General Mills is promising a major investment in marketing after cutting forecasts in the wake of a weak third-quarter among its North American retail and pet brands.
Net sales for the maker of Cheerios, Pillsbury, Old El Paso and Blue Buffalo were down double digits for Canada in constant currency, primarily owing to the Canada divestiture of several yogurt brands, including Yoplait, Liberté and Lactalis.
In Wednesday’s earnings call, Jeff Harmening, the company’s CEO, said General Mills is “stepping up marketing (by) double digits on some of its biggest brands, Pillsbury, Blue Buffalo and cereal,” but did not specify a timeline.
“We’re focused on improving our sales growth in fiscal 2026 by stepping up our investment in innovation, brand communication, and value for consumers,” Harmening said.
According to the CEO, product innovation and improved marketing will be the focus with General Mills set to increase its marketing spend on new products over the next year.
Harmening said more robust support is needed for the manufacturer’s recent innovations, particularly at brands such as El Paso and Nature Valley.
Third-quarter net sales for General Mills’ North American retail segment were down 7% to $3 billion.
Harmening said the marketing at Pillsbury was “really good” and that and that a focus on value has led to improved results.
He conceded that General Mills’ snack-bar business, of which Nature Valley is a part, experienced a tough quarter despite satisfactory marketing for the brand.
Salty snacks, a relatively small part of General Mills’ portfolio compared with fruit snacks, was affected by consumer value hunting and private-label competition.
The company’s North American pet segment saw organic net sales slump by 5%. Harmening said improved marketing and the introduction of new products will now put pet-brand Blue Buffalo in a position to compete effectively.
General Mills says it is continuing to see a trend toward value seeking and that customer confidence indices are below where they were in the previous quarter.
