General Mills Convenience and
MSA Partner to Deliver Total
Salty Snack Benchmarks
General Mills Convenience and Management Science Associates partner to deliver total salty snack category benchmark reporting to convenience channel distributors
Pittsburgh, PA February 16, 2015 – For the first time ever, distributors supplying the convenience channel will gain
access to highly valuable and actionable manufacturer, brand, and item performance and trend reports for the salty
snacks category. A joint effort of General Mills Convenience and Management Science Associates (MSA), the reporting
provides convenience channel distributors with complete salty snack category data (including direct store delivery data,
or DSD) to assist their retail customers with category management activities, assortment and plan-o-gram decisions, and
new item recommendations.
With quarterly updates starting in April 2015, this projected retail scan-based information will provide insights on retail
pricing, emerging flavor and pack-type trends, “fair share” comparisons across manufacturers, and regional item
rankings based on volume.
“MSA and General Mills Convenience have been working together for several years in the management and analysis of
convenience channel data, including shipments-to-retail data from their strategic distributors,” said Suzy Silliman, Senior
Vice President and Managing Director of MSA’s Information Management Solutions Division, which provides
Information- and analytical-based business solutions to channel partners in the consumer packaged goods demand
chain.
“We are pleased to expand this partnership to developing highly sought information and reports to distributor
customers on an ongoing basis,” continued Silliman. “It’s another example of GMI’s commitment to the channel and
category management. This effort also aligns with MSA’s goal to provide the industry with advanced information,
analysis and insights for accurate and fact-based decision-making and business process improvement.”
“We are excited to be able to partner with MSA to provide syndicated Salty Snacks category data for distributors to
leverage. It’s important for distributors to have a holistic lens to the entire category, incorporating key performance
metrics for DSD and Warehouse,” said Kelly Fulford, Senior Category Development Manager of General Mills
Convenience. “Access to multiple sources of data enables distributors to understand trends from the category level all
the way down to SKU-level performance. This type of information allows the industry to focus on driving sales and
profits across key categories like Salty Snacks and ultimately increasing consumer reach.”
Distributors will have access to salty snack category benchmark reports through MSA’s 24/7 DataServices portal. The
portal is accessed weekly by more than 500 convenience distributors submitting data to MSA-managed programs.
MSA and General Mills Convenience will be showcasing these reports at their booths at the American Wholesalers Marketing Association (AWMA) Marketplace and Solutions Expo, February 24-26, 2015, in Las Vegas.
About Management Science Associates, Inc. (MSA)
Established in 1963, Management Science Associates, Inc. has been a leader in data integration and analysis. Its Information Management Solutions Division (IMS) gives Consumer Packaged Goods channel partners a competitive edge by
providing data integration, trade program management and retail execution solutions paired with strategic insights and
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Salty Snack Benchmarks
analytics. Authorized manufacturers use MSA- managed distributor data to make more than $1 billion in annual trade
program payments to wholesalers and their customers.
About General Mills Convenience & Foodservice
The General Mills Convenience & Foodservice division serves the convenience, foodservice and bakery industries by
providing quality products from time-trusted brands along with culinary, nutrition education and marketing resources
to help operators succeed. Its distinguished brand portfolio includes Big G Cereals, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Gold Medal,
Pillsbury, Chex Mix, Bugles, and Gardetto’s. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, the division had fiscal
2014 net sales of $1.9 billion. For more information, please visit www.generalmillscf.com.
Contact:
Colleen Kimberlin
Product Marketing Manager
[email protected]
412-924-3900
Steve Levey
Solutions Management Director, Distributor Services
[email protected]
412-924-3861
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