CHICAGO — When one thinks of the largest marketing spender in the U.S. food industry, Kraft easily comes to mind. But when it comes to naming No. 2, the answer might come as a surprise: General Mills.
The marketer of Cheerios, Pillsbury, Yoplait and Betty Crocker has become a stalwart of the Great Recession, thanks to increased spending, but also product innovation and its ability to capitalize on the trend toward in-home eating.
For the third fiscal quarter of 2010, General Mills saw sales rise 3% to $3.6 billion, and in the U.S. sales rose 4% in the first nine months of fiscal 2010 to $7.9 billion.
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