Changing trend: General Mills reports growth in pet portfolio

After over a year of stagnation and decline, General Mills (GM) reported improvement in its pet sector in North America.

Reported net sales in the second quarter of GM’s 2025 financial year hit 5% year-on-year (YoY), a total of $596 million (€569M) thanks to higher volume. A press release on its latest earnings report says the increase reflects “a rebuild of retailer inventory after significant prior-year reductions.”

Growth reached 2% YoY over the first 6 months of the financial year.

The Minnesota-based company has struggled to maintain profitability in the sector in recent years, selling less pet food in 2024 than in 2023, and sales numbers were declining as recently as this fall.

What changed?

The company says process optimization and declining supply chain costs helped drive a steep profit increase. Operating profits in the North American pet sector reached $139 million (€133M), marking a 36% increase.

The report states that net sales in Q2 were up in the “high-single digits” for dry pet food. Wet pet food grew in the “mid-single digits,” with this being lower in pet treats.

Much of the segment’s increase in sales was organic, meaning new products and acquisitions were not the main contributors to the change in direction.

Outlook

In its recent earnings report, the company updated its 2025 outlook, saying it expected a roughly flat organic sales increase for the year and a decline in operating profits between 4% and 2%.

However, GM may continue its newfound growth in the pet segment with several new acquisitions.

In November, the company announced the purchase of the Tiki Pets and Cloud Star brands from Whitebridge Pet Brands for $1.45 billion (€1.39 billion). GM is also entering the pet supplements market with the acquisition of California-based Fera Pets.

GM states these acquisitions have not yet been incorporated into its financial year outlook.