General Mills counts on marketing to drive ‘competitiveness’ amid sales slump
The FMCG giant is plotting a “meaningful increase” in brand spend as it looks to revive volume sales and deliver “superior experiences” versus the competition.
General Mills plans to “significantly increase” its brand investment in 2025, after reporting a higher-than-expected drop in quarterly sales.
The business behind brands including Cheerios and Häagen-Dazs saw sales fall 6% to $4.7bn (£3.7bn) in the fourth quarter of 2024. A drop in demand for its snack bars
and pet food meant the business failed to meet analysts’ estimates. The FMCG giant now expects full-year adjusted profit to either fall or rise in the region of 1%, compared to expectations of a 3.7% increase. General Mills’ share price dropped around 5% on the news.
During an earnings call, chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening stressed the importance of marketing and brand innovation in delivering “volume improvement” next year across all categories in the company’s portfolio.
