Nourishing Lives Presentation

Here is a powerpoint presentation on General Mills. The link is below:

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/lrstdler-1466258-nourishing-lives-company-powerpoint/

Creating New Ventures

General Mills ventures focuses on innovating the company through a venture capital fund. The ventures was created to accelerate the pace of innovation and building strategic capabilities. The venture capital fund includes digital media, food technology, and packaged food brands.

• The Emerging Packaged Food Brands is trying to satisfy consumers’ health and wellness needs. General Mills uses this to have a unique, compelling and authentic brand, and a great tasting product.
• The Food Technology is done through the G-WIN project trying to form food technology partnership opportunities.
• The Digital Media is trying to show, discover, and share new ways to connect General Mills brands with consumers through emerging digital marketing technologies.

The final venture is innovation intersection where General Mills is reinventing innovation and connecting possibilities and solutions to find incredible opportunities.


http://www.generalmills.com/en/Company/Innovation/GeneralMillsVentures.aspx
http://www.generalmills.com/~/media/Files/Innovation/innovation_brochure_2011.ashx

Structuring of the Company

The organizational structure of a company is a determinant of whether a company will succeed. Every company is different and each structure will vary. General Mills mainly works in a cross-functional structure, meaning that there are people from various departments working together. This helps the company to respond to competitive pressures, which includes market, costs and technology. The challenge is to balance external and internal factors to ensure a smooth running company. With the leadership of General Mills' CEO, Kendall Powell, they are able to make this possible.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=74271&p=irol-govhighlights
http://www.cogmap.com/outline/general-mills?ver=16&vt=0
http://www.chinaplus3.pitt.edu/pdf/Purchasing_Structures082003.pdf

Acquiring New Ownership

In recent months, General Mills has announced the acquisition of a natural food snack company that has been growing rather rapidly named Food Should Taste Good. This acquisition will be apart of General Mills' natural and organic products called Small Planet Foods. The division includes brands such as LARABAR, Cascadian Farm, and Muir Glen. The president of Smart Planet Foods, Michele Meyer, says “This acquisition further positions us for continued growth with a great new brand in an entirely new category in our natural and organic business.” She also states that “Food Should Taste Good is a strong brand with high-quality products and tremendous potential – and we are fully committed to maintaining the great-tasting, all-natural Food Should Taste Good snacks that consumers love.” Food Should Taste Good snacks are sold at club, natural, and traditional retailers in the U.S. and Canada and should continue to do so now that it has been acquired by General Mills.

http://www.generalmills.com/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2012/February/food_taste_good_2_29.aspx

Creating Alliances

General Mills takes part in two joint ventures. The ventures are done internationally, with both Cereal Partners and Häagen-Dazs. The sales balance out to be $1.2 billion is Fiscal 2011, as shown below.

Cereal Partners Worldwide is a partnership with Nestlé started in 1991 and markets cereals in about 130 countries, which in sales makes about 85 percent. The combination of Nestlé's worldwide presence and General Mills' expertise, make this partnership extremely successful.

Häagen-Dazs is a partnership done in Japan operating the ice cream business and makes up the final 15 percent of sales. It markets to consumers through a series of retail outlets and Häagen-Dazs shops. General Mills is also partnered in international Häagen-Dazs joint ventures with the two largest being Suntory and Takanashi Dairy in Japan.

http://www.generalmills.com/en/Company/Businesses/International/Joint_ventures.aspx

Seeking International Expansion

General Mills has already had plenty of success outside of the United States. Currently, the company is selling its products in more than 100 countries and has facilities in more than 30 countries.

The company has continuously planned to expand its business internationally. The international segment of the business is the fastest growing segments and is expected to have large increases. Its focus in 2008 was on Haagen-Dazs premium ice cream, which was a popular hit in about 60 countries all over the world. Emphasis was also placed on healthy snacks and Old El Paso brand for cuisines, such as Mexican food. Both domestically and internationally, the company planned on introducing over 300 items as well as increase its marketing.

http://www.generalmills.com/Company/Countries.aspx

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-09-22-179087764_x.htm

Corporate Strategy

General Mills is a successful company that uses several different tactics and strategies in order to become efficient. As a result of the company focusing on the food industry, General Mills has a related diversification. Also, the company has both a geographic and horizontal scope. Horizontally, the company has branched out into several different segments in the food industry, such as cereals, dough, pasta, soup, ice cream, snacks, etc. Geographically, General Mills products can be seen in places such as Memphis, Seattle, Tucson, Brisbane, Shanghai, Brussels, etc. The company as a whole uses a combination of strategies in order to continue striving and be successful.

http://www.generalmills.com/en/Brands.aspx