General Mills Gussies Up Its Green Giant Brand

By Melissa Lind, contributing writer

Rumor has it General Mills’ Green Giant brand has been on the sales block. Even though sales of frozen and canned vegetables have lost out to fresh produce, General Mills isn’t giving up on its produce giant.

Consumers’ demand for fresh foods continues to grow, causing a lull in canned and frozen vegetable sales. In fact, while the fresh vegetable market gained 4.4 percent in the last year, frozen and canned vegetable sales have fallen by 2.5 and 1 percent respectively. Produce, as a whole, is expanding with more offerings of greater variety and larger sections of retail units. As dietary experts urge consumers to shop the perimeter of the store for fresh foods, the center – where canned products are — has lost out.

General Mills’ Green Giant brand currently has its largest stake in the frozen vegetable line with the canned label largely licensed out to independent produce companies. Still, the primary source of canned corn and peas is the State of Minnesota where the brand got its start at the Minnesota Valley Canning Company. It was renamed “Green Giant” in 1950, sold to Pillsbury in 1979, and again to General Mills in 2001.

The Green Giant brand brings estimated revenue of $600 to $700 million each year, with the largest portion of that being “sauced” vegetables coming with a higher profit margin than plain frozen vegetables. The company maintains three quarters of the sauced vegetable market, but sales for the category have fallen even faster than regular frozen vegetables with a 15 percent drop last year.

General Mills may be slow to adapt to the shift in consumer demand for simpler, less-processed food, but is trying to do something about it now. The company has tested “pre-roasted” vegetables in the Southeast U.S. since last fall and will introduce its new “Sautés by Green Giant” label next month. This new line of products features five frozen medleys which have flavor and seasoning packets rather than sauce. Similar to the pre-roasted vegetables in consumer testing, the new Sautés by Green Giant line is intended for stove-top cooking instead of the microwave and could be marketed as “restaurant inspired” with “bold” flavors now popular in packaged foods.

The packaged foods market has seen a lot of movement with the recent $46 billion merger announcement of H.J. Heinz and Kraft Foods. Reuters reports that General Mills retained an investment bank to pitch the brand and analysts indicate that the label may be worth over $1.3 billion. The new products may be an attempt to prop the Green Giant brand for a sale in a struggling packaged vegetables market.