Healthy cereals boost sales for General Mills

WASHINGTON General Mills has gone through long obstacles to achieve its success in tapping into the healthy food market, and using incentives toward is employees in order to do so. Since then, General Mills made a reported $12.4 billion in sales due to its new standard for its products.

General Mills is now known for having cereal brands that are made from whole grains, are high in fiber and contain vitamins and minerals. According to published reports, they raised their profit for the year due to its increase in health standards for its products. Although, to achieve success, the company had to involve itself in a gradual change that increased health ingredients in many of their products.

The move to begin incorporating healthful ingredients as a factor in the production process is due to reports that consumers were more likely to purchase foods with the Food and Drug Administration’s seal of approval. In order to meet goals, which started off as having only 20 percent of its products that met nutritional standards, General Mills decided to link employee bonuses to meeting the health targets it requires.

According to published reports, many other companies are following along with the health trends, due mostly to pressure from regulator and consumer advocates. Such companies as Kellogg Co. and Kraft Foods removed trans fats from the majority of their products, and Campbell soup sold the Godiva chocolate business in order to focus more on their low-sodium soups and new versions of V-8 juice.

With a combination of the importance of health in the new age and incentives given to company members to reach health targets, General Mills has 34 percent of its products meeting the new health standards. According to published reports, not only has it reformulated 200 products, but it has also introduced 100 new ones.