(PROMO Xtra) General Mills kicks off the new year with a weight management program tailored to individual consumers.

Mills also will give a total of $500,000 to retailers to partner with non-profits that run health, nutrition and fitness programs. This is the first time that the General Mills Foundation is distributing grants through retailers. The foundation has awarded $4 million over the past two years directly to community groups and schools through its Champions Youth Nutrition and Fitness program, in collaboration with the American Dietetic Association and The President’s Challenge.

Consumers join the free weight-loss plan, dubbed Brand New You, by registering online at www.brandnewyou.com. Registrants give their height, weight, age, gender and activity level to get a customized 10-week meal plan designed to help them lose one pound per week. The week-by-week plan, devised by dieticians at General Mills’ Bell Institute of Health & Nutrition and the Betty Crocker Kitchens, includes recipes and nutritional information.

The site also carries coupons for General Mills products featured in the plan; exercise and healthy living tips; strategies for eating smart; and tools for tracking progress. Consumers can re-up all year for additional 10-week cycles, with new recipes.

Eighty brands participate in Brand New You, kicking in marketing dollars to fund the program, which is handled in-house. General Mills supports the program with sampling and demos in 6,000 stores; three national FSIs dropping in January; P-O-P; in-store couponing; and direct mail.

Last January, 500-plus General Mills employees tested the program and lost a total of 2,990 pounds. It was called “10/10 Weight Loss Challenge” (lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks); employees’ stories of their experience are posted at the Brand New You site.

Meanwhile, Golden Valley, MN-based General Mills reports that net sales rose 3% to $5.75 billion for the first half of fiscal 2005 ended Nov. 28. Sales for the U.S. Retail segment grew 3% to $4.04 billion; Bakeries and Foodservice sales fell 2%, with unit volume down 6%. International sales rose 12% with unit volume up 4%.

General Mills’ total sales for the second fiscal quarter rose 4% to $3.17 billion, due in large part to price hikes that General Mills took to offset rising commodity costs, and productivity improvements. Volume rose only 1%, but sales grew 4%.

Among U.S. retail brands, Betty Crocker desserts helped boost Baking Products volume 8% for the quarter, thanks to strong merchandising; Yoplait yogurt volume rose 6% for the quarter; snacks volume fell 1% due to competitors’ product launches; Big G cereal and Progresso soup volume were flat.

General Mills kicks off the new year with a weight management program tailored to individual consumers.

Mills also will give a total of $500,000 to retailers to partner with non-profits that run health, nutrition and fitness programs. This is the first time that the General Mills Foundation is distributing grants through retailers. The foundation has awarded $4 million over the past two years directly to community groups and schools through its Champions Youth Nutrition and Fitness program, in collaboration with the American Dietetic Association and The President’s Challenge.

Consumers join the free weight-loss plan, dubbed Brand New You, by registering online at www.brandnewyou.com . Registrants give their height, weight, age, gender and activity level to get a customized 10-week meal plan designed to help them lose one pound per week. The week-by-week plan, devised by dieticians at General Mills’ Bell Institute of Health & Nutrition and the Betty Crocker Kitchens, includes recipes and nutritional information.

The site also carries coupons for General Mills products featured in the plan; exercise and healthy living tips; strategies for eating smart; and tools for tracking progress. Consumers can re-up all year for additional 10-week cycles, with new recipes.

Eighty brands participate in Brand New You, kicking in marketing dollars to fund the program, which is handled in-house. General Mills supports the program with sampling and demos in 6,000 stores; three national FSIs dropping in January; P-O-P; in-store couponing; and direct mail.

Last January, 500-plus General Mills employees tested the program and lost a total of 2,990 pounds. It was called “10/10 Weight Loss Challenge” (lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks); employees’ stories of their experience are posted at the Brand New You site.

Meanwhile, Golden Valley, MN-based General Mills reports that net sales rose 3% to $5.75 billion for the first half of fiscal 2005 ended Nov. 28. Sales for the U.S. Retail segment grew 3% to $4.04 billion; Bakeries and Foodservice sales fell 2%, with unit volume down 6%. International sales rose 12% with unit volume up 4%.

General Mills’ total sales for the second fiscal quarter rose 4% to $3.17 billion, due in large part to price hikes that General Mills took to offset rising commodity costs, and productivity improvements. Volume rose only 1%, but sales grew 4%.

Among U.S. retail brands, Betty Crocker desserts helped boost Baking Products volume 8% for the quarter, thanks to strong merchandising; Yoplait yogurt volume rose 6% for the quarter; snacks volume fell 1% due to competitors’ product launches; Big G cereal and Progresso soup volume were flat.