General Mills is the first consumer-packaged goods brand to run a promotion via deal-a-day giant Groupon, offering consumers a sampler pack worth up to $40 for just $20.

The deal was available to consumers in Minneapolis and St. Paul via mobile and online. It was sold out just hours after its launch.  

?We?re excited to be the first CPG company to partner with Groupon, a company respected ? and known ? for its ability to match buyers with sellers through innovative deals in fun, engaging ways,? said Joe Trimble, manager of promotion marketing, at General Mills, Minneapolis, MN.

?General Mills continually looks for value-added promotions that will delight our brand champions and intrigue new consumers,? he said. ?The breakthrough partnership with Groupon enables us to expand our reach while offering meaningful value to our customers through sampling our products.?

General Mills claims to be one of the world?s largest food companies with brands including Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Nature Valley, Fiber One and Cheerios.

Groupon features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, eat, see and buy in more than 500 markets around the world.

Deal of the day
General Mills?s sampler pack included Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese's Puffs, Kix, Cascadian Farms Organic, Fiber One 90-Calorie Chewy Bars, Hamburger Helper, Green Giant Corn Niblets, Old El Paso Tortilla Stuffers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Chex Mix Muddy Buddies snack mix, Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix, Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken dinner kit and a coupon book.

The Groupon deal was allotted 4,500 redemptions and was sold out within hours. Groupon then placed a sold out banner over the deal, informing future customers that the deal was sold out.

?We are delighted with the consumer interest and response so far, and plan to evaluate this initial test to explore potential opportunities for expansion,? Mr. Trimble said.

?Offering the deal to mobile users allows us to reach consumers almost instantly with the device that is always close-by,? he said. ?Given the popularity and quick sell-out of the offer, we know that?s important.?

The deal was offered with a limit of 2 per person, and consumers were allowed to buy two additional as gifts.

Consumers were able to access the deal via their mobile devices by going to their Groupon application or the company?s mobile site.

With the success of the Groupon Deal, General Mills is looking at offering other incentives via the popular daily deals site.

?We are working on various mobile initiatives as a touch point to extend current campaigns, leverage the inherent strengths of the devices and channel, as well as reach new consumers through mobile sites and apps, such as bettycrocker.com, and the soon to be released, Pillsbury.com mobile site,? Mr. Trimble said.

Final Take