Going Global with General Mills

                General Mills is not happy when innovation is not taking place. This is why they are quite literally taking over the world. The company just recently finished a deal to take over Brazilian food company, Yoki. General Mills also sells products in Canada, Ireland and India to name a few. This rise in international business opens up new leadership jobs for people who are willing to develop and market new products in new countries. As new leaders come in with new ideas and new connections they enable the company to expand and lead new projects all over the world. The biggest role of entrepreneurs in General Mills is developing business in foreign countries.

                It takes a very special and talented leader to head such huge ventures in the business world so it comes as no surprise that General Mills has the number one leadership development ranking in the country. General Mills supplies its employees at all stages with mentors, access to leadership experts and speakers, training at the General Mills Institute, tuition reimbursement, and even individual development planning. They also pride themselves in the fact that over 85% of their leaders are promoted from within the company; people not only want to work there but they want to stay there. The General Mills current CEO, Ken Powell, is a great example of the kind of leader expected at the company. He is currently working with food producers in Africa to help them develop new techniques and means to be successful in their businesses. General Mill raises top notch leaders who not only help their company, but the whole world.

 

“General Mills CEO says company is ‘hungry to help’ food producers in Africa.” General Mills. General Mills, 18 Oct. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.generalmills.com/en/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2012/October/PartnersInFoodSolutions.aspx&gt;.

“General Mills completes Yoki acquisition.” General Mills. General Mills, 1 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.generalmills.com/en/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2012/August/yoki_8_1.aspx&gt;.

“General Mills No. 1 in leadership development ranking.” General Mills. General Mills, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.generalmills.com/en/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2012/October/LeadershipExcellence.aspx&gt;.

Revenue, Profit, and Loss in the Food and Beverage Industry

There is and always will be a market for food; it is a necessity that we all need to survive. This means that food is always in demand, the tricky part is managing supply. Companies need to be able to produce the right amount of product so that people will buy it leaving very little waste and the company will be able to make a profit. Revenue is the total amount of income a company receives during a given time. The amount of money that is left after you take out all of the fixed and variable costs is the profit. Loss occurs when money is spent but no money is gained. For the food and beverage industry revenue comes from the selling of each company’s food products. To find profit we have to subtract the costs. Some costs for the food and beverage industry range from leasing land for factories, to utilities in all the production plants, to distribution, to packaging. Costs also include all of the wages that companies pay their employees. Everything that is left after paying for all that is the company’s profit. A big factor for loss in the food and beverage industry is that their product has an expiration date, some of the food only lasts for a few days and once it goes bad it must be thrown away and even though the company paid to produce it, they receive nothing back. Companies need to be able to react quickly to changes in the market and new trends in order to maintain a high level of revenue and a high profit.

 

“Food Industry Overview.” IRS. IRS, 24 July 2012. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. <http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Food-Industry-Overview—Accounting-Principles,-Information-Systems,-&-Industry-Operating-Procedures&gt;.

“Product Lifecycle Management in the Food and Beverage Industry.” Oracle. Oracle Corporation, Feb. 2008. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. <http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/045637.pdf&gt;.

Marketing in the Food and Beverage Industry

The food and beverage industry is a very competitive market. With so many similar products every company wants consumers to buy their brand over their competitions. So what sets certain brands apart? What makes consumers buy one product over another one that is exactly the same? Besides brand recognition and loyalty there are two main answers; convenience and health. Two of the biggest trends in the food and beverage industry are that people are starting to eat much healthier and are leaning towards all natural products and that consumers now want food that is fast and easy to prepare. With the media now pushing people towards a healthier lifestyle the demand for health food is increasing. Companies must now adapt by using more natural ingredients and include as few calories as possible. Customers do not just want healthy food, they want healthy food that is fast and easy to prepare. Microwavable steam dishes and heat and serve product are becoming much more popular. America has a fast paced life style and people want their meals and snacks to accommodate that.

Certain companies pride themselves on being able to do one thing very well. For example when you hear the name general mills you think of breakfast cereal and the Pillsbury dough boy. They have found their niche in the market and have learned to thrive. Other companies focus on producing only all natural products, and others focus on one specific product. Since the food and beverage industry is all about taste, companies focus on making good food and using that to differentiate themselves. Companies are also able to differentiate themselves by creating products that cater to one of the customer segmentations. One of the biggest segmentations is age; different products are aimed to different age groups. That’s why one cereal has a cartoon character covering the front and another has the words “high in fiber” across the front. Another big segmentation is geographic location, every region in the world and even different regions within a country have different tastes for cultural and religious reasons.

Global Edge. Michigan State University. Broad College of Business. C 1994 [updated 2012; cited 2012 October 24]. Available from: http://globaledge.msu.edu/Industries/Food-and-Beverage/background

JKG Marketing. [ updated 2012; cited 2012 October 24]. Available from: http://www.jkgmarketing.com/segmentation.htm

Economy and Publicity in the Food and Beverage Industry: General Mills

Every company has to continue to modify and improve their products to keep customer demand high; companies in the Food and Beverage industry are no different.  To explore this idea let’s look to General Mills as an example. General Mills is best known for its classic favorites including all of their cereals, Yoplait Yogurt, and of course the Pillsbury Dough Boy. But the trick that they have is that they do not rely solely on their core products to make money, they use innovation to ensure that the company makes a continuously growing profit. During the week of September 6, 2012 General Mills was ranked number 50 out of 100 on the Forbes list of the most innovative companies. General Mills puts a lot of money into production and research and development; however they are constantly coming out with new brands and new flavors to keep the customers coming back for more to make up for their large expenses. The company is also very good about picking up on national trends, especially the new health movement; nearly 70% of their retail stock has been nutritionally approved.

General Mills has done a great job balancing the supply and demand of the food industry. Luckily for them food is always going to be in demand, people will always need to eat.  They have found their niche (mostly breakfast food, but also pastries and snacks) and they have worked hard to dominate that section of the industry. General Mills has done a lot of research into the tastes of their customers and not only what they like to eat but also how much of it they like to eat. When producing supply for the food industry one has to be very precise because most of the time the product cannot be stored for very long or it will no longer be good. Food production companies have to do a lot of research to figure out how much of each product they should produce so that they are able to make a profit and not waste any of their materials.

The food and beverage industry has been in the news quite a bit recently, specifically General Mills. Not only do they have their recognition in Forbes magazine, but also for their new warehouse and distribution center which is the largest building in the USA to receive the LEED Gold Certification by the U.S Green Building Council. General Mills was also recently in the news for taking over the large Brazilian food company, Yoki. All of the publicity that General Mills is getting is good publicity. It is boosting the reputation of the company and making people more likely to buy their products. General Mills continues to make their name known to consumers, and it is almost always in a good way.

http://www.generalmills.com/en/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2012/August/yoki_8_1.aspx

http://www.generalmills.com/en/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2012/September/leed_2012.aspx

http://www.generalmills.com/en/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2012/September/forbes_innovation_2012.aspx