General Mills learned some valuable lessons about fresh dog food after Blue Buffalo tested the concept a few years ago at a handful of retailers.
First, the good boys and girls love it.
“They literally will stand in front of a refrigerator and ask for the food again,” CEO Jeff Harmening said.
Second, it would take some effort to make it work on a large scale.
“We did not have the right commercial business model to support it, because there’s different operating dynamics in the fresh segment than there are in dry kibble,” said Liz Mascolo, president of the North America pet division at Golden Valley-based General Mills.
That behind-the-scenes work has led to Blue Buffalo’s “Love Made Fresh” portfolio, which will debut nationwide later this year in several formats and formulas, the company announced Monday.
By fully entering the $3 billion fresh-pet-food market, Blue Buffalo latches onto the fastest-growing part of the industry. Mascolo said she expects the category to reach $10 billion within a decade.
“It’s an opportunity for us to drive the growth of the fresh segment, but it’s a bigger opportunity for us to drive Blue Buffalo overall,” she said, as most fresh customers also buy kibble. “You’ll see us show up differently, talking about ways that people can incorporate fresh into their feeding vs. an all-or-nothing approach.”