YOPLAIT COLOMBO CASE STUDY

Client Background

As part of General Mills, a company with sales exceeding $13 billion and a number of well-known food products, the Yoplait Colombo division includes one of the leading brands in the U.S. yogurt market, Yoplait. It also boasts one of the oldest yogurt brands in the country, Colombo Yogurt, which began selling yogurt in New England in 1940. In addition, other buyer favorites Trix, Yumsters, Yoplait Exprèsse, and new Go-Gurt (spoonless yogurt-in-a-tube) are all under the umbrella of the Yoplait Colombo brand. Not surprisingly, the Yoplait division is considered to be one of the most creative and innovative within General Mills and the entire food industry. Just recently, the group created, marketed, and distributed one of the most successful products ever, Go-Gurt.

The Challenge

The Yoplait division had just launched a product that was innovative in every way, from ingredients to packaging to marketing. Without a doubt, Go-Gurt was a home run for everyone involved and the challenge facing the division was an enviable one - what could the division do to keep creativity at its current level? With the success it had achieved, the group was also growing and new team members were less experienced than the existing leadership. It was becoming increasingly important to embrace this new diversity and keep the entire team moving forward, with continued innovation and creativity. Not surprisingly, the natural sense of status and belonging to the team had to be addressed and expectations set accordingly. In fact, one new member was quoted as saying that he felt "like he had just been chosen to join the New York Yankees a day after they had won the World Series." Again, an enviable position but not entirely an easy one.

The Brave New Workshop's Role

The Yoplait leadership, taking a cue from other General Mills departments, selected the Brave New Workshop's corporate training to assist the group in becoming a more unified team in order to continue the success the Company had come to expect from the Yoplait division. First, Brave New Workshop trainers researched the dynamics of the culture that was in place at the time of the Go-Gurt idea generation and implementation with the goal to understand what worked initially and how it could be maintained and broadened. Secondly, the Brave New Workshop staff interviewed several team members with varying levels of experience in a day-long retreat in the beautiful Minnesota Northwoods. After reaching an understanding of the goals, history, and culture of the Yoplait division, the Brave New Workshop team led the group through a series of improvisational exercises that reinforced the elements needed to create a successful innovative, idea-centered team environment. The interactive nature of the improvisational workshop was a perfect way to get individuals with different levels of experience and varying styles of creativity to work together. In doing so, participants who had not worked together were able to share their own personal styles and talents in a non-threatening and safe environment. As the training progressed, the existing team was reminded of the level of acceptance it took to embrace Go-Gurt in its initial stages of creation and, together, the entire group learned that perhaps the most important aspect of their creative culture was the ability to accept new ideas that at first may have seemed odd. In the end, many in the group, regardless of tenure, status, or role, understood that creativity and innovation are skills that need to be nurtured, both as an individual and as a cohesive team. Training concluded with the belief that the expanded, diverse Yoplait team is definitely ready to produce the next home run for General Mills, and, quite possibly, win the World Series.