General Mills is reporting a second-quarter profit spike, which it says was helped by growing its media investment by double digits.

The company’s profit moved to $605.9 million USD from $597.2 million USD for the same period a year ago in Q2, driven largely by strength in both of its foodservice and retail segments in North America. Revenue for Q2 came in at $5.2 billion USD.

Second-quarter net sales for the North American foodservice segment increased a whopping 24%, while the North America Retail segment increased 11%. Segment operating profit was partly offset by higher SG&A expenses. Constant-currency net sales were up 4% in Canada.

General Mills chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening says the company is continuing to invest in brand building, product innovation and continuing to “reshape” its portfolio. As part of that, the company’s media investment grew by double digits in Q2, a trend it expects to continue through the full fiscal year “behind compelling campaigns that are increasingly leveraging our digital capabilities to reach consumers everywhere they interact with our brands.”

General Mills says 67%  of its priority brands in North American retail are holding or growing share so far this fiscal year. Strength in the cereal category, the company says, continues to be led by innovation, as well as the performance of its legacy brands. Cheerios, which is by far the largest brand in the category, “continues to keep its heart-health messaging fresh for consumers.”

Second-quarter net sales for the pet segment approximately matched year-ago levels at $593 million. Organic net sales were flat due to reduced retailer inventory, but the company reports continued strength of the Blue Buffalo brand and that it continues to see the premium end of the category growing.

In Tuesday morning’s earnings call, Harmening said General Mills wants to get back to growth for the pet segment. The company increased advertising in Q2 and will increase it by double digits in Q3 in support of this goal.

General Mills continues to anticipate the biggest factors affecting its performance in fiscal 2023 will be the economic health of consumers, the inflationary environment and the frequency and severity of supply chain disruptions. For the full year, the company expects input cost inflation of between 14% and 15% of total cost of goods sold.