General Mills is expanding its North America Pet segment with the national launch of a fresh pet food line under Blue Buffalo and the U.S. rollout of Edgard & Cooper. The General Mills pet segment expansion targets fast-growing areas of the pet category, focused on natural ingredients and premium nutrition.
Blue Buffalo’s new offering, Love Made Fresh, will enter the $3 billion fresh pet food market later this year. The product range includes multiple formats and recipes designed for standalone feeding or pairing with dry food. With this launch, Blue Buffalo becomes the largest U.S. pet food brand to offer solutions across dry, wet, and fresh segments.
The fresh pet food space has shown sustained growth across retail channels. General Mills is positioning Blue Buffalo to compete directly with category leader Freshpet, which has built refrigerated infrastructure in over 25,000 U.S. stores. While Freshpet has focused solely on fresh formats, Blue Buffalo is expanding its presence across multiple feeding types, aiming to meet diverse preferences within a single brand.
General Mills also confirmed the U.S. entry of Edgard & Cooper, a premium European pet food brand acquired in April 2024. The brand will launch exclusively through PetSmart beginning in July. Its product range includes dry food, wet food, and treats made from fresh proteins such as chicken, venison, and duck, combined with fruits and vegetables.
The Edgard & Cooper launch is built around a digital-first marketing approach, reflecting its rapid growth model in Europe. The brand targets younger pet owners looking for transparent ingredients and responsible sourcing, while leveraging PetSmart’s reach across retail and online channels.
With both Blue Buffalo and Edgard & Cooper, General Mills is aiming to lead in segments that are showing accelerated demand. The company is aligning with shifts in how pet owners feed and treat their animals — with increased focus on freshness, quality, and ethical sourcing. The U.S. pet food market has become one of the fastest-growing categories in consumer goods, with premium and fresh products driving overall category gains.
These launches support General Mills’ broader Accelerate strategy, which focuses on building brand scale, investing in innovation, and meeting evolving consumer needs. The dual expansion in fresh and super-premium reflects a calculated effort to strengthen share in a category marked by rising competition from global leaders such as Nestlé Purina, Mars Petcare, and Freshpet.
General Mills generated $20 billion in net sales in fiscal 2024. With the General Mills pet segment expansion now focused on innovation, partnerships, and premium product leadership, the company is positioning itself to compete across all key growth areas in the pet aisle.
