Dive Brief:
- General Mills has released aslew of new productsaimed to adapt to certain consumer trends, including "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," according to a press release.
- One new product, Yoplait Plenti, capitalizes on the currentGreek yogurt crazethat has upturned the yogurt industry.
- General Mills is also going after a "fun" angle to appeal to consumers via popular media, including Limited EditionStar WarsandMinionscereals andFrozencharacter-themed Yoplait Go-Gurt and kid yogurts.
Dive Insight:
These new products join a host of other recent U.S. product announcements from General Mills, includingremoving artificialcolors and flavors from its line of cereals, converting Lucky Charms togluten-free, andreducing sugarinYoplait Originalby 25%. This is just one example of a food company attempting to meet consumers' changingperceptionsof what constitutes "healthy" foods today, which is less about weight loss and counting calories and more about reducing sugar, removing artificial ingredients, and being more nutritious.
At the end of June, Kellogg had a similarunveilingof more than 40 new products, many of which touched on these same trends.What Kellogg and other processed foods companies have discovered in this process is that while taking steps toward healthier foods is crucial to future success, some will have to do larger overhauls and invest more into product development if they want to truly capture the health-conscious consumer. Origins, for example, has simple ingredients, but the product still containsartificial ingredients.
