General Mills Tests New Kids Brand to Prevent Constipation
General Mills has expanded its presence in functional kids products with the launch of Doolies, a new line of snacks and beverages containing fiber and probiotics to help prevent and treat occasional constipation in children.
The second launch from Gworks, General Mills’ corporate venture studio under its “Disruptive Growth Office”, Doolies quietly debuted in May on the brand’s website. The brand notes that it is “still ramping up,” focusing on selling direct-to-consumer as it improves its products and possibly launches new SKUs. A spokesperson for the brand shared that General Mills was inspired to launch the product line after finding that constipation was a growing concern for parents, who largely are “unsatisfied” with current treatment options — “particularly pharmaceutical laxatives that are heavily recommended by pediatricians.”
Constipation in children is defined as having less than three bowel movements per week and is often caused by dietary issues such as not consuming enough fiber or water. According to Boston Children’s Hospital, roughly 5% of pediatrician visits are related to constipation and at least 25% of visits to pediatric gastroenterology specialists are due to problems with constipation. Though easily treatable, it’s a consistent issue for parents, with the Cleveland Clinic noting that 10% of children are constipated at any given time.
According to the brand, Doolies products utilize fruit along with natural fibers to “help draw water into the intestines, creating softer & bulkier stools.” Ingredients include prunes, dates, sorbitol, inulin, apple fiber and sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose, as well as probiotics and prebiotics, which the brand says help support a healthy digestive function.
In terms of its use, Doolies straddles the line between a supplement and snack: the recommended dosage is one snack or beverage per day for children over four years old. Its portfolio includes Coconut Strawberry Banana shelf-stable smoothies; three flavors (Cherry, Strawberry and Apple) of fruit and nut bites and Strawberry filled breakfast bars. Sold on the brand’s website, the smoothies retail for $5.99 for a 4- pack while the bites and bars are $4.99 per 5-count box. Consumers can also opt in to monthly or weekly subscriptions for 25% off their order.
General Mills has experience with functional foods, investing in gut health brand Good Belly and, in 2019, partnering with the brand for a line of probiotic enhanced bars and cereals. A different subset of the GWorks team also launched Good Measure, a line of low sugar snacks aimed at consumers who are diabetic or pre-diabetic. While Good Measure has already launched in stores, Doolies will first debut on Amazon in November, before “exploring a retail strategy” in 2022.
The more nimble approach to launching brands, scaling slowly and putting in-place several stage gates, is a slightly newer approach for the multinational corporation. GWorks first launched in 2019, moving into General Mills’ Strategy & Growth organization earlier this year. The group is composed of several “co-founder” teams, the company said, that each focus on solving “one transformational business, trend or project as it relate[s] to a consumer need.” Doolies’ co-founders are Glory Alcantara, Rachel Crow and Michael Skinner.
“We are a small and highly motivated team embedded within General Mills to bring startup company passion to areas where we see big human problems around food today,” the website notes. “Early on we learned that this area of gut health and particularly constipation was a big problem for so many families and we are very excited to help develop products for them.”
