MINNEAPOLIS – General Mills Monday launched its Yoplait brand in China, its first big yogurt offensive there since the company bought a controlling stake in the international Yoplait company.
Three new yogurt lines will be rolling out in hypermarkets (similar to superstores like Target in the United States), supermarkets and convenience stores in Shanghai.
“Our entry into China with Yoplait is a major milestone in General Mills history,” General Mills CEO Ken Powell said in a press statement.
General Mills, based in the Minneapolis suburb of Golden Valley, has long licensed the Yoplait brand in the United States, in 2011 buying a 51 percent interest in France-based Yoplait S.A., the world’s second leading yogurt company with $4 billion in annual sales.
Extending Yoplait’s reach in Asia – particularly China – is part of General Mills’ long-term strategy with Yoplait.
In China, General Mills is focusing on Shanghai first, and then plans to grow the Yoplait brand on a city-by-city approach before expanding further geographically.
Mills, citing Euromonitor data, said yogurt is a $10 billion category in China, with sales growing at a double digit pace.
“With the tremendous economic growth in China, consumers are increasingly demanding better quality and experience of foods,” said Gary Chu, president of General Mills Greater China.
Yoplait’s introduction is a big step for Mills’ China operation, which has grown at a 15 percent rate over the past four years and has nearly $700 million in sales. Haagen-Dazs ice cream makes up more than half of those sales, while Wanchai Ferry dim sum accounts for another third. Snacks – including Bugles – makes up the rest.
The three Yoplait yogurts being introduced in China are “Perle de lait,” a thick and creamy French-style yogurt; “Panier de fruits,” a fruit-on-the-bottom product; and “O’Fruit,” a drinkable yogurt.
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