General Mills facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
General Mills

Logo since 2017. It displays a stylized blue script "G" by Lippincott with a red heart and the name on the side.
Formerly	Minneapolis Milling Company (1856–1877) Washburn-Crosby Company (1877–1928)
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: GIS S&P 500 component
Industry	Food processing
Founded	1856; 169 years ago (1856) (as Minneapolis Milling Company) 1877; 148 years ago (1877) (as Washburn-Crosby Company) 1928; 97 years ago (1928) (as General Mills) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Founders	Robert Smith Cadwallader C. Washburn John Crosby James Ford Bell
Headquarters	Golden Valley, Minnesota , U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jeffrey Harmening (chairman and CEO)
Products	Baking mixes, breakfast cereals, yogurt, refrigerated dough, soup, pizza, snack foods, ice cream, soy products, vegetables, flour, other food products,
Revenue	US$17.63 billion (2020)
Operating income	US$2.60 billion (2020)
Net income	US$2.18 billion (2020)
Total assets	US$31.37 billion (2020)
Total equity	US$8.89 billion (2020)
Number of employees	~34,000 (2023)
Subsidiaries	Cereal Partners Worldwide (50%)

General Mills, Inc. is a big American company that makes and sells many popular food products you find in stores. It started near the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, known first for making lots of flour.

Today, General Mills makes many famous brands. These include Gold Medal flour, Annie's Homegrown, Lärabar, Cascadian Farm, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Totino's, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, and Häagen-Dazs. They also make many breakfast cereals like Cheerios, Wheaties, Chex, Lucky Charms, Trix, Cocoa Puffs, and the Monster Cereals.

The company's main office is in Golden Valley, Minnesota, which is a suburb of Minneapolis.

History of General Mills

Advertisement for flour, late 1880s

Starting as Washburn-Crosby Company

The company's story began in 1856. It was first called the Minneapolis Milling Company. An Illinois politician named Robert Smith started it. He rented out water power to flour mills in Minneapolis.

Later, Cadwallader C. Washburn bought the company. He hired his brother, William D. Washburn, to help grow the business. In 1866, the Washburns built their own mill, the Washburn "B" Mill. It was very large for its time. In 1874, they built an even bigger one, the Washburn "A" Mill.

In 1877, the mill partnered with John Crosby. They formed the Washburn-Crosby Company. They made flour from winter wheat. That same year, Washburn sent William Hood Dunwoody to England. His job was to sell spring wheat there, and he was very successful.

In 1878, the "A" mill was destroyed in a flour dust explosion. Five other buildings were also ruined. This event was called the Great Mill Disaster. Sadly, 18 workers died. A new mill was built right away. The new mill was safer. It also made better flour because it used new steel rollers instead of old grinding stones.

In 1880, Washburn-Crosby's flour won awards at a big exhibition. This led them to create the Gold Medal flour brand. In 1924, the company bought a radio station in Minneapolis. They renamed it WCCO.

Founding of General Mills

General Mills was officially created on June 20, 1928. The president of Washburn-Crosby, James Ford Bell, combined Washburn-Crosby with three other mills. That same year, General Mills also bought the Wichita Mill and Elevator Company in Texas.

Postcard of the Gold Medal Flour factory in Minneapolis around 1900

Shares of the new company were first sold on the New York Stock Exchange in November 1928. General Mills has paid a dividend to its shareholders every year since it started. This is something only a few companies have done.

Engineering Milestones

General Mills's main office in Golden Valley, Minnesota

In the 1930s, a General Mills engineer named Thomas R. James invented the puffing gun. This machine made cereal pieces puff up into different shapes. This technology was used to create Kix cereal in 1937. In 1941, it was used for Cheerioats, which are now known as Cheerios.

In 1939, another engineer, Helmer Anderson, created the Anderson sealer. This machine used glue to seal bags of flour. Before this, bags were just tied with a string. In 1956, General Mills also created the tear-strip. This made it easier to open packages.

Aeronautical Research and Electronics

In 1946, General Mills started its Aeronautical Research Division. This team developed high-altitude balloons. They worked with the United States Navy. These balloons included the Skyhook balloon.

In 1956, the U.S. government used hundreds of General Mills balloons. These balloons carried spy equipment. They were part of Project Genetrix. Their goal was to watch countries in the Eastern Bloc, especially their nuclear sites.

General Mills's work in aeronautics during World War II was later continued by Raven Industries. The General Mills Electronics division also helped create the DSV Alvin submersible. This deep-sea submarine is famous for exploring the wreck of the Titanic.

Advertising and Television

Starting in 1929, General Mills products had special coupons inside. These were called Betty Crocker coupons. You could collect points and use them to get discounts on houseware items. The company stopped using these coupons in 2006.

General Mills became a sponsor of the popular radio show The Lone Ranger in 1941. They also sponsored the TV version of the show until 1961.

Former site of General Mills today on the Mississippi River at Minneapolis

In 1959, General Mills began sponsoring Rocky and His Friends. This show was later called The Bullwinkle Show. Rocky and Bullwinkle appeared in many General Mills ads until 1968. General Mills also sponsored other Saturday morning cartoons. These included Tennessee Tuxedo and the western TV series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.

The company also helped bring the Dennis the Menace animated series to TV in 1986. From 1997 to 2004, General Mills sponsored the first 82 episodes of the English version of Sailor Moon.

Expanding into Toys and Restaurants

General Mills first entered the toy business in 1965. They bought Rainbow Crafts, the company that made Play-Doh. This purchase helped lower production costs and greatly increased sales. In 1967, General Mills also bought the Kenner toy company.

In the 1970s, General Mills released their "monster cereals". These cereals are now sold every year around Halloween.

In 1970, General Mills bought a small restaurant company called Red Lobster. They helped it grow across the country. General Mills then created a division called General Mills Restaurants. This division managed the Red Lobster chain. In 1982, they started a new Italian restaurant chain called Olive Garden. Later, they added a Chinese restaurant chain called China Coast. In 1995, all these restaurants became a separate company called Darden Restaurants.

During this time, General Mills also bought clothing companies like Talbots and Eddie Bauer. However, they sold these companies later on.

The Washburn "A" Mill, which made Gold Medal Flour. It is now the Minnesota Historical Society Mill City Museum.

From 1976 to 1985, General Mills was involved in a court case. As the owner of Parker Brothers, they had rights to the board game Monopoly. They argued that another game, Anti-Monopoly, copied their idea. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court decided that while General Mills owned the game Monopoly, they could not stop others from using the word "monopoly" in a game name.

In 1985, General Mills separated its toy division. It became a new company called Kenner Parker Toys, Inc.

Recent History

In 1990, General Mills started a joint company with Nestlé S.A. called Cereal Partners. This company sells cereals outside the US and Canada under the Nestlé name.

In 2001, General Mills bought Pillsbury.

Since 2004, General Mills has made more products for people who want healthier food. They changed all their breakfast cereals to use whole grain. They also put less sugar in cereals for children. General Mills reduced the sugar in all cereals advertised to kids to 11 grams per serving.

In April 2011, General Mills announced a big change. They said they would switch to using only cage-free eggs. This means all 1 million eggs they use each year will come from hens that are not kept in cages.

General Mills is one of the largest food companies in the United States. In September 2014, the company bought Annie's Inc., an organic food producer. This was part of their plan to grow in the natural foods market. In October 2014, General Mills announced plans to cut jobs as part of a company reorganization.

In 2015, General Mills promised to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent over 10 years. This was to help fight climate change. In December 2016, the company reorganized again, splitting into four business groups.

In February 2018, General Mills entered the pet products business. They bought Blue Buffalo Pet Products, Inc. In March 2019, General Mills started a program to improve soil health on farms. They plan to do this on 1 million acres of farmland by 2030. They are working with a company called Regrow Agriculture. This company uses satellite imagery and other data to measure how much carbon is stored in the soil.

In February 2020, General Mills was recognized for its work in sustainability. They received a top rating from the CDP for their efforts on climate change and water safety.

In May 2021, General Mills announced they were buying Tyson Foods's pet treat business. This included brands like True Chews and Nudges. The deal was completed in July 2021.

In April 2022, there were reports of people feeling sick after eating Lucky Charms cereal. The complaints were mostly about stomach issues like nausea and diarrhea. The FDA began investigating these reports. It is rare for cereals to be contaminated by germs, as they are baked.

In May 2022, General Mills announced they were buying TNT Crust. This company supplies frozen pizza crusts. Also in May 2022, General Mills announced they were selling their Hamburger Helper and Suddenly Salad businesses. The sale was completed in July 2022.

In November 2023, General Mills bought a pet supplement business called Fera Pets, Inc.

Brands

Breakfast Cereals

General Mills makes many breakfast cereals, including:

Some of these brands are sold outside the US and Canada by the Cereal Partners company, using the Nestlé brand name.

Discontinued Cereals

General Mills cereals that are no longer made include:

Baking Goods

The company's baking brands include:

They also make fruit snacks like Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Fruit Shapes.

Grain Snacks

The company's grain snack brands include:

Meal Products

The company's meal product brands include:

Organic Food

General Mills also makes organic foods. These include brands like Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen. More recently, in 2014, they bought Annie's Homegrown.

Other Brands

Other brands from General Mills include Annie's, Blue Buffalo, Frescarini, Latina, Totino's, Jeno's, Progresso, Colombo, Lärabar, and Yoplait (51%). They also make Häagen-Dazs ice cream outside of the U.S. and Canada. In 2016, General Mills bought the meat snack brand Epic Provisions.

See also

In Spanish: General Mills para niños

• List of food companies
• List of Minnesota companies

Images for kids

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  Former site of General Mills today on the Mississippi River at Minneapolis