[Verbatim from the WSJ] After General Mills in 2014 acquired Annie’s Homegrown Inc., maker of organic bunny-shaped pasta, some Annie’s employees said in interviews that they didn’t want to “get Kashi-ed.”

Carla Vernon, president of General Mills’ natural and organics business, including the Annie’s brand, said on Thursday that the cereal giant understands the potential perils of folding smaller brands into a big company.

Ms. Vernon said she’s still looking for the “secret sauce” to merge small brands General Mills acquires with the corporate conglomerate. “We’ve done every acquisition differently,” she said.

Food conglomerates acknowledge they have a lot to learn from their smaller rivals.

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