A：The key messages from the call include the focus on executing strategies related to Yoplait Thetis, the whitebridge acquisition, and returning to profitable organic growth as the best way to create value for shareholders. The company is also investing in innovation, new product development, new brand campaigns, and renovation across all top categories to support long-term growth.

A：The investments made to address price clips and gaps, particularly in the Yoplait Thetis and whitebridge categories, resulted in good outcomes which gave the company more confidence. These efforts led to pound share growth and outperformance in the cereal category, as well as positive results in soup and fruit snacks.

A：General Mills is focusing on strengthening its existing products' pound share in 8 of its top 10 categories in NAR, maintaining its position in pet, continuing strong competitiveness in food services, and increasing growth and competitiveness in international markets. The company is investing in innovation, new product development, new brand campaigns, and renovation across all top categories while also implementing HCM cost savings and transformational benefits.

A：General Mills is encouraged by the early signs of improvements in performance and has plans for Q2 that include new product volumes and strong strategies in baking and soup. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 26 guidance based on the expectation of improved performance throughout the back half of the year, including Q4.

A：General Mills believes that the current challenging volume environment is partially due to factors under the company's control and some external factors. One of the most important factors is the inflationary pressure, with wages not yet catching up with inflation, leading to consumers seeking value. Price mix has had a more significant impact on the volume than the volume itself, and the company does not need to gain massive share to achieve the results suggested for the year.

A：The protein trend is being driven by consumers seeking more protein, with products like Cheerios protein and Nature Valley creamy protein seeing significant success. The company is capitalizing on this by continuing to introduce new high-protein products and has observed a positive response to these offerings.

A：Despite the company holding its own in 8 out of 10 categories and gaining share, reported volume is down negative one percent due to a structural headwind in categories like flour and desserts, which significantly overindex on pounds versus dollars. This has impacted the total volume reported.

A：The keynotes business experienced a slight decrease in volume in Q1 due to a price pack architecture change from bag to box, which requires time to adjust. The cereal business saw an improvement but still has challenges, as the performance was down despite a second consecutive quarter of ground share growth in Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Pounds in the category were down, indicating a need for further improvement.

A：The company faced a shipment timing headwind in pet food shipments to the tune of about 400 points, which is significant enough to have taken almost a full point off the company's total company pounds in the quarter.

A：The company's blue pet business, which includes core pet business results, was in line with last year's performance, maintaining pound share and improving dollar share slightly. The company is encouraged by the performance of its blue life protection formula business, the cat feeding business, and the Tiki cat retail sales. However, there's a slowdown in the wilderness business, which needs to improve along with the total product proposition. The pet specialty channel continues to be a challenge, and the company plans to improve with new protein news, products, comparative advertising, and better in-store execution.

A：The company believes that the most important aspect is to focus on the consumer's needs and deliver to them through various means such as advertising, product innovation, and new products. Success can be found in one category or 15 categories, and the priority should be on the consumer focus rather than just on scale and complexity.

A：The company believes that scale should not be pursued for its own sake and that benefits do not automatically accrue just because of scale. The key is to utilize the scale effectively and focus on consumer needs in various occasions and demand spaces.

A：The biggest changes include an elongated timetable for the investment in price promotions stretching into the second half of fiscal 26, which is longer than previously anticipated. The company is adapting to these changes and focusing on base shelf price adjustments to ensure manageable competition gaps, with most adjustments completed in Q1 and the remainder in Q2.

A：The company is addressing base shelf price adjustments by trying to make sure there is a gap that's manageable for competition across two thirds of their portfolio. The majority of these adjustments were completed in Q1, and results have exceeded expectations, with good performance in categories like bars, fruit snacks, and salty snacks.

A：After adjusting base shelf prices, the company's focus is on elevating work on new products, moving from about 3.5 percent of net sales on new products to 5 percent. They are encouraged by the performance of new products like Cheerios, protein bars, and other offerings.

A：The strategy for the 5000 coolers involves ramping up distribution into the next calendar year in 2026. The company has started plant production well, with initial products looking strong, and plans to install 1000 coolers by the end of this month and 5000 by the end of fiscal Q2. They are encouraged by cooler distribution and have experience in the refrigerator channel through their Pillsbury and yogurt business.

A：The impact of inflation phasing on the company's profit performance is that it was lighter than expected in the quarter, at about 2% versus an annual run rate of 3%. This factor, along with trade expense timing benefits, positively impacted the company's operating profit and EPS. However, these benefits are expected to unwind largely in Q2, leading to a more pronounced profit decline in Q2 than in Q1. Additionally, supply chain phasing costs on inflation are expected to be higher in Q2, and the company will also face inventory absorption headwinds and the absence of yogurt business contributions in Q2.

A：The company expects a modest headwind in Q3 and a significant tailwind in Q4 in terms of sales comparisons, as they adjust from the impacts experienced in the previous year's Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4.

A：The recent gains in household penetration were driven by getting the price-value right, ensuring products were below the competition on the shelf with manageable gaps, and by strong advertising, new product innovation, and quality price architecture.

A：The company is using AI and leveraging technology for better forecasting efficiency, which allows the marketing team to focus on demand generation and supply chain personnel to concentrate on production efficiency. This has resulted in improved waste elimination and overall operational efficiency.

A：The company is actively working on reformulation to remove artificial dyes and other potentially concerning additives from its products. They are guided by consumer preferences and have been successful in doing so in some brands. The company is taking a cautious approach, waiting for regulatory clarity, as some state regulations are challenging and costly compared to a federal approach.

A：The company is at about 5% of sales coming from new product innovation, which has increased from 3.5% a year ago.

A：The new products introduced in North American retail are considered to have bigger and better ideas with more staying power, which is beneficial for the current year and future years.

A：Successful new product innovations include expanded cereals and protein products like granola and new fruit snacks, as well as fresh pet food in the pet food business.

A：Category performance in North American retail has so far played out as expected, with the top 10 categories performing better than anticipated, and categories outside of these top performers showing a softer demand.

A：The current status of category growth is about what was anticipated, and consumer sentiment aligns with those expectations. The company is also seeing growth in categories within NAR and food service international, and maintaining share in pet food.

A：The GLP-1 trend has had some impact on categories, mainly in baking and confectionery, but it's not yet significant. However, there's an opportunity as people using GLP-1 medications tend to look for more protein, and products like cereal and protein are high in fiber and meet this demand.

A：The phasing in the second quarter is expected to have modest revenue contribution from fresh pet shipments. Despite potential for some volatility due to shipment timing, the overall outlook for the year is not expected to change significantly.

A：The puts and takes are expected to modestly affect Q2 operating profit, with a net impact on revenue but not expected to change the overall outlook for the year.

A：The retail packaged food industry is not adapting fast enough to compete effectively against away from home channels. While away from home eating traffic has been stable, the focus is on commercial channels which have experienced flat traffic despite value-focused advertising.

A：General Mills is well-positioned in the non-commercial channel, which includes K-12 schools, hospitality, business, and industry. This channel is growing at about 2%, and General Mills is gaining share due to its food service business's focus on this segment.