Full Description

General Mills, Inc. (General Mills), incorporated in 1928, is a manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. The Company is also a supplier of branded and unbranded food products to the foodservice and commercial baking industries. General Mills manufactures its products in 15 countries and market them in more than 100 countries. Its joint ventures manufacture and market products in more than 130 countries and republics worldwide. The Company’s businesses are organized into three operating segments: U.S. Retail; International, and Bakeries and Foodservice. In September 2008, Diamond Foods, Inc. announced that it completed the acquisition of the Pop Secret popcorn business from General Mills.

Its major product categories in the United States are ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, ready-to-serve soup, dry dinners, shelf stable and frozen vegetables, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, grain, fruit and savory snacks, and a variety of organic products including soup, granola bars and cereal. In Canada, its major product categories are ready-to-eat cereals, shelf stable and frozen vegetables, dry dinners, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, frozen pizza snacks, and grain, fruit and savory snacks. In markets outside the United States and Canada, its major product categories include super-premium ice cream and frozen desserts, grain snacks, shelf stable and frozen vegetables, refrigerated and frozen dough products, and dry dinners. In addition, General Mills sells ready-to-eat cereals through its Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW) joint venture.

Some of the Company’s products are marketed under or in combination with trademarks that have been licensed from others, including Yoplait for yogurt in the United States; Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Diego, Backyardigans, Wonder Pets, and iCarly for yogurt, Dora the Explorer for cereal, and various Nickelodeon characters for fruit snacks; Curves and Second Cup for snack bars; Reese’s Puffs for cereal; Hershey’s chocolate for a variety of products; Weight Watchers as an endorsement for soup and frozen vegetable products; Best Life Diet for a variety of products; Macaroni Grill for dry dinners; Sunkist for baking products and fruit snacks; Cinnabon for refrigerated dough, frozen pastries, and baking products; Bailey’s for super-premium ice cream. It also markets a variety of characters and brands for fruit snacks, including Tonka, My Little Pony, Transformers, Care Bears, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spider-Man and various Warner Bros. characters.

General Mills primary customers are grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, drug, dollar and discount chains, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, and convenience stores. It generally sells to these customers through its direct sales force. It uses broker and distribution arrangements for certain products or to serve certain types of customers. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 (fiscal 2009), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and its affiliates (Wal-Mart) accounted for 21% of the Company’s consolidated net sales and 29% of its net sales in the U.S. Retail segment.

U.S. Retail Segment

The Company’s U.S. Retail segment reflects business with a variety of grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, and drug, dollar and discount chains operating throughout the United States. Its major product categories in this business segment are ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, ready-to-serve soup, dry dinners, shelf stable and frozen vegetables, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, grain, fruit and savory snacks, and a variety of organic products including soup, granola bars, and cereal.

International Segment

In Canada, its major product categories are ready-to-eat cereals, shelf stable and frozen vegetables, dry dinners, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, frozen pizza snacks, and grain, fruit and savory snacks. In markets outside North America, its product categories include super-premium ice cream, grain snacks, shelf stable and frozen vegetables, dough products, and dry dinners. Its International segment also includes products manufactured in the United States for export, mainly to Caribbean and Latin American markets, as well as products it manufactures for sale to its international joint ventures. Revenues from export activities are reported in the region or country where the end customer is located. These international businesses are managed through 34 sales and marketing offices.

Bakeries and Foodservice Segment

In its Bakeries and Foodservice segment it sells branded ready-to-eat cereals, snacks, dinner and side dish products, refrigerated and soft-serve frozen yogurt, frozen dough products, branded baking mixes, and custom food items. The Company’s customers include foodservice distributors and operators, convenience stores, vending machine operators, quick service and other restaurant operators, and business and school cafeterias in the United States and Canada. In addition, it markets mixes and unbaked and fully baked frozen dough products throughout the United States and Canada to retail, supermarket, and wholesale bakeries.