To beat the summer heat,
General Mills Inc
.'s (
GIS
) popular brand Betty Crocker launched the 2012 Summer Pop
collection, Frozen Pops.
The collection offers 12 easy-to-make frozen pops recipes
ranging from fresh fruit and yogurt pops for children, to cocktail
pops as well. The new range of products is expected to be an
instant hit, as it is based on the latest food preferences of the
customers.
Frozen Pops are Do-It-Yourself recipes and do not require any
special equipments. Simple paper cups, sticks and a freezer is
enough to make these. These recipes can be fun and creative, and
can especially be appealing to children.
Since General Mills has been striving to improve the nutrition
profile of its array of products, these frozen pops include healthy
ingredients like strawberries, carrots, spinach and coconuts. At
the same time, the collection includes some interesting cocktail
pops containing fresh fruits, white wine and light rum, which is
meant to appeal to the adult taste buds.
General Mills offers packaged consumer food and Betty Crocker is
one of its leading brands of baking products. Betty Crocker has
been offering dessert mixes, frostings and convenient meals since
1921. Net sales of baking products division grew by 11 % year over
year in the third quarter of 2012, led by Betty Crocker dessert
mixes. Introduction of Frozen Pops recipes are expected to
contribute to the growth of the baking products segment of the
company.
Management expects its fiscal 2012 earnings to be in the
range of $2.53-$2.55 per share, excluding mark-to-market effects
and integration costs for the Yoplait acquisition. The Zacks
Consensus Estimate is 58 cents for the fourth quarter of fiscal
2012, and $2.54 for fiscal 2012.
We appreciate the excellent brand positioning of General Mills.
The company's continuous effort to introduce new products is
impressive. However, we prefer to remain on the sidelines until the
U.S. retail volumes improve and the macroeconomic environment
recovers. Also, the margin continues to be hurt due to inflationary
input cost.
General Mills Inc carries a Zacks #4 Rank in the near term (Sell
rating). One of its peers,
Kellogg Co
(
K
) currently has a Zacks #3 Rank in the near term (Hold rating).
Based in Minneapolis, General Mills Inc. is a producer of
packaged consumer food and operates exclusively in the consumer
food industry. Some of the well known brands of the company are
Pillsbury, Cheerios, Chex, Total, Kix, Wheaties, Golden Grahams,
Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms.
GENL MILLS (GIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
KELLOGG CO (K): Free Stock Analysis Report
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