category, Jeff Harmening, chairman and chief executive officer, told investors at the J.P. Morgan U.S. Opportunities Forum. "We've done well on the share front and are doing pretty well now because we've taken some action," Harmening said in a Nov. 12 fireside chat at the event, held in Miami. "But let's back up a little bit to the category itself. For a few years, the household penetration of cereal was declining, which is never a positive indicator for the health of a category. We've actually seen that stabilize. But the category is still declining in terms of pounds, by a little bit. That's all buy rate. Then you ask yourself, 'OK, why would that be the case?' People are finding alternatives to what they have in cereal. And a lot of those are protein drinks, yogurt with protein, other things with protein." Responding to consumer demand for more protein in morning foods, General Mills at the end of 2024 rolled out Cheerios Protein, which delivers 8 grams of protein per serving. Two flavors were offered at launch, cinnamon and strawberry, and then a cookies and crème variety was added this past April. "In cereal, what we realized is that we needed to have some protein offerings to compete with some of the (companies) who are growing in the marketplace," Harmening said. "So, we introduced Cheerios Protein, which is now a $100 million business and bigger than any of the small competitors. And we introduced some (Nature Valley) granola varieties with protein. Now we're the No. 1 producer of granola in the cereal category." Meanwhile, General Mills leveraged its "remarkable experiences" platform - aimed at boosting pound share and household penetration in its core North America Retail business unit - to spur consumer interest in the Cinnamon Toast Crunch brand. A marketing campaign, along with the launch of a strawberry variety, drove a 500% increase in social media engagement and lifted volume and dollar share for the brand. General Mills partnered with the Ghost brand in October to introduce a line of high protein bars. | Photo: GHOST "We realized that our advertising was not as good as it needed to be on Cinnamon Toast Crunch," Harmening said of the differing marketing strategies. "And so, we improved that advertising, and, actually, that business has started growing - as has Lucky Charms. So, as we looked at that category (cereal), that's what we needed to do." General Mills is considering a "whole spectrum to innovating" to its core and new products, to licensing agreements and making acquisitions, according to Harmening "There are different pathways depending upon our right to win in a category and for the brand to take ownership of certain benefits," he said. "Sob we're willing to play all the keys to the piano. ... We launched a whole new variety of Cheerios with the health benefit that people are looking for in protein. In other cases, we'll make Cinnamon Toast Crunch taste better... And we recently just launched Ghost bars in the high-protein bars category, which we think is going to be really well received." General Mills features a cereal portfolio that includes Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Wheaties, Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Total, Reese's Puffs, Chex, Golden Grahams, Kix, Monster Cereals, Raisin Nut Bran, Cookie Crisp and Cascadian Farm. Still, some fresh competition could bring more energy to the cereal category, Harmening said, citing The Ferrero Group's $3.1 billion acquisition of WK Kellogg Co, which closed in late September. "Look, I think even having a new competitor in the cereal category would probably help the category," he said. "Ferrero just bought WK Kellogg. They're known for their innovation, and I think that will help to the extent that they invest in the growth of the category, which I suspect that they will." | Fresh ideas. Served daily. Subscribe to Food Business News' free newsletters to stay up to date about the latest food and beverage news. Subscribe |

Ghost, a B2B marketplace, has raised $40 million in Series C funding led by L Catterton, with participation from existing investors like USV and Cathay Innovation. The platform connects brands and retailers, offering inventory solutions and expansion opportunities. Since its Series B in August 2023, Ghost has scaled its platform with investments in infrastructure, AI, and international growth. The new funding will support further product and geographic expansion.