General Mills leans on cat and fresh pet food for 2027
Bottom line
General Mills is heading into fiscal 2027 with a clearer pet food playbook: keep leaning into fast-growing cat food and fresh dog food, while trying to stabilize weaker parts of its dog portfolio. In the company’s first quarter of fiscal 2027, North America Pet sales were essentially flat at about $613 million, as double-digit cat food growth and low-single-digit pet treat growth offset a high-single-digit decline in dog food. Executives highlighted Tiki Cat and Blue Tastefuls in cat food, plus Blue Buffalo Love Made Fresh in fresh dog food, as bright spots, while Blue Buffalo Wilderness remained the most challenged part of the dry dog business. General Mills said it expects inventory shifts at retail to remain a headwind this year, and segment operating profit fell 12% to about $100 million because of higher input costs, lower volume, and higher SG&A. (investors.generalmills.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the strategy reinforces where large manufacturers think pet parent demand is moving: premium cat nutrition, fresh formats, and differentiated products that can support trial and repeat purchase. That matters in exam rooms because clients are likely to see more marketing, more shelf space, and more questions around fresh feeding and premium feline diets. It also suggests continued pressure on legacy dry dog lines, especially as General Mills says slower pet adoption, a shift toward smaller dogs, and migration toward fresh food are reshaping dog food demand. (petfoodindustry.com)
What to watch: Watch for the planned second-half renovation of Blue Tastefuls, continued expansion of Love Made Fresh distribution and awareness, and whether General Mills can turn around Wilderness over the next 18 to 24 months. (petfoodprocessing.net)
General Mills is putting its pet business at the center of its fiscal 2027 growth strategy, but the plan is selective rather than broad-based. The company is doubling down on cat food, fresh dog food, and targeted innovation after first-quarter fiscal 2027 pet sales came in essentially flat at $613 million. Growth in cat food and treats offset weaker dog food performance, underscoring a portfolio shift that now appears central to the company’s pet roadmap. (investors.generalmills.com)
That strategy has been building for several quarters. In July 2026, General Mills said fourth-quarter North America Pet sales rose 4% to $702.4 million, with double-digit cat food growth, low-single-digit dog food growth, and a slight decline in treats. The company has also been reshaping its portfolio through deals and launches, including its December 2024 acquisition of Whitebridge Pet Brands’ North American premium cat feeding and pet treating business, which brought Tiki Pets and Cloud Star into the fold, and its June 2025 expansion into fresh dog food with Blue Buffalo Love Made Fresh. (petfoodprocessing.net)
The latest quarter sharpened that picture. General Mills reported that cat food sales rose at a double-digit rate in Q1 fiscal 2027, pet treats grew low single digits, and dog food fell high single digits. Segment operating profit dropped 12% to roughly $100 million, reflecting higher input costs, lower volume, and higher SG&A, even as price and mix remained favorable. On the earnings call, COO Dana McNabb said Tiki Cat posted double-digit retail sales growth and gained share, while Blue Tastefuls grew at a mid-single-digit pace. She also said Tastefuls is slated for a product renovation in the second half of the fiscal year. (investors.generalmills.com)
Fresh dog food remains an important test case. General Mills launched Love Made Fresh nationally in June 2025 as its entry into the U.S. fresh pet food segment. After early supply chain and in-store execution issues, the company says the business is gaining traction: executives said Love Made Fresh retail sales rose 80% in fiscal Q4 2026 and another 30% in Q1 fiscal 2027, with products placed in about 6,000 refrigerated displays. That’s notable because it suggests General Mills sees fresh not as a niche adjacency, but as a strategic hedge against slower growth in traditional dry dog food. (petfoodindustry.com)
The weak spot is Blue Buffalo Wilderness. General Mills has described Wilderness as the most challenged part of its dry dog portfolio and says fixing it will take more than a simple marketing push. According to comments from McNabb at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference on September 8, 2026, the company is reassessing the brand’s product, packaging, positioning, and value, and expects the turnaround could take 18 to 24 months. Executives also tied the pressure in dog food to slower pet adoption, a shift from larger dogs to smaller dogs, and consumer migration toward fresh formats. (petfoodindustry.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is another signal that industry investment is clustering around premium feline nutrition and fresh-feeding formats, not just traditional kibble expansion. That can shape what pet parents ask about in practice, especially as brands like Tiki Cat and Blue Tastefuls gain more distribution and as fresh products become more visible in mainstream retail. It also means clinicians may need to keep addressing the gap between marketing momentum and evidence. Fresh food is a fast-growing commercial segment, but growth in availability and consumer interest doesn’t automatically answer questions about nutritional adequacy, life-stage suitability, caloric density, or the clinical value of one format over another for a specific patient. (petfoodindustry.com)
There’s also a broader business implication. General Mills has completed its base price investments and says fiscal 2027 will focus more on innovation and renovation, including products tied to “pet humanization.” At the same time, the company reaffirmed its full-year outlook and warned that retailer inventory changes should remain a low-single-digit headwind for North America Pet organic sales. For clinics and veterinary teams that track industry trends, that combination, steady top-line pet sales, margin pressure, and concentrated investment in a few growth pockets, suggests manufacturers may become even more disciplined about which subcategories and claims they support most aggressively. (investors.generalmills.com)
What to watch: The next markers will be whether Blue Tastefuls’ renovation lands, whether Love Made Fresh can keep accelerating as distribution expands, and whether Wilderness shows early stabilization before the company’s stated 18-to-24-month recovery window runs out. General Mills’ next few quarters should show whether cat and fresh can do more than offset dog-food weakness, or whether the portfolio needs a deeper reset. (petfoodprocessing.net)