A Food Stock for Your Shopping List (at Kiplinger.com)

General Mills continues to increase sales and profits in a tough environment as the stock rewards investors. People eat regardless of what the economy does. Yes, escalating commodity prices squeeze food producers. But those with well-known brands have been able to maintain earnings and sales growth despite an economic slowdown. General Mills (symbol GIS) is a prime example. The maker of Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper and Pillsbury products has managed to keep its businesses cooking as others wilt. Pricing power is the key ingredient of Mills' strategy to minimize commodity-price inflation. The company can boost prices on its products, such as Cheerios, because customers are willing to pay more for them than they will for boxes of Brand X. Even as Mills hiked prices on many of its goods, the total number of products sold... [read full story]