Joining a long and diverse list of brands that have succumbed to the cutely evil characters, the CPG giant has introduced a line of Minion-themed products to coincide with the July 10 release of the Minions movie.
The 10 SKU product line includes two new Minion-specific products, including a new 350g cereal that comes in a banana berry flavour and features a Minion design on each square, as well as a Betty Crocker Soft Baked Snacks product.
They are designed to appeal to kids and moms, with no artificial colours or flavourings. The snack product, meanwhile, boasts eight grams of whole grains in a 25g serving.
“One of the things we really concentrated on was bringing good nutritional credentials to the products,” said Catherine Jackson, director of corporate communications for General Mills in Mississauga. “They obviously have a huge fun factor for the kids, but you also want to make sure that moms see it as an offer they can feel good about.
Capitalizing on the Minions’ well-documented love of bananas, many of the products feature a banana flavour, including a Chocolatey Banana soft baked snack and a raspberry-banana flavoured Yoplait Tubes product.
Other General Mills brands featuring Minion-themed packaging include Fruit by the Foot, Gushers, Fruit Snacks, Pillsbury Ready to Bake Cookies, and two flavours of Yoplait Minigo (strawberry and strawberry-banana), both of which feature a yellow Minion cap.
The program has been in development for more than a year, with Minions the latest in a long line of officially licensed products for General Mills that includes Scooby Doo, Cars and Spiderman.
“We’ve always had a good relationship with our equity partners,” said Jackson. “They’ve proven very popular with mom and with kids, and this was one we felt was a really good match. We thought we could bring some real excitement to the retail floor through the Minions experience.”
While she declined to provide sales specifics, Jackson said licensed products are something that excites retailers because they provide an opportunity to create in-store entertainment that engages and excites shoppers.
This story originally appeared in Canadian Grocer
