General Mills vs Kraft Foods

General Mills and Kraft Foods: Continuing to Make America Fat?

A glimpse at the true story behind the world’s largest food producers

Created by: Dawn Lu

Professor Kelly BrownellYale UniversityPsychology, Biology, and Politics of FoodApril 10, 2013

Background InformationGeneral Mills and Kraft Foods are two of the largest packaged food producers in America (and in the world). Their products have come to play a significant role in the daily diets of consumers across the nation. After undergoing much public scrutiny in the past decade regarding the presence of harmful ingredients as well as lack of nutrition content in their products, both companies have made efforts to improve the nutrition profile of their products. Furthermore, in light of being accused of contributing to America’s obesity epidemic, General Mills and Kraft Foods have actively promoted the importance of having a healthy lifestyle and well-balanced diet through various campaigns and sponsorships.

Motivation for the ProjectHOWEVER, IS THIS WIDELY ADVOCATED AWARENESS FOR HEALTH AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY MERELY A CORPORATE PLOY TO APPEASE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND PUBLIC HEALTH FIGURES? OR HAVE GENERAL MILLS AND KRAFT FOODS MADE VERITABLE PROGRESS AND EFFORTS IN CREATING HEALTHIER PRODUCTS AND ENCOURAGING A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE?

This presentation provides a general overview of the product development, health philosophy and promotions, philanthropy efforts, and marketing campaigns/regulations that General Mills and Kraft Foods have undertaken.

OverviewGeneral Mills VS Kraft Foods– Corporate responsibility• Health & Nutrition Philosophy• Promotions and philanthropy

– Key food categories and brands• General Mills: Yoplait and cereal• Kraft Foods: Lunchables and snack foods

–Nutrition improvement & new products– Summary

General Mills: Overview• Ranked #181 on Fortune 500 Companies• $14 billion in annual revenue • Awarded America's Most Reputable

Company in 2012 by the Reputation Institute• Brand message: “Our mission at General

Mills is Nourishing Lives – making lives healthier, easier, and richer.”

General Mills: Key Brands• Yoplait• Pillsbury • Nature Valley• Fiber One• Fruit Roll-Ups• Cheerios• Cinnamon Toast Crunch• Lucky Charms• Betty Crocker• Haagen-Dazs• Hamburger Helper• Green Giant• Progresso

General Mills: Health & Nutrition Philosophy

• Emphasis on “great tasting, low calorie options”– Strongly promotes whole grains and the

importance of eating a healthy breakfast rich in fiber and protein (such as cereal and yogurt)

– Released reports titled “The Benefits of Cereal” and “The Benefits of Yogurt”

General Mills: Health Improvements

• Began health efforts in 2005, with largest advancements in 2012– All Big G cereals contains more whole grain than any other

ingredient• CURRENT GOAL: reduce sodium by average of 20% in top

10 U.S. categories• Gradual reduction of sugar content in cereals advertised to

children under 12; all kid cereals have 10 grams of sugar or less per serving

• Reducing and removing trans fat– BUT some Pillsbury products still have trans fat


“Health improvements have increasingly become a primary driver of our

innovation, both on existing products and as we develop new products” - Marc Belton, General Mills executive vice president of Global Strategy,

Growth and Marketing Innovation


• Since 2005, General Mills has improved the health profile of 68% of its U.S. retail sales volume by:

General Mills: “Stealth Health Approach”

• The guiding principle behind General Mills’ nutrition improvements is: “it’s not nutritious unless people eat it”

• THE PROBLEM: Consumers are not willing to sacrifice taste and will not purchase healthier products if they do not meet taste standards

• THE SOLUTION: Make gradual, incremental nutrition changes to products over time

• Two part approach– 1) Improve health profile of existing products– 2) Introduce innovative, new products

General Mills: Yoplait• Yoplait is a brand of sweetened yogurt that creates

products mainly catered toward children and health-conscious adults. It has recently released over 40 new items, capitalizing on consumer trends that increasingly emphasize healthy options.

General Mills: YoplaitProduct Nutrition Overview

Calories per serving

Fat (grams) Sugar (grams) Protein (grams)

Yoplait Whips! 140 2.5 21 5

Yoplait Original 170 1.5 26 5

Yoplait Light 90 0 10 5

Yoplait Greek 100 (new)

100 0 9 5

Yoplait Simplait (new)

200 7 24 7

General Mills: YoplaitProduct Nutrition Overview

Yoplait Original

Yoplait Light

Yoplait Simplait

Yoplait Greek 100

050

100150200250

Calories per serv-ing

Sugar (grams)

Protein (grams)

Example: Yoplait Light Most common ingredients: cultured pasteurized Grade A nonfat milk, fruit, modified corn starch, sugar

General Mills: Nutrition Improvements

Yoplait kid yogurts

Since 2007, General Mills has

lowered the average sugar

level in Yoplait kid yogurts by 21%

General Mills: Nutrition ImprovementsYoplait Go-Gurt

Eliminated high fructose corn syrup2010 2012

General Mills: Nutrition ImprovementsYoplait Pro-Force VS Go-Gurt

The Good• More than 4x’s the

protein of Go-Gurt• No artificial colors,

flavors, or sweeteners

The Bad• 20% increase in sugar• 28% increase in calories• Modified corn starch

Nutrition comparison: It seems that Pro-Force not only contains more protein, but also slightly more sugar and calories. Overall, however, this new product can be seen as a positive nutritional contribution .

General Mills: Nutrition ImprovementsYoplait Pro-Force VS Go-Gurt

Yoplait GoGurt Yoplait Pro-Force (new)0

10

20304050

607080

90100

CaloriesSugar (grams)Protein (grams)

General Mills: Nutrition Improvements

CEREAL• Nutrition Improvements

•14% average reduction of sugar in kid cereals since 2007• 10 grams of sugar or less per serving in all kid cereals• WHOLE GRAIN is now the number one most abundant

ingredient in all cereals

General Mills: Nutrition Improvements CEREAL

• 2012: Cookie Crisp went from 10 grams of sugar to 9 grams of sugar per serving

General Mills: New ProductsCEREAL

Calories Sugar (grams)0

20406080

100120140 Cinnamon Toast

CrunchPeanut Butter Toast Crunch (new)

Nutrition comparison: The newest variety of General Mills’ cereal “Peanut Butter Toast Crunch” was launched in 2012 and has almost identical nutrition content as the original “Cinnamon Toast Crunch” variety. If we expect General Mills to make persistent, continuous health improvements with each new product, then this new product can be seen as a disappoint. However, it is still commendable that General Mills now holds all their youth-targeted cereal products to a uniform standard of sugar and whole grain. Thus, at least the the healthier options will not be thwarted by the introduction of new higher-sugar products.

General Mills: New Products

• Healthier Options: Fiber One 80 Calories cereal, Yoplait Greek 100

• Status Quo: Peanut Butter Toast Crunch, Go-Gurt Twisted, Hello Kitty Fruit Snacks

General Mills: Responsibility“Partnering in the fight against childhood obesity”

• In February 2013, the General Mills Foundation committed $10 million to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, & Nutrition in order to help schools across the country implement the program

• The goal of the initiative is to foster “lifelong skills and healthy habits”• General Mills states this is “just the latest in our more than 50 year

commitment to promote active lifestyles.”• The company wants to be “part of the solution” to America’s childhood

obesity crisis• General Mills also supports Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative, which

aims to encourage healthy lifestyle and habits among American children

General Mills: Health Promotions“A Taste of General Mills” – Online Blog

• Health & Wellness section• Titles of blog posts include:

– “The new love: Fiber One Protein Bars”– “5 tips for a healthier you in 2013”– “Go with the Whole Grains for Kids”– “It’s not nutritious unless people eat it”

General Mills: Health Promotions“Live Better America” website

• http://www.livebetteramerica.com

• The website is designed to promote a healthy lifestyle for Americans by providing healthy recipes, fitness & nutrition articles, and various other tools. It receives around 700,000 visitors per day.

http://www.livebetteramerica.com/

Kraft Foods: Overview• Ranked #50 on Fortune 500 Companies in 2012• $54 billion in annual revenue• Recently split into two companies (October 2012)

– Mondelez – global snack food business– Kraft – American grocery goods company– *Note: In this presentation, I will consider the full profile

of food brands of the original Kraft Foods Inc. • Brand message: “Make today delicious.”

Kraft Foods: Key Brands• Ritz• Oreos• Chips Ahoy!• Lunchables• Capri Sun• Jell-O• Oscar Meyer• Philadelphia• Nabisco• Triscuit• Cool Whip• Velveeta• Planters

Kraft Foods: Health & Nutrition Philosophy

• “At Kraft, we believe that you can enjoy what you eat and still live a healthy lifestyle.”

• Advocates helping people make better decisions by having clear nutrition labels.

• Eat Delicious. Live Well.

Kraft Foods: Health Improvements

• Since 2005, Kraft has reformulated almost a third of their products in their portfolio.

• Doubled amount of whole grain used in Nabisco products such as Ritz and Teddy Grams by 2013

• Committed to reduce sodium content by average of 10% across North American products

• Eliminated (?) trans fat from most products including Wheat Thins, Teddy Grams, and Reduced Fat Oreos

Kraft Foods: Responsibility“Salsa, Sabor y Salud”

Kraft Foods Foundation supports the National Latino Children’s Institute’s program “Salsa, Sabor y Salud,” which teaches the importance of nutritional awareness and physical activity to Latino families in order to address the growing obesity rates among Latino children in America. Since 2002, Kraft has donated $7.5 million to the program.

Kraft Foods: ResponsibilityHealthy Weight Commitment Foundation• Founding member of the Healthy Weight

Commitment Foundation, a CEO-led organization designed to help reduce obesity rates in America by promoting balanced diet and exercise, targeting schools and families.

• 210 active corporate and nonprofit members

Kraft Foods: Snack FoodsTrans Fat


As of 2013, many Kraft snack foods still contain partially hydrogenated oil. In 2006, Kraft officially “eliminated” trans fat from Oreos, which by FDA standards means less than 0.5 grams per serving. Nutrition labels on most products claim to have 0 grams trans fat (but with varying serving sizes), and the ingredients list contains partially hydrogenated oil. Taken this into consideration, it seems highly questionable that heavier versions of Oreos have a smaller serving size on the nutrition label. Is the reduced serving size intended to hide the fact that the cookies actually contain small amounts of trans fat? It’s quite possible.

Oreo (Orig

inal)

Oreo Double Stuf

Oreo Triple Double

0

10

20

30

40

Serving Size on Nutrition Label (grams)

Serving Size on Nutrition Label (grams)


• Very recently, Kraft reformulated many of its products and replaced partially hydrogenated oil with high ocleic oil, which contains no trans fat. However, certain product varieties that do contain partially hydrogenated oil are still currently in available in stores (as of April 9, 2013). Thus, Kraft continues to contribute this harmful ingredient to American diets. Photo: Chips Ahoy! nutrition label

taken on 04/09/12

Kraft Foods: New Products Oreos

Kraft continues to produce new, innovative products but most are not considered to be healthier options. Also, there is no standard nutrition goal across the snack food category.

Calories: 180Fat: 9 gramsSugar: 19 grams

Calories: 160Fat: 7 gramsSugar: 14 grams

New OldVS

Kraft Foods: New ProductsOreo

• Even the reduced fat version only has slightly better nutrition content

Calories Fat (grams) Sugar (grams)

020406080

100120140160180

Original Oreo

Reduced Fat Oreo

Kraft Foods: Nutrition Improvements

• “Significant” increases in whole grain in products such as Wheat Thins and Ritz in 2010.

2x’s more whole grain

Kraft Foods: New Products100 Calorie Brand

• Kraft launched a highly successful line of snack products that were designed to help in portion-control. These products were created in response to consumer demand for snacks that encouraged sensible eating habits.

• However, research soon found that the small, healthy labeled packages often made consumers eat twice as much

Kraft Foods: Lunchables• Lunchables is a brand of convenient, packaged lunch meals

intended to be consumed by young children. There are several different varieties, containing items such as processed cheese, ham and turkey, Ritz crackers, Capri Sun, etc.

• Since its launch in 1988, Lunchables has been under scrutiny for its high calorie, high fat, and low-nutrient nutrition content. However, it continues to be sold and consumed by America’s youth.

“If you take Lunchables apart, the most healthy item in it is the

napkin.”

Kraft Foods: LunchablesNutrition Improvement & New Products

• 2007: replaced unhealthiest items (such as M&M’s, Cola, and Reese’s Cups) with new items such as Capri Sun and Airheads

• 2011: Dropped the highly unhealthy “Maxed Out” line and worked on improving nutritional profile

• 2013: New “Uploaded” line contains items such as Pringles and Cheez-Its

Kraft Foods: LunchablesNutrition Improvement

Calories Fat Sugar

Lunchables Max’d Out Pepperoni Pizza (discontinued)

520 17 grams 35 grams

Lunchables Mega Pack Cracker Combo (discontinued)


Lunchables Uploaded Pizza (new)


Lunchables with Fruit (new) 480 13 grams 49 grams

*Note: The nutrition information for Lunchables was not available on their brand website or Kraft’s company website. I was able to find the nutrition content through secondary sources such as myfitnesspal.com

Kraft Foods: Health PromotionsHealthy Living Recipes – Kraft’s website offers a multitude of recipes, most of which feature one of more of its

products as ingredients– There is one section on the website that promotes healthy eating through recipes that

are low in fat and calories. – However, many other recipes on the website feature much less nutritious items. Thus,

there seems to be a lack of consistency.

General Mills vs. Kraft Foods: Brief Summary

• General Mills has been more slightly more consistent with their nutrition goals and standards, both in terms of product improvements and new product developments

• General Mills is more focused on nourishment, whereas Kraft Foods is more focused on taste

• Both companies approach nutrition improvements by making incremental changes in order to avoid significant taste alterations.

• Although both companies have made efforts in promoting healthy lifestyles and fighting against obesity, General Mills seems to be slightly more proactive and continues to look for new ways to contribute to the cause. Kraft Foods has also made respectable efforts (with a narrower focus) but has not pursued new courses of impact.

Health & Medicine

General Mills vs Kraft Foods