Firm Founding and Historical Milestones
General Mills
General Mills is a company founded in 1866 by Cadwallader Washburn and is currently in the baking mix and prepared food production industry. When it was first established, General Mills was in the milling industry and it began as a flour mill in St. …show more content…
Powell as the CEO and Chairman. Its headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. General Mills currently has the following brands: Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Haagen-Dazs, Cascadian Farm, and more. These brands are located in over 100 countries throughout six different continents. It is an international company. General Mills consists of 20% cereal, 19% snacks, 16% yogurt, 16% convenient meals, 5% super-premium ice cream, 10% dough, 10% baking mixes and ingredients, 3% vegetables, and 1% is grouped under other (Figure 1). In the year 2016, General Mills’ global sales were $16.6 billion. On top of that, it has $.08 billion proportionate share of cereal company Haagen-Dazs’ joint venture net sales and a $0.2 billion proportionate share of Cereal Partners Worldwide’s sales. General Mills is now ranked as one of the top 20 companies in America from a Harris poll. The company is broken down into four sectors: United States Retail, International, Convenience Stores and Foodservice, and Joint Ventures. Of each, United States Retail has a net sales of $10 billion, International has a net sales of $4.6 billon, Convenience Stores and Foodservice has a net sales of $1.9 billion, and Joint Ventures has a net sales of $1 billion (Figure …show more content…
It is important to see the trends over the years to determine what works and what does not work. This pertains to the way the products are marketed and how each geographic location is meeting the needs and wants of the population. Furthermore, it is also important to realize what products were successes and which were below average. With all the advancements and changes over the years, it is important to maintain the mission General Mills set out to have – to spread the most loved foods while improving lives, communities, and the future – and this company has done a respectable job at portraying that message.
Problem Statement, Purpose of Analysis The analysis of the products is being conducted to determine what keeps General Mills in business and what initiative to take to continue growing. The analysis will provide information to help create a plan moving forward to increase progression while staying true to the brand. Additionally, it will offer insight to the reasoning behind previous successes and failures. The problem to be solved through this analysis is developing a plan to create new products while successfully promoting products and maintaining their brand image. Better marketing strategies may have to be implemented. New product lines are options for General Mills. It is also important to determine the focus of the company