the emerging greek yogurt market

The Emerging Greek Yogurt Market:How Yoplait Needs to Respond

Kyle Bank, Alex Frey, Mary Kenny, Ben Kremer &

Rita Sengupta

Background and Problem – Alex Frey

Research and Analysis – Rita Sengupta

Recommendations – Mary Kenny

Supported by Ben Kremer and Kyle Bank

Agenda and Introductions

Characteristics of Greek Yogurt

• Greek straining process

• Live bacterial cultures

• 2x the protein

• 1/2 the sugar

• 1/2 the sodium

• 1/2 the carbs

Greek Yogurt

• Unprecedented growth for premium price product in recession

• Grown over 100% in each of the last 3 years

• 2008: 2% of yogurt sales

• 2011: 19% of yogurt sales

Greek Yogurt Sales in the US

2%

19%

General Mills Market Share in US

General Mills5%

Others95%

Greek Yogurt

General Mills34%

Others66%

All Yogurt

Failed Launches for Yoplait Greek

9+ Chobani soldfor every Yoplait Greek

Chobani, 48%

Yoplait, 5%

• General Mills stock downgrade in early August

• Loss of market share after structural shift in the yogurt market

• Call to re-strategize

General Mills Stake in Yogurt

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

Pri

ce (

USD

)

General Mills Stock PricesMay 2011-November 2011

Primary Research

Regarding Yoplait Greek’s Poor Performance

Taste Tests

“Real” Test

Told Chobani and Yoplait Greek

Consumers ranked each product from 0-10

“Fake” Test

Told Chobani, but actually Yoplait Greek

Told Yoplait Greek, but actually Chobani

Is there a significant difference between taste, brand, or both?

Taste Test Results

TOLD / ACTUAL RATING

Yoplait / Yoplait 3.77

Chobani / Yoplait 7.36

Chobani / Chobani 8.01

Yoplait / Chobani 7.37

Analysis: Taste

*Holding brand constant while altering physical product shows that

Yoplait Greek has significantly inferior taste to Chobani*







P-value = 1.05E-10 P-value = .044

Analysis: Brand

*Holding physical product constant while altering brand name shows that Yoplait Greek has significantly weaker brand association than Chobani*







P-value = 1.23E-10 P-value = .046

Survey Results: Nutrition

Secondary Data: Nutrition

Chobani Yoplait Greek

*Both plain flavor

Although a higher end product, do consumers desire low price Greek yogurt?

• Our demand curve suggests:

Elastic demand

People are price sensitive

Survey Results: Price

So how can General Mills compete?

Core Recommendations

Re-engineerRebrand Reposition

Objective: Beat Chobani at being Chobani

Our Brand ChampionJanice

• Married middle-income 38-year-old working mother of three looking for a satisfying breakfast

• Loyal to her new-found dieting lifestyle

• Frantic schedule leaves bananas and apples as her only on-the-go choices

• Traditional Greek straining process

• Rich, creamy, smooth

• Clear packaging

Marketing Mix - Product

• MSRP: $1.19

• Current price of Yoplait Greek

• Make product affordable to drive volume

Marketing Mix - Price

Marketing Mix - Promotion

In-Store Taste Tests

In-Store Taste Tests

Female Television

DigitalCouponing

Celebrity Endorsement

Marketing Mix - Place

• Leverage General Mills’ extensive supply chain

o Sell to all major national and local grocers

Make available to all consumers because

Everyone Deserves A Little Good

Positioning

Attribute Kalos Chobani Fage

Price (6oz) $1.19 $1.59 $2.09

Consumers Low/Mid Income High/Mid Income Highest Income

Taste Creamy, rich Creamy, rich Tart, thick

Nutrition(Strawberry flavor)

Calories: 140Protein: 14gSugars: 19g



Flavor Diversity Strong Medium Medium

• Similar quality, taste & nutrition

• New brand to differentiate from Yoplait

• Price slightly lower than Chobani

o Leverage supply chain and GM infrastructure

o Accept lower margins if necessary

Mission: Beat Chobani at being Chobani

Questions?

Place

Product

Promotion

Price

Survey

Timeline

Alternatives

Risks

Financials

Positioning

Taste Tests

• Greek-To-Go

o Targeted at children

o Children 2-17 10% Greek yogurt consumption

35% Traditional yogurt consumption

o Only competitor = Chobani Champions

o Cannibalize Yoplait Gogurt sales

o Is there really a market for kids Greek yogurt?

Alternatives

• Yoplait Greek has 5% and is growing…• Our approach will stunt this growth with no guarantee of re-

attaining this share

• Leave Yoplait Greek on the market for 6 months & pilot Kalos

• A price-war with Chobani would be very expensive• We could win…but it might hurt other strategic objectives of

General Mills

• Greek yogurt bubble could burst…but there are no signs of this occurrence

Risks

An extra $1.6 billion in NPV over the next 4 years compared to “staying the course” with Yoplait Greek

Financials

Concept Research

Design & Production

FDA Approval

Production Release

Timeline for Implementation

• November 2011 • April 2012 • December 2012 • January 2013