Yoplait China has changed hands three times in eight years, from General Mills to Tiantu Capital to IDG Capital, and Gary Hsi Chu has been involved in every single capital transaction. Why does this American businessman always appear at the critical junctures of Yoplait's capital operations?
There is a capital operations expert in China's dairy industry. He is Gary Hsi Chu, the current chairman of Yoplait Dairy Co., Ltd. Records show that Gary Hsi Chu, whose English name is Gary Hsi Chu, was born in the United States in 1960 and holds American citizenship despite having spent many years working in the Chinese market. Yoplait Dairy Co., Ltd., which is deeply tied to Gary Hsi Chu, is the mainland China business entity of Yoplait, the world's second-largest yogurt brand (hereinafter referred to as "Yoplait China").
Yoplait China is not large in scale, but it has been highly active in the capital markets, changing ownership three times in eight years. From being sold by General Mills, to Tiantu Capital taking over for 300 million yuan, to IDG Capital entering with 1.8 billion yuan, Gary Hsi Chu has been behind every capital operation. Yoplait China's major shareholders have changed repeatedly, yet Gary Hsi Chu has never left the table. So, in the capital saga of Yoplait China that has lasted more than a decade, what role has Gary Hsi Chu actually played?
Over a decade of capital maneuvering at Yoplait, Gary Hsi Chu has always been at the table
If one retraces the development trajectory of Yoplait since entering the Chinese market, it becomes clear that virtually every key milestone is connected to Gary Hsi Chu. Before formally joining Tiantu Capital, Gary Hsi Chu was best known as General Mills' Global Senior Vice President and President of Greater China. During his time at General Mills, he participated in forming the founding team of General Mills (China) and promoted the development of brands such as Haagen-Dazs, Wanchai Ferry, and Yoplait in the Chinese market. Yoplait's entry into the Chinese market was driven by Gary Hsi Chu.
The Yoplait brand was founded in France in 1965, started with fruit yogurt, and officially entered the mainland Chinese market in 2013. Gary Hsi Chu later recalled that he had always wanted to bring high-frequency consumer categories into China, so he proactively recommended dairy products to headquarters, and headquarters ultimately accepted his suggestion. He also stated publicly, "This brand is one I brought in. I believe Yoplait is an excellent brand with differentiated characteristics, and I believe such a premium, delicious yogurt has great potential in the Chinese market." In 2013, General Mills invested US$120 million to build a factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu, primarily engaged in yogurt production. In 2015, Yoplait products were officially launched in China.
In 2017, Gary Hsi Chu formally retired from General Mills, and shortly afterward joined Tiantu Capital as a managing partner, mainly responsible for consumer goods M&A business. In 2018, news emerged that General Mills planned to sell Yoplait China. In 2019, driven by Gary Hsi Chu, Tiantu Capital took over Yoplait China for 300 million yuan. Subsequently, Gary Hsi Chu became chairman of Yoplait China. In other words, in this transaction, the seller was Gary Hsi Chu's former employer, the buyer was his new employer, and the asset being sold was one he had personally brought into China.
The Yoplait China that Tiantu Capital acquired at the time was hardly a quality asset. Gary Hsi Chu once revealed that when he first took over from General Mills, Yoplait China had almost no business performance, with only about thirty or so employees remaining at the factory, "basically just buying a (factory's) net assets." According to financial data, Yoplait China's net asset book value in 2019 was approximately 257 million yuan. After changing ownership to Tiantu Capital, Yoplait China experienced prolonged losses. According to announcements disclosed by Tiantu Capital, from 2019 to 2022, it lost 110 million yuan, 108 million yuan, 78 million yuan, and 56 million yuan respectively, with cumulative losses exceeding 350 million yuan.
Under Gary Hsi Chu's management, Yoplait China turned profitable for the first time in 2023, achieving revenue of 454 million yuan and a profit of 8.39 million yuan. In 2024, Yoplait China's revenue was 810 million yuan, with a net profit of 95.45 million yuan. In the first half of 2025, Yoplait China achieved revenue of 497 million yuan and a net profit of 57.3 million yuan. After Yoplait China entered a period of rising performance, Tiantu Capital sold Yoplait China to IDG Capital at a high price.
"Limited pastures" 鈥?merely a tool for capital operations?
In order to sell Yoplait China at a good price, Tiantu Capital and Gary Hsi Chu made a series of arrangements in advance. After acquiring Yoplait China, Tiantu carried out a series of transformations, such as localization and expanding the product line to chilled fresh milk, ice cream, and yogurt shakes. In terms of channels, it no longer focused only on premium supermarkets but began entering convenience stores and e-commerce channels. The most significant change was at the product level. At the end of 2019, after the ownership change, Yoplait China expanded beyond its original yogurt business and launched Yoplait premium milk products, officially announcing its entry into the fresh milk market.
Yoplait China's fresh milk and yogurt products share three main selling points: high quality, limited pastures, and French brand heritage. But the description of "limited pastures" is quite intriguing. What Tiantu Capital took over from General Mills was mainly the Yoplait brand license in China and the production factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu, not including any pastures. So where does Yoplait China's milk source come from? According to a press release published on the "Tiantu Capital" WeChat official account, Yoplait premium milk products "originate from the company's own Victoria Pasture located in the golden milk source belt."
A review of public information reveals that in July 2018, Tiantu Capital invested 560 million yuan to acquire a 58.39% stake in Mengtian Dairy and included it in its consolidated financial statements. Mengtian Dairy controls Dezhou Victoria Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. and Ningdu Mengshan Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., corresponding to two pastures. These two pastures were the only two pastures controlled by Tiantu Capital at the time, and they subsequently became core milk source suppliers for Yoplait China. The own Victoria Pasture emphasized in Yoplait China's promotional materials refers to the pasture of Dezhou Victoria Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd.
Geographically speaking, for Yoplait China, the two pastures under Mengtian Dairy are hardly good pastures, because they are too far from Yoplait's factory. Map software shows that Dezhou Victoria Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. and Ningdu Mengshan Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. are at least 800 kilometers away from Yoplait's Kunshan factory, far exceeding the traditional milk source transportation radius for pasteurized fresh milk. Even at private car speeds, the driving time from the pasture to the factory over a distance of more than 800 kilometers would take at least 9 hours. If using the speed of a milk tanker and factoring in actual road conditions, it would take at least 10 hours of transportation to deliver the milk to the factory. Such prolonged transportation would inevitably have some impact on milk quality.
For reference, in May of this year, Yili revealed on an investor interaction platform that the transportation distance between most of its manufacturing plants and pastures is about a 2-hour drive. Notably, IDG's acquisition of Yoplait China did not include the two pastures held by Tiantu Capital. According to corporate registration data, multiple entities under Tiantu Capital currently hold a combined 72.92% stake in Mengtian Dairy, still controlling the pastures. As a result, the words "limited own pasture" on Yoplait milk product packaging were later changed to "limited pasture," with the word "own" removed.
Strangely, according to a report by food industry self-media "Shiwu," while IDG refused to take over Tiantu's existing pastures, Yoplait was simultaneously seeking to acquire or partner with new pastures in the industry. This suggests that IDG does not lack a need for milk sources; it likely simply did not want the two pastures in Tiantu's hands. Throughout the entire process, the two pastures seemed to become tools for capital operations, serving merely to support Yoplait China's operations and development during the Tiantu period. When it came to the transaction and transfer, these two pastures instead became "hot potatoes."
After the ownership change to IDG, Gary Hsi Chu began telling a new story
Theoretically, when a company changes ownership, management typically undergoes changes. However, IDG still kept Gary Hsi Chu as the head of Yoplait China and retained the previous team to continue managing Yoplait China. From IDG's perspective, this can be understood as trust in Gary Hsi Chu's team. According to a summary by food and beverage self-media "Shiwu": Gary Hsi Chu's core ability is to turn loss-making brands profitable, package asset valuations, complete a round of capital transfer, keep management in place, and continue to reap the next round of capital dividends.
After Yoplait China changed ownership to IDG, Gary Hsi Chu told a story with even greater ambition. In May of this year, according to a report by "Xiaoshidai," Gary Hsi Chu said at an industry forum that he wanted to build Yoplait into "the next General Mills," developing it into a diversified food company with dairy products being just one segment, with the specific path being cross-category M&A and overseas expansion. Gary Hsi Chu also explained the reason for choosing IDG: Tiantu is a purely financial investor, while IDG is a "value-creating investor" with global vision and M&A capabilities that can help Yoplait's long-term development through resource connections.
This means that what Gary Hsi Chu wants to do in the next phase is no longer simply to run the Yoplait brand better, but to use capital to transform Yoplait from a dairy brand into a diversified food platform. In recent years, Yoplait has already begun expanding from chilled yogurt into categories such as fresh milk, ice cream, and yogurt shakes. In December 2025, it also launched a 600 million yuan expansion project for a smart dairy and ice cream factory in Kunshan, planning to further increase production capacity. In June of this year, Yoplait's South China headquarters was established in Nansha, Guangzhou, also indicating that it is continuing to expand outward from its previously relatively concentrated East China market. These moves seem more like paving the way for large-scale expansion in the next phase.
Yoplait China's current main business scope is still primarily focused on the East China region, while also expanding into other regions. Milk sources remain a weak point for Yoplait China. In addition, Yoplait's business in China operates under brand licensing rather than directly owning trademark rights. The global registered trademark for Yoplait is held by General Mills. In 2019, when General Mills sold its Yoplait business in China to Tiantu Capital, the two parties reached an agreement whereby Tiantu obtained licensing rights for the brand in the mainland region, responsible for R&D, production, and marketing, while General Mills continued to hold the global registered trademark for Yoplait. This licensing model was carried forward in subsequent equity transfers. Currently, after IDG Capital took over, Yoplait China still operates under the licensing framework.
IDG Capital will certainly exit in the future, and there are only two exit paths: one is to exit after Yoplait China completes an IPO; the other is to find the next capital party to take over. If it pursues the IPO route, this brand licensing model could very likely become a "minefield" in future IPO reviews. If it seeks the next capital party to take over, Yoplait China will need to tell a more compelling story to ensure that IDG does not lose money.
Although Gary Hsi Chu has made the bold claim of becoming "the next General Mills," this path is not easy. Currently, Yoplait China's scale remains quite small. In 2023 and 2024, Yoplait China's revenue was 454 million yuan and 810 million yuan respectively; pre-tax net profit was 8.515 million yuan and 95.457 million yuan respectively, and after-tax net profit was 8.394 million yuan and 95.454 million yuan respectively. In comparison, General Mills' global revenue in 2024 was US$19.9 billion. A business segment once abandoned by General Mills now claims it wants to become it. The story's hook is big enough, but the difficulty is equally enormous.