Bigger, differentiated new products drive growth for General Mills

Today in a presentation to analysts, General Mills executives announced the lineup of new product innovation for the second half of the company’s fiscal 2013 year. Beginning in January, the company will launch dozens of new products across its portfolio to meet consumer needs and drive growth for the company.

“We are committed to driving innovation across all of the categories in which we compete, and are excited about the strong number of differentiated new products we’ll be launching in the back half of our fiscal 2013,” said Ian Friendly, executive vice president and chief operating officer of U.S. Retail. “Across all of U.S. Retail, we will launch 100 new products in our fiscal 2013.

In recent years the company has focused on bigger, more unique new product launches with the goal of better addressing unmet consumer needs, bringing more new consumers to its brands, and driving more profitability for the company.

Over the next several months General Mills will launch products that deliver growth and meet consumer needs in a number of ways, including:

• Bringing brands to new categories, as with the launch of Green Giant Veggie Chips
• Expanding brands with new product lines such as Totino’s Pizzeria Rolls or GoGurt Twisted
• Delivering new consumer benefits to a brand, as with Fiber One Protein
• Bringing more flavor variety to a successful brand with Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch, Peanut Butter Toast Crunch or Yoplait Greek 100 Tropical Fruit and Lemon flavors.

General Mills products launching in its U.S. Retail and Bakeries and Foodservice channels in January through May of 2013 include:

U.S. Retail:

• Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch
• Fiber One 80 Calories Chocolate
• Peanut Butter Toast Crunch
• Fiber One Protein bars in Caramel Nut and Coconut Almond flavors
• Green Giant Veggie Chips: Sweet Potato Multigrain Chips with sea salt and Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips
• Totino’s Pizzeria Rolls in Cheesy Garlic, Chicken Parmesan and Meatball Marinara flavors
• Yoplait Greek 100 in Tropical Fruit and Lemon flavors
• GoGurt Twisted in Strawberry Mango and Screamin’ Green Apple flavors
• Yoplait Pro-Force Greek yogurt for kids in Strawberry Blast and Mixed Berry Burst flavors
• Nature Valley Protein in Salted Caramel Nut
• Cascadian Farm Crunchy Granola bars in Oats & Honey, Peanut Butter, and Oats & Cocoa flavors
• LÄRABAR Cappuccino bars
• Cascadian Farm Berry Cobbler Granola
• Chicken Helper Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Sweet & Sour Chicken
• Betty Crocker Mac and Cheese in Extra Cheesy and Twists varieties
• Suddenly Salad Southwest Style Ranch

Bakeries and Foodservice:

• Chex Mix Muddy Buddies Snickerdoodle variety in the Convenience Store channel
• Yoplait ParfaitPro Greek for foodservice operators
• Pillsbury Sunrise Flatbread and Pillsbury Mini Muffins for the K-12 Foodservice channel

Recent and upcoming product launches in General Mills’ International division include:

• Sweet and Nutty bars in the UK in Peanut and Almond flavors
• New Yoplait and Liberté yogurts in Canada
• New varieties of Calin yogurt in France
• Häagen-Dazs
• Häagen-Dazs Salted Caramel ice cream in France
• Häagen-Dazs Secret Sensations launching in additional markets such as Thailand and Singapore

Photos and additional information on General Mills’ lineup of new product information is available on General Mills’ corporate blog, A Taste of General Mills.