1. 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 Brownell
Yale University
Psychology, Biology, and
Politics of Food
April 10, 2013

2. Background Information
General 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 ingredientsas well
as lack of nutrition contentin 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.

3. Motivation for the Project
HOWEVER, 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.

4. Overview
General 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

5. 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.”

6. 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

7. 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”

8. 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

9. General Mills: Health Improvements
“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

10. General Mills: Health Improvements
• Since 2005, General Mills has improved the
health profile of 68% of its U.S. retail sales
volume by:
Adding: whole grains,
fiber, calcium
Reducing:
calories, sugar, sod
ium, trans fat

11. 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

12. 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.

13. General Mills: Yoplait
Product Nutrition Overview
Calories per Fat (grams) Sugar (grams) Protein (grams)
serving
Yoplait Whips! 140 2.5 21 5
Yoplait Original 170 1.5 26 5
Yoplait Light 90 0 10 5
Yoplait Greek 100 100 0 9 5
(new)
Yoplait Simplait 200 7 24 7
(new)

14. General Mills: Yoplait
Product Nutrition Overview
250
200
150
100
Calories per
50 serving
0 Sugar (grams)
Yoplait Yoplait Yoplait Yoplait
Original Light Simplait Greek 100 Protein (grams)
Example: Yoplait Light
Most common ingredients: cultured pasteurized Grade A nonfat
milk, fruit, modified corn starch, sugar

15. General Mills: Nutrition Improvements
Yoplait kid yogurts
Since
2007, General
Mills has lowered
the average sugar
level in Yoplait kid
yogurts by 21%

16. General Mills: Nutrition Improvements
Yoplait Go-Gurt
2010 2012
Eliminated high
fructose corn syrup

17. General Mills: Nutrition Improvements
Yoplait Pro-Force VS Go-Gurt
The Good The Bad
• More than 4x’s the • 20% increase in sugar
protein of Go-Gurt • 28% increase in calories
• No artificial • Modified corn starch
colors, flavors, or
sweeteners
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 .

18. General Mills: Nutrition Improvements
Yoplait Pro-Force VS Go-Gurt
100
90
80
70
60
50 Calories
40 Sugar (grams)
30 Protein (grams)
20
10
0
Yoplait GoGurt Yoplait Pro-Force (new)

19. 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

20. General Mills: Nutrition Improvements
CEREAL
• 2012: Cookie Crisp went from 10 grams of
sugar to 9 grams of sugar per serving

21. General Mills: New Products
CEREAL
140
Cinnamon Toast
120
Crunch
100
80
60
40
20
0
Calories Sugar (grams)
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.

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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”

25. 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.

26. 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.”

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

28. 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.

29. 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

30. Kraft Foods: Responsibility
“Salsa, SaborySalud”
Kraft Foods Foundation supports the National
Latino Children’s Institute’s program
“Salsa, SaborySalud,” 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.

31. Kraft Foods: Responsibility
Healthy 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

32. Kraft Foods: Snack Foods
Trans Fat
2010: two citizens filed a class action law suit against Kraft
Foods for misleading claims that certain snack products
were wholesome when in fact most of them contained
trans fat and partially hydrogenated oil
Kraft Foods denied any wrongdoing or faulty
package claims, arguing that their promotional
health statements (such as “wholesome” and
“sensible”) were too vague to be accused as
misleading.
MORAL OF THE STORY: “whole wheat,” “good
source of calcium,” and “sensible snacking” do NOT
indicate healthy or trans fat free

33. Kraft Foods: Snack Foods
Trans Fat
As of 2013, many Kraft snack foods
still contain partially hydrogenated
oil. In 2006, Kraft officially
“eliminated” trans fat from Serving Size on Nutrition
Oreos, which by FDA standards
means less than 0.5 grams per Label (grams)
serving. Nutrition labels on most 40
products claim to have 0 grams trans 35
fat (but with varying serving 30
sizes), and the ingredients list 25
20
contains partially hydrogenated oil. 15 Serving
Taken this into consideration, it 10
seems highly questionable that Size on
5
heavier versions of Oreos have a 0 Nutrition
smaller serving size on the nutrition Label
label. Is the reduced serving size (grams)
intended to hide the fact that the
cookies actually contain small
amounts of trans fat? It’s quite
possible.

34. Kraft Foods: Snack Foods
Trans Fat
• 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

35. 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: 180 Calories: 160
Fat: 9 grams Fat: 7 grams
Sugar: 19 grams Sugar: 14 grams

36. Kraft Foods: New Products
Oreo
• Even the reduced fat version only has slightly
better nutrition content
180
160 Original Oreo
140
120 Reduced Fat
100 Oreo
80
60
40
20
0
Calories Fat (grams) Sugar
(grams)

37. Kraft Foods: Nutrition Improvements
• “Significant” increases in whole grain in products
such as Wheat Thins and Ritz in 2010.
2x’s more whole
grain

38. Kraft Foods: New Products
100 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

39. 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.”

40. Kraft Foods: Lunchables
Nutrition 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

41. Kraft Foods: Lunchables
Nutrition Improvement
Calories Fat Sugar
LunchablesMax’d Out Pepperoni 520 17 grams 35 grams
Pizza (discontinued)
Lunchables Mega Pack Cracker 750 57 grams 31 grams
Combo (discontinued)
Lunchables Uploaded Pizza 400 15 grams 17 grams
(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

42. Kraft Foods: Health Promotions
Healthy 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.

43. 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.