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Table of Contents 4 Introduction and Company Background 5 Introduction 5 Company Background 5 Situation Analysis 6 Market Analysis 6 Macro Environment Analysis 6 Political Analysis 6 Economic Analysis 6 Social Analysis 7 Technological Analysis 7 Legal Analysis 7 Environmental Analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….7 Micro Environment Analysis 7 Company Analysis 7 Competitor Analysis 8 Competitive market Summary 8 Consumer Analysis 9 SWOT Analysis 9 Objectives 10 Marketing Objectives 10 Reference List ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..11

A 30% ANNUAL increase in the sales of Nature Valley muesli bars from 2016-2018 in Australia indicates General Mill’s strong potential for expansion in an already mature market. However, compared to North America, the operation division with the highest market penetration, there is still room for improvement. North America records 61% of the total sales while Australia only records 12% (General Mills, 2019). These figures necessitate a review of the Australian snack consumer market to pinpoint why market penetration is still low. Mastery of consumer trends, preferences, and the competition will enable General Mills to access a wider market and shift their sales.

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General Mills is a monumental organic food producer and marketer with five major operating divisions. They are: North America Retail, Convenience Stores and Food Service, Europe and Australia Retail, Asia and Latin America Retail, and Pet Food. Among its wide selection of products, the greatest concentration is on snacks, cereals, convenient meals, yoghurt, pet food, and ice-cream. It produces its products in thirteen countries and markets them in over one hundred countries. Its purpose is “making food people love”, a plain but powerful statement that it fulfils by transforming food values.

General Mills was established in 1866 at a time when it only owned one flour mill. It then diversified into different industries inclusive of toys and restaurants, and later shifted concentration in 1995 to purely deal in consumer foods. The headquarters are in Golden Valley, Minnesota. It has more than thirty-eight thousand employees. In 2006, the company started giving employees a chance to take mindfulness programs (Schaufenbuet, 2015). In 2016, it was the leading muesli bar seller in the US after recording sales of approximately 600.5 million dollars. It ventured into pet food on April 2018 after acquiring Blue Buffalo. Some of its largest brands today include Nature Valley, Yoplait, and Cheerio’s, each bringing in more than one billion US dollars yearly.

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Australia has a mature snack bar market that grows steadily. The largest segment of the market is taken by muesli bars and cereals. Consumers keep changing their preferences, and now the trend is towards foods that are more fresh and healthy. Increased health awareness favours energy bars at the expense of cereals due to the demand for more proteins, satiety, and less calories (Rush, Yan, Kelleher, and Brown, 2016). An estimated one-third of people prefer having a snack to having a meal when hungry. Factors that have stoked up the market size include companies establishing natural nutritional products, and growth of the country’s sports nutrition market. Although the company has a myriad of different products, it is struggling to adjust its portfolio to satisfy these changing needs. There are many consumer goods that are introduced in the market, but 85% of these fail in two years. The company’s customers are, therefore, not motivated to test new products, and provided the company markets well, they will remain loyal.

There are many muesli bars in the market, including Carman’s, Woolworths, Iddy Biddy fruit snacks, Mother Earth, Dunkeroos, Barley, Uncle Toby’s Roll-ups, and Kellogg’s. However, General Mills was established over 150 years ago, and it introduced Nature Valley in 1941. It has the advantage of strong distribution networks and a firm established brand. It easily spends significantly more than smaller companies in marketing, and its customers are loyal to the brand. In 2018, for example, its expenditure on advertising was over five hundred and seventy-five million US dollars. It is hard for new companies in the market to sell themselves to the consumers. It is also able to spend more in research and development than other companies. The major competitors in the market are PepsiCo.Inc, Nestle, and Freedom Foods Group Limited.

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· Political Stability- The administrative and political environment in Australia is stable, providing a conducive environment to invest without fear or uncertainty (General Mills, 2018).

· Favourable laws and regulations- The authorities are adaptable and flexible in making policies that regulate business operations.

· Transparency- The authorities work effectively, and they are not corrupt in their dealings.

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· Exchange rates- The rate of exchanging currency against others like dollars and Euros is extremely favourable in Australia, encouraging investment.

· Low Cost of Living- Australia has a low cost of living, which enables customers to save on basic costs and purchase other products, increasing the company’s sales. The company is assured of buyers.

· Economic stability- The Australian economy grows at a high rate that makes investment less risky compared to other countries. The company is able to operate smoothly without a need to exaggerate prices, and has a huge potential to grow (General Mills, 2018).

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· Consumer Attitude-General Mills has to adjust continuously with the changing attitude of the public, especially the current trend towards more protein and less fat due to increased health awareness. It has to understand the culture of the people and adjust to satisfy their needs (Rush, Yan, Kelleher, and Brown, 2016)...

· Media- the media has a huge role in determining what the public thinks. General Mills has to utilize it as a resource to establish firm networks through advertisements.

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· Mobile technology- Mobile technology is well developed in Australia, and General Mills has to ensure continuous innovations to manage and satisfy consumer expectations.

· Research and Development- Although General Mills itself invests hugely in research and development, the country as well as the competitors also invest, leading to innovation of new products that can disrupt the business due to competition. Examining the innovations of the competitors can also shed light on their line of thought.

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· Environmental laws- Australia has laws to protect the environment including the Environment Protection Act, ensuring businesses take care of the environment during production. This exposes General mills to lawsuits, penalties, or fines in case the products contaminate the environment or fail to comply with any of these laws.

· Law suits- The Company has to consider the norms followed by the country in terms of the approximate time consumed by court cases.

· Employment Laws- General Mills has to comply with the laws regarding employment and ensure the employees are treated with respect and none of the rights are violated. It has to ensure the working conditions are appropriate, which increases costs but is an ethical and legal duty.

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Environmental Analysis

· Inspection- Continuous scrutiny from environmental organizations increases the costs of operating. The operations have to be in line with the acts protecting clean air, clean water, conservation, and compensation.

· Weather- Harsh weather conditions increase production costs as the company struggles to ensure the supply chain adapts to the weather.

· Waste management- The authorities have strict regulations and procedures on the management and disposal of waste that the company has to adhere to (General Mills, 2018).

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· Worldwide brand recognition and endorsement- General Mills has built a reputation of quality over many years, earning the loyalty and trust of its customers

· Scale of business- General Mills is able to keep leading since it enjoys economies of scale, and, therefore, easily spends more on advertising, research, and development than its upcoming competitors.

· Seasonality- General Mills offers a wide variety of products for customers to select from ensuring its sales are balanced all year round even with changing consumer preferences with different seasons.

· Limited flexibility- Dealing in such a wide variety of products restricts its ability to adapt when consumer tastes for a particular line unexpectedly change.

· General Mills only offers packaged products- The high pricing power the company once enjoyed has reduced since health awareness has increased the demand for fresh products.

· Sluggish growth- General Mills spends a lot of money to acquire other companies making the revenue gains dismal (General Mills, 2019).

General Mills, led by its new CEO, is equipped to deal with the challenges in the market and stay relevant as a monumental food producer even in the changing market.

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Major international participants in the muesli bar market in Australia include Nestle SA), Freedom Foods Group, and PepsiCo. Inc. These are the companies General Mills’ Nature Valley muesli bars compete with. The market is mature and energy bars are on higher demand than cereal bars since the former have more proteins and less calories. Organic bars are sold more because they are healthier. All the companies are similar in terms of the product they produce. The snacks are in form of bars, Nestle SA (Uncle Toby’s chewy muesli bars), Freedom Foods Group (Heritage Mill apple cinnamon bars), and PepsiCo. Inc (Naked snack bar). The muesli bars are supplied in the same locations, canteens, retail stores, and vending machines. However, Pepsi’s product is very young in the market, introduced only a month ago. It also consists of a mix of both fruits and vegetables. The company is larger and operates in over two hundred countries. Unlike Green Mills, Freedom Food Group is based in Australia. Nestle is larger than all the other companies, the largest food production company worldwide. Its operations are in over one hundred countries Nestle acquires local companies as one of its marketing strategies to get staff that is aware of the culture of their target markets. Woolworths Group is an indirect competitor of General Mills. It is based in Australia. It is favoured by the changing consumer patterns since it offers fresh fruits and vegetables (Our customers and community, 2019).

Consumers are people of all age groups, 97% being less than twenty-four years old. Leading buyers are Caucasians and Hispanics, followed by Asians, then African Americans. Most buyers also have kids, and are highly educated, advanced graduates being at the forefront. They buy the protein rich nature valley muesli bar that has fewer calories. It is mostly bought in the afternoon and evening, as some consumers would rather snack than have full meals due to the dietary changes. They mostly buy the bars in clubs, followed by food and mass stores, and gas and convenience stores. They mostly buy during pantry stocking or filled up along with fifteen to twenty items. They buy to satisfy their hunger, restock their houses, or simply because they enjoy it. Most buyers buy goods worth over $117.Other brands usually bought by Nature Valley consumers include Betty Crocker, Chex, and Quaker (General Mills, 2018).

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Recommendations/conclusion

Although General Mills may face growth challenges in the market especially with the changing trends, the company will still remain a leading food producer. It has a new CEO with significant experience in the company. The extensive research and development, budget, wide selection of products, and the global brand will allow it to catch up with the current consumer patterns in time. Before it breaks through, the investors should wait and believe that the management will restore its profits back to where they should be and achieve the desired market penetration (General Mills, 2019).

Reference List

General Mills (Rep.). (2018, August 8). Retrieved March 23, 2019, from https://s22.q4cdn.com/584207745/files/doc_financials/2018/annual/FINAL-2018-Annual-Report.pdf Our Customers and Community. (2019). Retrieved March 23, 2019, from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/community-and-responsibility/group-responsibility/environment/

Rush, E., Yan, M., Kelleher, J., & Brown, D. (2016). Concept to sale of a healthier snack bar.

Schaufenbuet, K. (2015). Why Google, Target, and General Mills Are Investing in Mindfulness.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

General Mills is a large company with adequate revenue to financce production and extensive mmarketing.

The company was founded years ago and has established firm supply and distribution relationships.

Mobile technology provides an opportunity to interact with customers and obtain valid feedback.

The company can reduce the costs of operations by forming mergers with other companies like Nestle.

Unpredictable changes in customer demands may lead to reduced sales.

The company has built a firm reputation and the brand is recognized globally.

The size of the company makes adaptability and management challenging.

The size and resources allows it to acquire smaller companies that comprehend the culture and patterns of the market.

Continuous research and development allows frequent update of products.

The wide diversification of products restricts the company's ability to adapt.

Many market offerrings are difficult to handle.]

There is room for expansion to venture into existing market gaps.

Upcoming competitors who merge are able to enjoy economies of scale and sell themseves.

Some new products introducedinto the market may fail (General Mills, 2019).

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