Executive Summary
Recently, the food industry has drawn flak for contributing to the rising obesity rates. As part of the food industry, General Mills has to differentiate itself as a corporation that cares for consumers’ health, to ensure that its reputation is not tarnished by accusations of worsening obesity rates. Consumers have shown a preference for products that are sold in smaller packaging sizes, to manage their consumption. However, they are still reluctant to purchase healthier choices due to cognitive biases. By utilising these two trends, General Mills will be able to gain an advantage over its competitors. It is recommended that Nature Valley and Cheerios’ packaging is revamped. Furthermore, a campaign is to be carried out at General Mills’ retail partners to promote the revamped products. Such a move can only be advantageous for the company as this is in line with its mission statement and will improve sale for its healthier products.
1.0 Obesity’s prevalence
Recently, obesity has become a growing concern in America. Obesity rates have risen, reaching pandemic proportions (Tomer, n.d). This statistics is worrying to most, as it is widely known that obesity creates a host of problems. People who are obese are susceptible to health problems like high blood pressure and diabetes. Needless to say, people who are obese incur higher medical expenses than those who are not obese due to the increased healthcare needed for obesity related diseases.
The food industry has been blamed for contributing to the rising obesity rates (Wansink & Huckabee, 2005). However, the food industry is merely catering to consumers’ wants. Consumers have demanded that manufacturers in the food industry provide a wide selection of consu...
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...and Nature Valley’s granola bars. They will not be allowed to view the packaging so that their taste perceptions are less likely to be influenced by their cognitive biases. The employee in-charge of the blind taste test must enquire and ensure the consumer is not allergic to any of the ingredients used in the products before the taste test. The aim of the blind taste test is to convince consumers that the taste of the products need not be compromised, just because it is healthier.
4.0 Conclusion
In summary, the proposed solution leverages on the rising demand for smaller packaging size and aims to rectify the misconception that healthy food is unpalatable. General Mills ought to carry out the road show and blind taste tests for the revamped products from Nature Valley and Cheerios, as it would not only increase company sales but also improve its corporate image.
The presentation will also emphasize how persuasive advertisements can have significant effects on society, including society’s ideological perception of products and their contribution to the nation’s overall health. It was even found to have more Kilojoules than an average Mars Bar! In fact, the study found that most muesli bars usually have more than 1000 Kilojoules. See how misleading advertisements and packaging can be! These clever marketing techniques give extremely sugary foods a healthy perception to make it more enticing to buy – even though it’s still not healthier than confectionary.
T., Kraak, V. I., 2005, p.153). The book will be used in the sections where food industry and advertising could change their marketing toward healthy choices to help reducing and preventing
Obesity is a huge problem that needs to be resolved because it affects all people, unlike most issues. People of every gender, every age, and every race are at risk of being obese. Obesity rates in America have nearly doubled within the last twenty years. Something must be done not only to prevent obesity rates continuous rising, but also to dramatically increase the percentage of obese people in America altogether.
The company, General Mills, for which I was assigned, proved to be a worthwhile investment researching since it contains a large portion of the market share of its “niche,” that being breakfast cereals and the like. In conducting the research necessary to find out if a potential investor might strike interest upon General Mills, we find out a myriad of things. By drawing our attention towards the spreadsheet, which contains the bits of information we need to infer conclusions, we can see the patterns that develop over a 5 or 10 year period involving such things as: stock price, EPS, ROI, and many others. The following will give some insight into the history of General Mills among other things.
Zinczenko shares his personal story about how fast-food restaurants such as Taco Bell and McDonald’s led to a weight problem during his high-school years. He claims that the ease of accessibility and lack of healthy alternatives make it all too easy to fall into the cycle of unhealthy eating. Zinczenko also contends that the lack of nutrition labels on fast-food products leaves the consumer in the dark about what he or she is actually consuming. At the time Zinczenko wrote his article, fast-food restaurants were not willingly disclosing nutritional values of their products. Today this has changed. Fast-food companies, including McDonald’s, have put the full nutritional information of their products directly on the packaging and wrappers. All other fast-food establishments either post it on the menu board (Panera), offer easy access to pamphlets containing all nutritional information of their menu in store, or have it easily accessible online (Taco Bell, KFC). I am sure that this is a helpful step forward toward educating the public as to what they are consuming, but has this new knowledge to consumers had a dramatic change toward ending obesity? No. People have always known that eating a Big Mac and fries with the giant soft drinks that McDonald’s and other chains offer is not healthy; putting the nutritional labels on these items has done little to nothing to stop people from eating these high-calorie meals. This again leads back to the point that people as consumers need to be more accountable to themselves and stop blaming others for what they willingly choose to put in their
Obesity remains an extremely serious issue worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now dramatically increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continue to soar. CDC (2009) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According to NHANES over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (CDC, 2009). Treatment for this illness varies; it may include the incorporation of diet, exercise, behavior modification, medication, and surgery. Since there is no single cause of all overweight and obesity, there is no single way to prevent or treat overweight and obesity that will help everyone (CDC, 2009).
Obese people account for thirty seven percent of the United States population, but obesity- related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension account for sixty one percent of healthcare costs in the United States every year. The costs increase to billions of dollars which puts a huge strain on not only the economy but healthcare also. Obesity is a big problem in America and everyone either knows someone who is overweight or they’re overweight themselves. Treatment for obesity is having an active lifestyle, weight loss medication, or weight loss surgery.
of Philip Morris, said “People could point to these things and say, ‘They’ve got too much sugar, they’ve got too much salt […] well, that’s what the consumer wants, and we’re not putting a gun to their head to eat it. That’s what they want.” (Moss 267) However, consumers are being unconsciously forced to fund food industries that produce junk food. Companies devote much of their time and effort into manipulating us to purchase their products. For instance, Kraft’s first Lunchables campaign aimed for an audience of mothers who had far too much to do to make time to put together their own lunch for their kids. Then, they steered their advertisements to target an even more vulnerable pool of people; kids. This reeled in even more consumers because it allowed kids to be in control of what they wanted to eat, as Bob Eckert, the C.E.O. of Kraft in 1999, said, “Lunchables aren’t about lunch. It’s about kids being able to put together what they want to eat, anytime, anywhere” (Moss 268). While parents are innocently purchasing Lunchables to save time or to satisfy the wishes of their children, companies are formulating more deceiving marketing plans, further studying the psychology of customers, and conducting an excessive quantity of charts and graphs to produce a new and addictive
Obesity has been identified as one of the risk factors affecting directly and indirectly the health outcome of the population. Even though many approaches and programs have been conducted in order to reduce the obesity rate, this health issue is still a big headache and keeps being put on the table. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overweight and obesity rate have been increasing significantly in the past two decades in the United States with more than 35.7% of adults and almost 17% of children and adolescents from 2-19 years olds being obese ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). As Healthy People 2020 indicated, in the period from 1988-1994 to 2009-2010, the age adjusted obesity rate among U.S adults aged 20 and over increased from 22.8% to 35.7%, which means increased by 57% while the obesity rate among children and teenagers from 2 to 19 years old increased from 10% to approximately 17%, witnessing the increase of 69% ("Nutrition, physical activity," 2013). Obesity has impact both on economic and health of the nation. Obesity is the risk factor of serious chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, and other leading causes of preventable deaths ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). Moreover, obesity continues to be economic burden in terms of medical costs for either public or private payers up to $147 billion per year which increased from 6.5% to 9.1% (Finkelstein et al, 2009). In 2008, medical spending per capita for the obese or obesity related health issues is $1,429 per year, as 42% higher than “those of normal weight” (Finkelstein et al, 2009, p.8).
The European Vice President of United Cereal (UC), Lora Brill, is confronted by a dilemma: to launch a new product called Healthy Berry Crunch as the first ‘Eurobrand’ or not. A wrong decision may destroy her career, especially since Healthy Berry Crunch is not only a new concept of healthy cereal, but also a pioneer of United Cereal’s Eurobrand, which is different from the company’s usual standards. On the other hand, if she makes the right decision, she may be able to grow the company to a whole new level.
Obesity has been accepted in the American society as a norm. According to the U.S. office of the Surgeon General, in 1999, 6 in 10 American adults were classified as obese or overweight (McMurray, par. 5). In order for one to be classified as obese they’re body mass index (BMI) must be 30 or greater. The number of obese in America has continued to increase. It has been estimated by The World Health Organization that 300 million people will be obese by 2025 (Bailey 3). Since obesity comes with many health risks, many feel it should be treated as a disease.
We have to know the methods that the marketers use to attract us, and also the factors that make us very confident when buying a specific food product .The article by kim severson “Be It Ever So Homespun, There’s Nothing Like Spin,” Discusses the food packaging issues which I believe are strong ways in misleading people. At the begging of this article, Severson writes about her experience with food and our confusing attraction to the products by their packaging. The part when Severson writes “Something made me uneasy when I dropped a box of organic koala crisp cereal in my shopping cart.” When we think about it, why was it
Obesity has increased rapidly throughout the years, especially in the United States. As of today, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults in the U.S are considered to be obese. We all know that obesity is becoming a serious issue in the lives Americans. The effects of obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and in serious cases, death. So the question we can all ask is, “What is the cause?” The cause of obesity can come from, but is not limited to, some of these things: eating habits, lack of exercise, or a medical condition.
As a health care professional it is our position statement that obesity should be considered as a disease. Overweight and obese adults are considered at risk for developing diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, coronary heart disease, and certain type of cancers. An average of 300,000 deaths is associated with obesity and the total economic cost of obesity in U.S. was about $ 117 billion in 2000. As health care professionals it is our responsibility to increase public awareness of health consequences of over weight and obesity. Obesity as a disease: Obesity fits all the definitions of ‘disease’, that is, interruption in bodily function.
Many steps are taken while marketing a product or company, such defining a target market and researching the best approach to gain customers (Solomon, Marshall, & Stuart, 2012). Due to market fragmentation, many markets can be divided into small subgroups allowing for a better marketing approach. As seen in the marketing approach of the product Cheerios, understanding smaller target groups can create specialized campaigns to reach consumers, which increases brand loyalty and sales. In 2014, Mark Addicks, General Mills Chief Marketing Officer, stated with the new technology age his company has began a new approach focusing on new target markets such as expectant moms, which require folic acid that can be found in Cheerios (Schultz, 2014). Cheerios