Dive Brief:
- General Mills' Yoplait brand is introducing Plenti Oatmeal Meets Greek Yogurt, which takes a different approach to breakfast by combining categories.
- The new product brings together Greek yogurt with oatmeal, a breakfast classic that has seen sales increase in contrast to its counterpart, cold cereals. Oatmeal sales were up 3.5% in the first half of 2014, according to a Nielsen survey.
- Yoplait is emphasizing the product as a good source for protein (a reason for Greek yogurt's growth), which appeals to health-conscious consumers.
Dive Insight:
With a portfolio heavy in cold cereal brands, General Mills has been on the hunt for ways to revive cereal sales while supplementing the breakfast category with other products. General Mills also recently announced that seven of its cereals are now made without artificial colors and flavors, which pushes the company closer to its goal of 100% of cereals by 2017.
General Mills isn't the only company innovating on the breakfast foods front. To reinvigorate its own morning foods segment, Kellogg has begun finding new ways to integrate cereal into occasions beyond breakfast, including snacks like Kellogg's To Go Breakfast Mix, which doesn't require milk and comes in re-sealable packaging.
Greek yogurt quickly ascended to overtake about half of the overall yogurt market in the past few years, but the category saw growth slow in the past year after experiencing high-single digit annual growth for several years.
Greek yogurt marketing became more contentious earlier this month when a Chobani ad campaign called out other companies' Greek yogurt brands, namely Dannon and Yoplait, for using artificial ingredients. Immediately following the ad's debut, Dannon sent a cease and desist letter and General Mills filed a lawsuit, while Chobani responded with its own lawsuit against Dannon.