Pillsbury Cookie Challenge

GROUP 3 (Section B)

About General Mills Inc.

Worlds sixth largest food-product manufacturer, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Possessed portfolio of iconic brands such as Pillsbury, Progresso, Betty Crocker
Three operating segments: U.S. Retail, International and Food Service
U.S. Retail segment was the largest and represented 69% of total sales

About General Mills Canada Corporation

Established in 1954, GMCC was the second largest division under the International segment
and was the leader in packages food market

Four business units: Breakfast, Baked goods, Meals and Snacks

Leveraged new products and advertising from the U.S. Parent

Pillsbury Refrigerated Baked Goods

RBG was GMCCs fourth largest category which was dominated by Pillsbury branded
products e.g. Cookies, biscuits, pizza, pie etc.
Pillsbury RBG products were known for convenience and family appeal
The target customers were mothers in their mid-30s to 40s who would be time starved and
look for easy and convenient product solutions
None of the initiatives could generate 5 to 7% annual category growth
Cookie segment constituted 62% of the segments total unit volume and the growth had
remained flat at 1% and penetration had fallen to 24%
Three options to improve Cookie segment performance:

Increase frequency of
purchase

Increase household
penetration

Combination of both

Cookies Usage and attitude study and results

Focus on:
Product purchase frequency and use
Desirable attributes of product
Strengths and weaknesses of product
Objective was to help the team understand the differences between the Canadian
and US markets that could be leveraged to unlock the growth in Canada
Top four purchase drivers were same in both the countries:
Convenience and taste
Major differences were
Quality of cookie dough is not valued as highly in Canada
Kids play a bigger role in driving purchases
Scratch baking is the dominant method of baking cookies in Canada

Results of In-home immersion visits and Discovery workshops

Baking experience fed the senses and fuelled memories of happy
moments

Cookies were special as they were made for sharing and giving

No concerns of Pillsbury nutritional value

Genuine inclination towards Pillsbury as it could easily transform an

ordinary meal into something special

Problems identification
RBG performance had been weak over past two years
Volume growth between 2004-2006 had been flat
Household penetration had fallen to a five year low

Refrigerated-cookie product line represented 62% of RBG units sales and over
75% of categorys profit

Annual volume growth was only 1%

Household penetration had fallen

Decisions identification
How to increase the purchase frequency or market
penetration?
Which consumers should be targeted?

What should be the brand message?

How to communicate the message so that it reflects in
increased sales?

Increase purchase frequency or penetration

Create flavours that better appeal to Canadian customers
Create a home style RBG cookie product line that mimic quality scratch baking
Create new version of product that requires additional ingredient to increase
involvement

Emphasis on childrens enjoyment

Creation of campaigns for Children or mothers like A moms Love is warm, Like a
Cookie

Emphasis on home style packaging

Target consumers
Consumers in Canada like to do their baking from scratch and this makes
the target market different from that of U.S.

Target Mothers who are working as RBG cookies help them save time
Targets kids as they play a major role in purchase decisions in Canadian
market (10% more kids in Canada than in America like to eat cookies, 12%
more Canadians than Americans believe it is fun thing to bake with kids
while 12% more kids in Canada like to make them)

Brand Message
Fast and easy to use to be emphasized
Homemade experience
Easy for children to make
Convenience means more time with children
Along the lines of:
Just like the experience of scratch baking but easier and faster for
you and your kids

How to communicate the message so that

it reflects in increased sales?
Modify the packaging and make it more appealing to children
Have an ad campaign that explains the easier use

THANK YOU