MINNEAPOLIS – General Mills is expanding its Jolly Green Giant brand beyond frozen and canned vegetables, writes the Star Tribune. 

“Snacks have been the hot growth spot for packaged food firms worldwide, and General Mills is embracing the trend. From its Nature Valley bars to Chex Mix offerings, snacks have been General Mills’ strongest U.S. business in the past five years,” writes the news source.

“As people snack more, they are increasingly looking for ‘better-for-you’ snacks,” Jon Nudi, head of General Mills’ U.S. snacks business, told the news source, adding that the snack division had nearly $1.6 billion in sales in 2012 and posted annual sales growth of 8.4% in the past five fiscal years. The surge in snack food sales has also helped improve General Mills’ $2 billion foodservice business, which includes convenience stores.

“What’s really driven our success is aggressive innovation,” said Nudi.

“C-stores are the champion of snacking,” Dave Dudick, senior vice president for bakeries and foodservice at General Mills, told the news source. The company has also been boosting its snacking offer with natural and organic products, with the purchase of Larabar energy bars and Food Should Taste Good salty snacks.

“Overall, the snack market is growing globally because of the increasing time poverty among consumers,” Lamine Lahouasnia, Euromonitor International’s global head of packaged-food research, told the news source. 

Euromonitor research found that in the U.S., snack growth has been lucrative among healthier snacks, which includes snack bars. In 2012, General led the U.S. snack-bar market, according to Euromonitor.

Retailers can expect to see Green Giant-branded Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips and Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips this year.

“We have the best equity in vegetables,” Nudi told the news source. “And one of the things we see is a trend toward veggie snacks.”