In this country, Häagen-Dazs ice cream is a supermarket staple. In China, General Mills' Häagen-Dazs is primarily found in restaurants bearing the ice cream's brand name.
The difference highlights a challenge that big food companies like General Mills face in adapting to local tastes. Americans like their Häagen-Dazs in pints; the Chinese as a fancy dessert during an evening out.
A lot is at stake in solving the taste equation: Global markets, particularly in rising countries like China, are the big growth spot for packaged food makers. In 2010, the Asia-Pacific region passed Canada as General Mills' second-largest overseas market and is closing in on Europe.
The Golden Valley-based company's international business has steadily grown -- from 10 percent of sales to 25 percent -- since the company acquired crosstown rival Pillsbury in 2001. While General Mills has long been a big global force in cereal, Pillsbury gave it Häagen-Dazs and other brands critical to building international sales.
(In the United States, Häagen-Dazs is produced by Nestlé under license, a legacy of the Swiss food giant's onetime joint venture with Pillsbury).
The Star Tribune sat down recently with Christopher O'Leary, head of General Mills' international business:
Q Food seems like a particularly culturally sensitive industry because tastes can be so local. How do you succeed in transplanting well-known U.S. brands?
A First, it's our people strategy. We believe very strongly that our China business has to be run mainly by people who speak Mandarin and grew up in China and understand the culture. It's the same in other countries. Also, you have to ask yourself the question, "Will consumers eat a product as it exists, or should we create a similar, but new brand with a taste profile or other attributes that are more appropriate for where we are in the world?"
