From underperformance to opportunity
A case study on Pillsbury Biscuits
Scintilla helped us break down the challenge—from category signal to business diagnosis, consumer-led actions, and a plan to measure impact.
Facing declining sales in the Refrigerated Dough category overall, General Mills turned to Scintilla to understand what was driving performance and identify new opportunities for Pillsbury Biscuits. By connecting insights across multiple Scintilla modules, the team uncovered unmet customer needs and developed two consumer-led strategies: expanding meal occasions through solution-led marketing and introducing new flavors through product innovation.
The opportunity: Look beyond the category decline
While the Refrigerated Dough category was declining, Pillsbury Biscuits faced a more complex challenge. A Shopper Behavior Performance in Detail report revealed that top-selling items were gaining shoppers, while lower-performing products were losing them, signaling that a single portfolio-wide solution wouldn't be enough.
General Mills needed to uncover why shoppers were purchasing certain products less, what needs weren't being met, and how Pillsbury could give them new reasons to buy.
The approach: Connecting the insights to a path forward
Pinpointing the source of decline
General Mills continued using various Shopper Behavior reports to analyze performance at the SKU level to pinpoint which products needed attention and where to focus the investigation.
The Switching report found that category contraction accounted for 73% of the decline, while 21% came from switched spend and just 6% from new and lapsed category shoppers—showing the bigger challenge was declining engagement, not simply shoppers leaving the category.
Then Assortment Deep Dive report revealed another challenge: Some biscuit varieties were highly substitutable. This highlighted the need to give shoppers a reason to choose Pillsbury.
Turning customer feedback into action
With a clearer understanding of the sales decline, General Mills turned to Customer Perception to hear directly from verified shoppers from the Refrigerated Dough category about what they felt was missing—and how Pillsbury could better meet their needs.
The findings helped General Mills develop two targeted strategies designed to give shoppers more reasons to choose Pillsbury Biscuits.
- Meal solutions: General Mills developed a solution-led marketing approach focused on showing how biscuits could fit into more meals and occasions. Recipes, bundles, digital content, and advertising helped give shoppers simple, relevant ideas for incorporating Pillsbury Biscuits into everyday routines.
- Product innovation: Shopper feedback pointed to demand for greater variety. Among Millennial and Gen Z shoppers, 90% wanted more flavors and 50% expressed interest in bold, spicy, or hot options. That insight informed new trend-forward flavors, including Mike’s Hot Honey Biscuits and new fruit-flavored offerings.
The results: New flavors and new growth
With both initiatives underway, General Mills is using Scintilla to track performance and understand what’s working.
- Meal solutions: Digital Landscapes is helping General Mills track online engagement and conversion across supported products, bundles, and kits to understand how customers are responding to the new marketing approach.
- Product Innovation: Early results show that the new items are already outperforming the Chilled Baking category launches in trial. General Mills is using Shopper Behavior to monitor performance and track repeat purchases.
From diagnosing the decline to activating solutions and measuring impact, General Mills has established a repeatable framework for moving from business challenges to consumer-led solutions.
