Can General Mills' Pet Strategy Put Blue Buffalo Back on Growth Track?

General Mills, Inc. GIS is stepping up efforts around Blue Buffalo as it seeks to strengthen its dog-feeding business while expanding initiatives in fresh pet food. The fiscal 2027 plan spans product innovation, packaging, benefit-led communication and e-commerce execution, with particular attention on the core Life Protection Formula line, Love Made Fresh and Wilderness.

The effort comes against a challenging backdrop for North America Pet. Organic net sales declined 3% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, while all-channel retail sales fell approximately 1%, with the gap largely reflecting changes in retailer inventory. For the full year, organic net sales were also down 3%. However, the segment held dollar share in dog feeding and cat feeding, which together represented approximately 80% of retail sales.

For Blue Buffalo's core Life Protection Formula line, General Mills plans clearer communication around ingredient superiority, a refreshed head-to-head campaign, stronger social-first messaging, updated packaging and new pack sizes suited to pet parents shopping online. Fiscal 2027 is also expected to be the biggest year of innovation yet for the Life Protection Formula line.

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The company is also building on Love Made Fresh. Retail sales for the line accelerated roughly 80% in the fourth quarter, helped by a new stand-up resealable pouch and improved in-store execution. The fiscal 2027 focus is on driving trial and repeat purchases through better on-shelf availability and sharper natural superior nutrition messaging.

Wilderness remains another area of focus after accounting for more than half of North America Pet's declines in fiscal 2026. GIS is renovating packaging, optimizing offerings for e-commerce and emphasizing protein-forward innovation and communication. Together, these actions show a broad effort to address weaknesses in dog feeding while strengthening Blue Buffalo's offerings across core and fresh-food formats.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have tumbled 12% year to date against the industry’s growth of 6.5%.

Better-Ranked Stocks to Consider

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. CHEF is a distributor of specialty food and center-of-the-plate products across the United States, Canada and the Middle East. CHEF currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for The Chefs' Warehouse’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings per share (EPS) implies growth of 10.6% and 33.7%, respectively, from the year-ago figures. CHEF delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 30.4%, on average.

The Vita Coco Company, Inc. COCO, a leading beverage company that develops, markets and distributes coconut water and other plant-based beverages, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. COCO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.9%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for The Vita Coco Company’s current fiscal-year sales and EPS calls for growth of 31.6% and 64.7%, respectively, from the year-ago figures.

Darling Ingredients Inc. DAR, a global developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients derived from edible and inedible bio-nutrients, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Darling’s current fiscal-year sales calls for 11.5% growth from the prior-year levels. The consensus estimate for current fiscal-year EPS stands at $6.98, which implies a substantial improvement from the year-ago period. DAR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 38.9%, on average.

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