Running Head: GENERAL MILLS 1

Soggy Sales: Insight into General Mills’ Decline Among Millennials

Jack Parrish, Molly Swanson, Laurabeth Givens and Grace Fabyan

Auburn University

GENERAL MILLS 2

Table of Contents Executive Summary………………………………...…………………………………...….……3-4 Literature Review..……………………………………………………………………...….….... 5-7 Media Analysis…..………………………………….............................................................8-14 Methodology....…..…………………………………................................................15-16 Results/Recommendations…………………….……................................................17-19 Appendices…………………………………………….............................................20-37 Bibliography…………………………………………...............................................38-40

GENERAL MILLS 3

Executive Summary

General Mills, Inc. is a U.S.-based food manufacturer that features dozens of brands,

product lines and employs thousands of people. While the company is behind many beloved food

brands, it might be best known for its cereals. Creator of Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast

Crunch, Trix and more, General Mills produces many of America’s best-loved cereal products.

However, cereal sales have declined in recent years. People, especially millennials and college

students, simply are not consuming General Mills’ cereal like they used to (Tuttle, 2016).

To learn why sales are down among college students, we analyzed the company’s cereal-

based social media accounts over the course of several weeks, conducting a SWOT analysis of

their digital marketing efforts. We examined previous research in a comprehensive literature

review; later we conducted our own research: distributing and analyzing a comprehensive survey

on social media for college students between the ages of 18-24.

Through our literature review and survey of 82 college students, we found that most

students do not eat cereal for breakfast. In fact, many students hardly eat breakfast at all, with 43

percent of our sample eating breakfast two days per week or even less often. Only 18 percent of

students reported eating breakfast 6-7 days per week.

And for those respondents that do report eating breakfast, they reportedly prioritize low-

calorie and low-sugar options. And they do not seem to care much about prep time, as it was the

second-to-last reported priority for the sample. These findings matched our literature review, and

it makes sense: if you care about your food’s nutritious content, and you do not care about the

prep time, then you probably will not eat sugary cereal for breakfast.

For those reasons, we recommend that General Mills respond by promoting the health

benefits of breakfast. They should increase their post frequency on social media, occasionally

GENERAL MILLS 4

sharing links to articles promoting the benefits of a healthy breakfast. Elsewhere, they should

consider running a series of commercials or digital ads about breakfast’s importance. Or maybe

they could fund more scientific research into breakfast benefits. Outside of the digital realm, they

should continue to produce healthier cereals with better ingredients, fewer calories and less

sugar.

GENERAL MILLS 5

Literature Review

Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River just a year after the Civil War,

Cadwallader Washburn’s mills quickly became some of the largest in the country. More than 150

years later, the company now known as General Mills continues to grow. While best known for

their cereal products, General Mills owns many familiar brands including Yoplait, Betty

Crocker, Pillsbury and more.

Even as cereal continues to decline in today’s breakfast market (Tuttle, 2016), General

Mills’ stock has consistently increased in value, rising from $15.18 per share in 2000 to an

impressive $55.95 today (“Historical Stock,” 2015). But the situation could be better. In 2016,

stock prices peaked at $72.45 per share and have generally declined since (“Historical Stock,”

2015). Additionally, the company has noted declining net sales for the past three straight years

(“Net Sales,” 2017).

The Problem

As food markets increasingly migrate toward clean, healthy eating, with an emphasis on

organic foods and lower sugar intakes, General Mills has struggled to keep pace. Its traditional

offerings of processed, sugary foods have failed to connect with customers, particularly with

millennials, who also often find themselves skipping breakfast. Through research, we have

discovered several resources which further validate and emphasize this downward trend.

Secondary Research

According to research conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, organic

foods are becoming more popular, accounting for 4 percent of all US food sales in 2012, and are

continuing to grow (Greene, 2017). A small caveat, though, the USDA does not maintain organic

GENERAL MILLS 6

sales figures, so they rely on industry sources like the Nutrition Business Journal for their data

(Greene, 2017).

A survey conducted by Elizabeth Watts, a student studying marketing at the University of

Arizona, examined whether college students still enjoy eating the same cereals they loved as

children. Out of her sample of 256 respondents, 96 percent of which were millennials, she found

that roughly 35 percent had changed their favorite cereals since childhood. Instead, they now

leaned toward healthier or less sugary cereals in lieu of the highly processed and sugary cereals

of their youth (Watts, 2015).

The survey also noted that only half of respondents eat breakfast daily, and roughly 46

percent of the 590 responses to a check-all-that-apply question said that they would eat more

cereal if it contained less sugar. Admittedly, Watt’s sample size skewed slightly toward women

(68 percent), but the findings otherwise look solid (Watts, 2015).

Another study examined whether US children were eating breakfast. The study reviewed

the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which showed that “20

percent of 9-13-year-olds and 32 percent of 14-18-year-olds did not eat breakfast” (Deshmukh-

Taskar, Nicklas, Oneil, Keast, Radcliffe, & Cho, 2010). The study surveyed nearly 10,000

children and teenagers, a robust sample size. Other studies reviewed reported that children and

adolescents were increasingly skipping breakfast (Nicklas, Morales, Linares, Yang, Baranowski,

Moor, & Berenson, 2004). These kids, just over a decade later, are college students and young

adults today. And it appears they still skip breakfast, cutting into one of General Mills’ primary

markets.

Elsewhere, students at Campbell University conducted another survey of 197

undergraduate college students, asking about their breakfast habits. They discovered that only 25

GENERAL MILLS 7

percent of the students interviewed ate breakfast every day, and 27 percent ate breakfast 0-2 days

per week. The students were all between the ages of 18-40 and attended a rural, private

institution (Wells, 2016).

Analysis and Interpretation

These studies show that for many millennials, breakfast is certainly not the most

important meal of the day. Instead, a surprising percentage of them are skipping the meal

entirely. Others are avoiding the traditional sugary, processed foods for health reasons. That said,

research on the subject was surprisingly hard to find. While the research discussed here does

indicate that many are skipping breakfast, we would like to see more research targeting

millennials to see if modifying the ingredients in cereals might increase their cereal consumption.

GENERAL MILLS 8

Media Analysis

General Mills’ purpose is to “serve the world by making food people love” (General

Mills, 2018). By specializing in cereals, snacks, yogurt, convenience meals and more, it earned

more than $15.6 billion in net sales for 2017. Cereal comprises nearly 17 percent of its products.

General Mills’ two joint ventures, Cereal Partners Worldwide and Häagen-Dazs, are included in

its global sales in addition to its retail offerings.

In recent years it has expanded its brand to include philanthropic ventures. General Mills

works to strengthen local communities, increase food security and advance sustainable

agriculture. To reach its publics digitally, General Mills use its website, Facebook, Twitter,

YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, SoundCloud and blogs.

Each of these accounts help the company maintain a constant online presence. As a large

corporation, many of its brands, divisions and products have their own accounts, making it

difficult to measure the company’s overall social media impact. We focused on the General Mills

cereal accounts.

Methodology

General Mills communicates through a diverse set of social media accounts in addition to

its traditional forms of messaging. Ranging from Facebook to YouTube, these digital platforms

offer the company a way to connect directly with its customers. We examined social media

content created throughout the month of March 2018, although we looked back further to

confirm trends. For traditional media, we looked for notable ads and commercials created since

2010.

On its cereal-focused Facebook page, the company has amassed more than 675,000 likes

(General Mills Cereal). Posting a few times each week, General Mills uses the page to highlight

GENERAL MILLS 9

its products and relevant holidays. Each post includes a bright, attractive photo, and they are

generally short posts. The posts receive an average of 359 likes, although a few surpass 1,000

and others barely get 50. The disparity is likely caused by Facebook’s algorithms.

On Twitter, the company actually has two verified cereal accounts @GenMillsCereal and

@HelloCereal. The second appears to be more popular with 18.4k followers, and no-one has

posted to the @GenMillsCereal account in months. On @HelloCereal, the company posts every

few days, similar to their Facebook account (Account, G.M.).

The posts are very upbeat, filled with emojis and bright photos. It’s similar content to

their Facebook page, but the engagement is far lower. Many of the company’s specific brands

also have their own social media accounts, some with more followers than the main brand, and

the @HelloCereal account will occasionally retweet these.

General Mills has more than 7,100 followers on its @GeneralMillsCereal Instagram

account, and it posts every few days. The photos in each post are the same as the photos posted

to Twitter, and many of the captions match as well.

GENERAL MILLS 10

Elsewhere, the company’s website is full of relevant information, including news

releases, blogs, webcasts and even stock prices.

The blog posts are posted every few days, primarily featuring the stories of people and

organizations that work with General Mills. The company reposts the content on its main

@GeneralMills accounts.

The company routinely creates commercials nationwide that are well-produced and

popular. Its 2014 Cheerios commercial, which features a biracial family, gained national

attention for its positive, diverse message (Zucker).

S.W.O.T. Analysis

The company offers a variety of products ranging from cereals to desserts. Some of the

top-selling General Mills brands are Pillsbury, Haagen-Dazs, Cheerios, and Betty Crocker. The

company distributes its products to more than 100 countries worldwide, creating a recognizable

and international brand.

General Mills are one of the most recognizable food processing brands on the market,

largely because of their top-selling brands and consistent advertising. For example: when

someone says “Pillsbury,” your first thought may be “doughboy” because of your familiarity

with General Mills’ branding. Fresh, appealing mascots appeal to kids, guaranteeing General

GENERAL MILLS 11

Mills a spot at the American breakfast table. People associate their brands with fond memories,

continuing to purchase even into adulthood. This helps the brand stay relevant.

Their social media accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers, allowing General

Mills to reach much of their audience directly. The company’s resources allow it to invest in

social media marketing, and General Mills are open to trying new channels (like SoundCloud), a

must in today’s marketing world.

However, the company struggles to interact with its audience on social media, especially

on Facebook. Content is only posted a few times per week, and the posts look the same across

platforms. They do not engage well with their audience, especially considering their number of

followers.

Going forward, we think General Mills has an opportunity to gain more followers by

improving their content. A stronger cross-platform social media presence should substantially

improve general communication with their publics. By posting excellent content more often,

General Mills could improve both its followers and its messaging.

Competitors, such as Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods, etc. threaten General Mills by

splitting its target audience and customers by offering similar products. And as other companies

(like Wendy’s and Moon-Pie) become more social-media savvy, General Mills might be left

behind. The rising popularity of health-food markets might also negatively affect General Mills,

as sugary, processed foods become less popular.

Media Results and Recommendations

After assessing General Mills' primary communication methods, we saw that the

company executes its mission statement through media in two ways: the channels it

communicates through and the messages that it shares on those channels. The organization meets

GENERAL MILLS 12

its five goals through the way it communicates through its various media channels. While the

messaging is on-brand, we recommend posting more often. Three times a week on every

platform is simply not enough in 2018. At least one post a day on each platform is ideal. Creating

a content calendar and using a social media scheduler such as Hootsuite would help with

organization and make this task more approachable.

General Mills uses social media to stay in constant communication with its target

audience. Today, social media attracts more traffic than traditional media and allows for greater

customer interaction and creativity on the organization’s part. With this in mind, we found that

General Mills is using the best channels to spread its message and stay connected with its

audience, but it should strengthen the actual content.

The posts on the General Mills social media accounts frequently celebrate General Mills'

employees and highlight the company's philanthropic efforts, which perfectly aligns with its

goals to put people first and to treat the world with care. This adds a human element to large-

scale communication, which can be difficult to do for such an enormous company. The cereal-

based accounts feature bright, attractive photos and high-energy captions, which helps them

stand out.

GENERAL MILLS 13

We recommend that General Mills work to improve their interactions on Instagram,

Facebook and Twitter. For example, having a contest for customers to choose from existing

General Mills cereals and create a cereal mashup of their choice. The winning idea would be

manufactured and sold for a limited time. Instagram followers could vote on which cereal

mashup they would like to see produced through the story tool on Instagram. A quick poll that is

easy to create and quick to respond to as a consumer can be added to the company’s Instagram

story. This would push them toward their goal to build a culture of creating and could increase

traffic across all of their social media platforms.

Per our findings, the company should continue to invest in traditional forms of

communication. Nowadays, this may be easily overlooked, but it can still reach General Mills'

audience. Generally, people respond emotionally more to physical, tactile objects. We believe

would it would greatly impact people to receive something in the mail from General Mills that

could not be disregarded as junk mail but would serve as a reminder of what they loved about

General Mills products in the past. This would greatly increase customer surprise and delight and

could result in that customer going out and purchasing a General Mills cereal that they have not

had in a long time. Cereal is something that is exciting and nostalgic for many people, and a

tactic such as this would play on that.

Overall, General Mills does a fantastic job of staying true to its core values and

communicating those values through its media channels. It excellently designs its messaging to

be people-focused and creative. Our recommendations would help an already incredible

organization to reach people on a more personal level.

GENERAL MILLS 14

Research Methodology

Our research was conducted using Qualtrics, an online tool where we created a survey

that was then shared via Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. The survey was specifically targeted

for college students between the ages of 18 to 24. Creating the survey through Qualtrics enabled

the participants to remain anonymous throughout the surveying process.

The survey contained several different types of research questions including screener,

scale, open-ended and demographic. Our survey was divided into four sections to assess the

participant’s attitude towards General Mills and their cereal brands.

The survey began with an introduction to inform participants about our intentions of the

data collected with this survey, as well as who we are. After the student agreed to take the

survey, they were directed to the first part of the survey containing two screener questions which

asked if the participant is currently a student at a four-year university and if they are between the

ages of 18 and 24. If the participant answered yes to both of these questions, they were then

directed to the second part of the survey.

In the second portion, we assessed the student’s opinion towards General Mills cereals as

well as their cereal-eating habits. The questions asked here were all questions of scale. The first

question asked the student to rank how likely they are to purchase one of General Mills’ cereals.

The ranking scale ranged from “extremely unlikely to extremely likely”. The student was also

provided with a link to a full list of General Mills cereal for reference. The next few questions

asked the participant about their cereal-eating habits. One of these questions assessed how often

the student eats cereal for breakfast. The last few questions of this section were to assess how

often the student uses social media, the internet and television so we could gauge the most

effective marketing platform.

GENERAL MILLS 15

After completing this portion of the survey, the third section further surveyed the

participant’s cereal-eating habits by using open-ended questions. The first two asked what

cereals the student ate as a child and if their cereal preferences have changed since their

childhood. The last question asked if they consider cereal to be a valid snack and why.

The final section of the survey obtained demographic information from the participant.

We assessed the student’s gender, race, living situation regarding on or off-campus housing and

how much they typically spend on groceries.

Through the use of these different questions, we gathered valuable data that aid us in

constructing the best plan of action to better engage General Mills with the college student

community.

GENERAL MILLS 16

Results

With 82 responses to our survey, we had ample information to understand the attitudes

and purchasing behavior that college students have toward General Mills cereal. When asked

what influenced buying habits, 40.3% said that calorie count was the biggest purchase driver

when choosing a cereal. Which lined up with the open-ended question that asked respondents if

their childhood cereal preferences have changed. Many indicated that as they got older they

preferred healthy cereal over sugary ones. 51% said they never eat cereal for breakfast, but 47%

of respondents said they eat cereal at times other than breakfast. Watching TV was also ranked at

the highest daily use of media among 18-24-year-olds, coming in second was social media. This

helped us see which platforms would be most effective as marketing and advertising channels.

Of all of these respondents, 94% of them live off campus, which let us know that they probably

have easier access to the grocery store.

GENERAL MILLS 17

Recommendations After examining the results, we have conclude that General Mills should increase its

efforts in participating in the health-food trends their customers are chasing. Beyond this, we

suggest that General Mills promote the current health benefits of breakfast. The vast majority of

people surveyed responded by listing health and caloric elements as a top priority when choosing

and purchasing a breakfast cereal. By focusing on ensuring and promoting this criterion that

General Mills customers desire, the company can reverse the declination of sales.

Because General Mills is a company that appeals to all ages starting in childhood, it is a

brand that is already well known and trusted. The majority of adults more than likely have a

personal connection to the brand or a specific breakfast cereal because of how much they

enjoyed their products during childhood. Bringing them back to the brand by appealing to their

evolved preferences in breakfast food is achievable by sharing messages with them through

media platforms that they already spend time on. Offering a low-sugar version of an old classic,

such as Lucky Charms, and advertising that on social media would accomplish this. Also,

posting frequently about the healthier cereals already offered, such as Fiber One, would help.

Another way to promote the health benefits of eating breakfast would be to increase post

frequency on social media and to periodically share links to articles promoting the benefits of

starting your day with a healthy breakfast. The majority of our respondents answered they spend

up to three hours a day on social media, so creating attention-grabbing content on these platforms

would be a great way to attract this audience to the intended message. General Mills has an

advantage here because of its already strong presence on Facebook, multiple Twitter accounts, as

well as a strong Instagram followership.

GENERAL MILLS 18

Another suggestion General Mills may consider would be to take advantage of YouTube

video content as well. Perhaps creating a mini-series on how their cereals are made with a focus

on prioritizing the customers’ feeling as if they are behind-the-scenes and are aware of what is

being put in their favorite cereals, and then put into their bodies. This would also provide more

social media content pertaining to health consciousness.

Running a series of commercials or digital advertisements of the importance of

eating breakfast would benefit the company for a multitude of reasons. Creating content for

television as well as the internet will spread the message most efficiently, reaching as large of an

audience as possible.

GENERAL MILLS 19

Appendix

Question 2: Are you currently enrolled as a student at a four-year university?

GENERAL MILLS 20

Question 3: Are you between the ages of 18-24?

GENERAL MILLS 21

Question 4: On a scale of 1-7, how likely are you to purchase one of General Mills’ cereal products in the next month?

GENERAL MILLS 22

Question 5: Drag and drop the following cereal brands into the categories below based on how you feel about them. (Lower number is more favorable).

GENERAL MILLS 23

Question 6: Which factor most heavily influences your breakfast choice? Rank the following, 1 being the greatest influence and 6 being the least.

GENERAL MILLS 24

Question 7: How often do you eat breakfast?

GENERAL MILLS 25

Question 8: How often do you eat cereal for breakfast?

GENERAL MILLS 26

Question 9: How often do you eat cereal for meals other than breakfast?

GENERAL MILLS 27

Question 10: How often did you eat cereal as a child? (under age 12)

GENERAL MILLS 28

Question 11: If you have a roommate, or roommates, how often do you believe they eat breakfast?

GENERAL MILLS 29

Question 12: How many hours a day do you spend on each of these media platforms?

GENERAL MILLS 30

Question 13: As a child, what were your favorite cereals?

Below you will find a word cloud created in Qualtrics. This shows the most common responses.

GENERAL MILLS 31

Question 14: Have your cereal preferences changed since childhood?

21 people said yes

40 said no

4 said slightly or somewhat

GENERAL MILLS 32

Question 15: Do you consider cereal to be a valid snack? Why or why not?

Here are some example responses:

GENERAL MILLS 33

Question 16: How much money do you spend on food and groceries each month?

GENERAL MILLS 34

Question 17: Describe your living location as pertaining to this question.

GENERAL MILLS 35

Question 18: Please select the gender you identify with.

GENERAL MILLS 36

Question 19: Describe your ethnicity.

GENERAL MILLS 37

Bibliography

Account, G. M. (2018, March 29). General Mills Cereal (@HelloCereal). Retrieved March 31,

2018, from https://twitter.com/HelloCereal

Bhasin, H. (2018, February 17). SWOT analysis of General Mills - General Mills SWOT

analysis. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-

general-mills/

Deshmukh-Taskar, P. R., Nicklas, T. A., Oneil, C. E., Keast, D. R., Radcliffe, J. D., & Cho, S.

(2010). The Relationship of Breakfast Skipping and Type of Breakfast Consumption with

Nutrient Intake and Weight Status in Children and Adolescents: The National Health and

Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2006. Journal of the American Dietetic

Association,110(6), 869-878. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2010.03.023

General Mills Cereal. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

https://www.facebook.com/pg/GeneralMillsCereal/

General Mills Cereal (@generalmillscereal) • Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.).

Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.instagram.com/generalmillscereal/

Greene, C. (2017, April 4). Organic Market Overview. Retrieved February 05, 2018, from

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/natural-resources-environment/organic-

agriculture/organic-market-overview.aspx

Historical Stock Price. (2015). Retrieved February 05, 2018, from

http://investors.generalmills.com/historical-stock-price

How General Mills Uses Social Media for Employer Branding. (2017, August 17). Retrieved

March 31, 2018, from https://linkhumans.com/create-social-recruitment-employer-

branding-strategy-like-general-mills/

GENERAL MILLS 38

Marketing and Advertising. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

https://www.generalmills.com/en/Responsibility/marketing-advertising

Net sales of General Mills worldwide, 2017 | Statistic. (2017, June). Retrieved February 05,

2018, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/261171/net-sales-of-general-mills-

worldwide/

Nicklas, T. A., Morales, M., Linares, A., Yang, S., Baranowski, T., Moor, C. D., & Berenson, G.

(2004). Children’s meal patterns have changed over a 21-year period: the Bogalusa heart

study. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104(5), 753-761.

doi:10.1016/j.jada.2004.02.030

Purpose. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

http://www.generalmills.com/en/Company/purpose

Tuttle, B. (2016, March 7). National Cereal Day: Why Cereal Sales Are Declining | Money.

Retrieved February 05, 2018, from http://time.com/money/4249752/national-cereal-day-

sales-trends-breakfast/

Watts, A. E. (2015, May). Revitalization of the Cereal Category: Applying Brand Revival

Techniques to Increase Sales of General Mills' Cereal. Retrieved February, 2018, from

http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/bitstream/10150/578929/1/azu_etd_mr_2015_

0285_sip1_m.pdf

Wells, E. K. (2016, September 26). Assessment of breakfast and physical activity habits in

college students at a rural private institution. Retrieved February 2, 2018, from

http://bit.ly/2se9y1Z

Zucker, J. (2017, April 09). Cheerios Super Bowl Commercial 2014: Watch Company's

Heartwarming 'Gracie' Ad. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from

GENERAL MILLS 39

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1943013-cheerios-super-bowl-commercial-2014-

watch-companys-heartwarming-gracie-ad