Category Captain: Canned and Packaged Foods—Dry Packaged Potatoes: General Mills

Betty Crocker is the leading brand in the dry packaged potatoes category, with a 44 percent dollar share, a strong presence in all category segments and a history of product innovation. With this historic brand, General Mills continues to move the segment forward for consumers and retailers alike with a broad portfolio of SKUs that brings users to the category and boosts sales for all products; innovation that supports consumer needs and builds the category; convenient options that serve busy families; high-impact promotional strategies that engage consumers; and category-best research that drives retailer profitability.

About 41 percent of new buyers enter the category with a Betty Crocker purchase, and the brand also leads in consumer retention. One-third of category-buying households purchase Betty Crocker exclusively, but it also has a strong rate of interaction with other brands. The drawing power and SKU variety of the Betty Crocker brand facilitates differentiation and keeps the category invigorated and moving forward.

The shelf set recommendations developed by General Mills provide retailers with best-in-class shelving and optimization principles in areas such as layout, section size, assortment and optimal facings. To further support retailers and add flexibility in the section, the company implemented a case pack reduction from 12 to six units on Betty Crocker Potato Buds, which allows retailers to better align space allocation with sales.

New products include Betty Crocker Loaded Casserole and Loaded Mashed Potatoes, which rank 25th and 27th in dollar sales out of 71 SKUs, and Betty Crocker Simple Recipe Potatoes, offering good taste and microwave simplicity.

To build the category, General Mills is reaching out to consumers through a variety of promotional efforts, including an innovative social-media campaign that targets mothers. The consumer growth plan also includes FSIs in key seasons and value-focused efforts that showcase product variety.
 

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