Is Yoplait yogurt turning sour on General Mills?
The French dairy that owns the Yoplait brand has notified General Mills that it intends to terminate a 33-year license agreement that has given the Golden Valley-based food maker exclusive rights to sell the popular yogurt in the United States.
But General Mills isn't agreeing to any divorce. In a filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said, "We will vigorously defend and enforce our exclusive right to use the Yoplait mark in the United States."
The fight is worth billions of dollars, because Yoplait is one of General Mills' biggest, best-known and fastest-growing brands. Yoplait, the nation's leading yogurt, became a billion-dollar brand for General Mills in 2005 after years of posting double-digit growth. And in a food industry filled with mature products, Yoplait has kept growing.
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