General Mills sells frozen bakery

Increases focus on retail business

MELBOURNE, Australia – General Mills announced today that it is selling its Croissant King and van den Bergh’s frozen bakery business in Australia to Kerry Group, a global food and ingredients company headquartered in Ireland.

The sale includes frozen dough and pastry products sold to professional bakers under those brands, as well as two plants located in Mansfield, Queensland, and Camellia, New South Wales. About 110 employees dedicated to the frozen bakery business will transfer to Kerry with this sale, effective Dec. 1.

“General Mills’ focus is on growing our key brands in retail,” said Markus Muehleisen, managing director of General Mills Australia. These brands include Old El Paso Mexican food, Latina pastas and sauces, Betty Crocker baked goods and Nature Valley muesli bars, which were introduced in Australia last April.

“While our bakery team has built a solid business of frozen pastries and dough products serving bakers for almost 20 year, Kerry’s scale and experience also positions it well to grow and advance the business in this category,” Muehleisen said. “General Mills will continue to focus on our retail channels.”

General Mills acquired van den Bergh’s in 1999 and Croissant King in 2005.

About General Mills
One of the world’s leading food companies, General Mills operates in more than 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Yoplait, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2010 global net sales of US$16 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales.