General Mills Readies Disney Cereals
General Mills will launch three Disney-branded cereals next month, the first cereal to use Disney’s new nutrition guidelines.
The ready-to-eat cereals will feature three Disney properties: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney Princess and Little Einsteins. The cereals are made with whole grains, and meet Disney’s recipe requirements.
The line gets value pricing, $1.99 per box, so it’s unlikely to have significant marketing support, relying instead on the Disney characters to pique shoppers’ interest on-shelf.
“This new cereal line leverages strong Disney equities that need no introduction while delivering everyday value at very attractive, competitive price points,” said Kymm Pollack, marketing director of General Mills’ Big G cereal division, in a statement.
General Mills won’t comment on marketing plans for the line. The Minneapolis-based company handles most promotions in-house.
Disney’s guidelines reinforce a nutrition push that General Mills began last year, when it shifted to whole grains for all its Big G ready-to-eat cereals.
Disney Consumer Products issued its food guidelines in October. The rules govern food licensees’ recipes, with specific limits on calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar. Disney has adopted the guidelines for kids meals at its theme parks, and plans to cut trans fats from park food next year and from licensees’ foods by 2009.
Some products already meet the standards: instant oatmeal featuring The Incredibles and Kim Possible, Disney Garden-branded produce including kid-sized apples and bananas; and Mickey-shaped organic pasta.
Other foods will adopt the standards as licensees sign new contracts. Current contracts that don’t meet the rules will expire within two years.
Disney’s guidelines also set parameters for food licensees’ promotions to kids.
