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General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
at Saint Anthony Falls in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, the company originally gained fame for being a large
flour miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
. It is headquartered in
Golden Valley, Minnesota Golden Valley is a western and first-ring suburb of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 22,552 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is mostly residential an ...
, a suburb of Minneapolis. Today, the company markets many well-known North American brands, including Gold Medal flour,
Annie's Homegrown Annie's Homegrown (or simply Annie's) is an American organic food company owned by General Mills. The company was founded in Hampton, Connecticut, by Annie Withey and Andrew Martin, who had previously founded Smartfood popcorn along with Ken ...
,
Lärabar Lärabar is a brand of energy bars produced by General Mills. The bars come in a variety of flavors such as apple pie, carrot cake, cinnamon roll, and mint chip brownie. History Lärabar was created by Denver native Lara Merriken, who was lo ...
, Cascadian Farm, Betty Crocker, Nature Valley, Totino's, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Häagen-Dazs, as well as
breakfast cereal Breakfast cereal is a category of food, including food products, made from food processing, processed cereal, cereal grains, that are eaten as part of breakfast or as a snack food, primarily in Western societies. Although warm, cooked cereals li ...
s under the General Mills name, including Cheerios,
Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring list of athletes on Wheaties boxes, prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originall ...
, Chex, Lucky Charms, Trix, Cocoa Puffs, and the monster cereals.


History


Washburn-Crosby Company

The company can trace its history to the Minneapolis Milling Company, incorporated in 1856. The company was founded by Illinois congressman Robert Smith, who leased power rights to flour mills operating along the west side of Saint Anthony Falls on the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
in
Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. Cadwallader C. Washburn acquired the company shortly after its founding and hired his brother William D. Washburn to assist in the company's development. In 1866 the Washburns got into the business themselves, building the Washburn "B" Mill at the falls. At the time, the building was considered to be so large and output so vast that it could not possibly sustain itself. However, the company succeeded, and in 1874 he built the even bigger Washburn "A" Mill. In 1877, the mill entered a partnership with John Crosby to form the Washburn-Crosby Company, producing winter wheat flour. That same year Washburn sent William Hood Dunwoody to England to open the market for spring wheat. Dunwoody was successful and became a silent partner. In 1878, the "A" mill was destroyed in a flour
dust explosion A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in the air within an enclosed location. Dust explosions can occur where any dispersed powdered combustible material is present in high-enough concentrations in the atmosphere ...
along with five nearby buildings, an event known as the Great Mill Disaster. The ensuing fire led to the death of 18 workers. Construction of a new mill began immediately. Not only was the new mill safer but it also was able to produce a higher quality flour after the old grinding stones were replaced with automatic steel rollers, the first ever used. In 1880, Washburn-Crosby flour brands won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Millers' International Exhibition in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, causing them to launch the Gold Medal flour brand. In 1924, the company acquired a failing Twin Cities radio station, WLAG, renaming it WCCO (from Washburn-Crosby Company).


Founding as General Mills

General Mills itself was created on June 20, 1928, when Washburn-Crosby President James Ford Bell merged Washburn-Crosby with three other mills.Staff report (May 8, 1961)
James Bell Ford of General Mills; Founder of Concern Is Dead at 81 -- Was Philanthropist
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
In the same year, General Mills acquired the Wichita Mill and Elevator Company of the industrialist Frank Kell of Wichita Falls,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. With the sale, Kell acquired cash plus stock in the corporation. Shares of the new company's stock were first sold on the New York Stock Exchange on November 30, 1928, at $65 per share. The newly merged company paid a
dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders, after which the stock exchange decreases the price of the stock by the dividend to remove volatility. The market has no control over the stock price on open on the ex ...
in 1928 and has continued the dividend uninterrupted ever since – one of only a few companies to pay a dividend every year since its founding.


Engineering milestones

In the 1930s, General Mills engineer, Thomas R. James, created the puffing gun, which inflated or distorted cereal pieces into puffed-up shapes. This new technology was used in 1937 to create Kix cereal and in 1941 to create Cheerioats (known today as Cheerios). In 1939, General Mills engineer Helmer Anderson created the Anderson sealer. This new device allowed for bags of flour to be sealed with glue instead of just being tied with a string. In 1956, General Mills created the tear-strip for easily opening packages.


Aeronautical Research Division and Electronics Division

In 1946, General Mills established their Aeronautical Research Division with chief engineer Otto C. Winzen. This division developed high altitude balloons in conjunction with the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
Office of Naval Research (ONR), such as the Skyhook balloon. In 1956, hundreds of General Mills balloons carrying reconnaissance equipment were launched by the United States government under Project Genetrix to surveil
Eastern bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
countries, in particular their nuclear capabilities. The aeronautical work of General Mills done around the time of the Second World War was continued by Raven Industries. The General Mills Electronics division developed the DSV ''Alvin'' submersible, which is notable for being used in investigating the wreck of '' Titanic'' among other deep-sea exploration missions.


Merchandising and television

Beginning in 1929, General Mills products contained box top coupons, known as Betty Crocker coupons, with varying point values, which were redeemable for discounts on a variety of housewares products featured in the widely distributed Betty Crocker catalog. The coupons and the catalog were discontinued by the company in 2006. General Mills became the sponsor of the popular radio show '' The Lone Ranger'' in 1941. The show was then brought to television, and, after 20 years, their sponsorship came to an end in 1961. Beginning in 1959, General Mills sponsored the '' Rocky and His Friends''
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
, later known as '' The Bullwinkle Show''. Until 1968, Rocky and Bullwinkle were featured in a variety of advertisements for General Mills. General Mills was also a sponsor of the Saturday-morning cartoons from the Total Television productions studio, including Tennessee Tuxedo. The company also was a sponsor of the ABC western series '' The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'', starring
Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Western (genre), Western television series ' ...
. The company, along with its subsidiary The Program Exchange, backed DiC Entertainment in syndicating the '' Dennis the Menace'' animated series based on the comic strip of the same name created by Hank Ketcham in 1986. From 1997 until May 31, 2004, General Mills sponsored and syndicated the first 82 episodes of the original ''
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...
'' English dub (the remaining 17 of 82 episodes premiered on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
's programming block
Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...
in 1998).


Diversification: toys and restaurants

The first venture General Mills took into the toy industry was in 1965. The company bought Rainbow Crafts, which was the manufacturer of Play-Doh. General Mills's purchase of the company was significant because it brought production costs down and tripled the revenue. In 1967, General Mills bought the Kenner toy company. General Mills came out with their "monster cereals" in the 1970s. The cereals are now produced and sold seasonally around
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
. In 1970, General Mills acquired Red Lobster, then a five-unit restaurant, and expanded it nationwide. Soon, a division of General Mills titled General Mills Restaurants developed to take charge of the Red Lobster chain. In 1980, General Mills acquired the California-based Good Earth health food restaurant chain. The company eventually converted the restaurants into other chain restaurants they were operating, such as Red Lobster. In 1982, General Mills Restaurants founded a new Italian-themed restaurant chain called Olive Garden. Another themed restaurant, China Coast, was added before the entire group was spun off to General Mills shareholders in 1995 as Darden Restaurants. During the same decade, General Mills ventured further, starting the General Mills Specialty Retail Group. They acquired two clothing and apparel companies, Talbots and Eddie Bauer. The acquisition was short-lived. Talbots was purchased by a Japanese company, then known as JUSCO, and the Spiegel company purchased Bauer. Spiegel later declared bankruptcy, yet Bauer still remains, albeit in a smaller presence in the United States today. From 1976 to 1985, General Mills went to court as the parent company of
Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known as Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. It remained family owne ...
, which held the rights on the brand name and gaming idea of the board game ''
Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
'', claiming that the so-called Anti-Monopoly game of an economics professor infringed their trademark. The dispute extended up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against them, saying that while they have exclusive rights to the game ''Monopoly'', they cannot prevent others from using the word "
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
" in the name of a game. In 1985, General Mills's toy division was separated from its parent as Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. There were many potential acquirers of the business but it was floated on the stock exchange with General Mills's shareholders getting equivalent shares in Kenner Parker. This was more tax efficient for General Mills.


Recent history

In 1990, a joint venture with Nestlé S.A. called Cereal Partners was formed which markets cereals (including many existing General Mills cereal brands) outside the US and Canada under the Nestlé name. In 2001, the company purchased Pillsbury (sans
Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
) from
Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...
, although it was officially described as a "merger". Since 2004, General Mills has been producing more products targeted to the growing ranks of health-conscious consumers. The company has chosen to switch its entire
breakfast cereal Breakfast cereal is a category of food, including food products, made from food processing, processed cereal, cereal grains, that are eaten as part of breakfast or as a snack food, primarily in Western societies. Although warm, cooked cereals li ...
line to
whole grain A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated ...
. The company also started manufacturing their child-targeted cereals with less sugar. General Mills has reduced the level of sugar in all cereals advertised to children to 11 grams per serving. In April 2011, General Mills announced that it will switch all 1 million eggs it uses each year to cage-free. General Mills was ranked #181 on the 2012
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
list of America's largest corporations, 161 in 2015 and was the third-largest food consumer products company in the United States. During June 2012, the company's vice-president for diversity stated that General Mills opposes a Minnesota amendment banning gay marriage, stating that the company values "inclusion". The company received positive feedback for its stand which might attract people to its global workforce. The company announced in September 2014 that it would acquire organic food producer Annie's Inc. for a fee of around $820 million, as part of its strategy to expand in the US natural foods market. In October 2014, General Mills announced plans to cut 700 to 800 jobs, mostly in U.S., in corporate restructuring planned to be completed by the end of 2015. In 2015, citing climate change, General Mills promised to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent over 10 years. In December 2016, the company announced it would be restructuring, splitting into four business groups based on global region, and cutting as many as 600 jobs. In February 2018, the company entered into the pet products industry, paying $8 billion to buy Blue Buffalo Pet Products, Inc. As of 2018, the company ranked 182nd on the
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. Having launched its first regenerative agriculture pilot program in March 2019, the company has plans to improve
soil health Soil health is a state of a soil meeting its range of ecosystem functions as appropriate to its environment. In more colloquial terms, the health of soil arises from favorable interactions of all soil components (living and non-living) that belong ...
on 1 million acres of farmland by 2030 and has formed a partnership with Regrow Agriculture, a software and
data analysis Data analysis is the process of inspecting, Data cleansing, cleansing, Data transformation, transforming, and Data modeling, modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Da ...
company that uses
satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...
, weather data, and soil data to measure
carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. It plays a crucial role in Climate change mitigation, limiting climate change by reducing the amount of Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide in the atmosphe ...
in
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
. In February 2020, General Mills was recognized by CDP as a global leader in corporate sustainability and received a place on the CDP "A List" for both climate change and water security. On May 15, 2021, General Mills announced that it was acquiring Tyson Foods's pet treat business, including True Chews, Nudges and Top Chews, for $1.2 billion. The acquisition was completed on July 7, 2021. In April 2022, there were increasing news reports and complaints that the company's Lucky Charms cereal was somehow making individuals ill, with the most common complaints being gastrointestinal in nature, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The episodes have not yet resulted in a company- or FDA-initiated recall; an FDA spokesperson said they were investigating approximately 100 reports. These reports came as norovirus was circulating in some areas of the U.S. It is relatively rare for cereals, as opposed to other foods, to be contaminated by microbes, because they must be baked, although it is possible if conditions are unsanitary. On May 12, 2022, General Mills announced that it was acquiring TNT Crust, a supplier of frozen pizza crusts, from Peak Rock Capital. On May 25, 2022, General Mills announced that it was selling its Hamburger Helper and Suddenly Salad businesses to Eagle Family Foods Group for $610 million. The sale was completed on July 5, 2022. On November 9, 2023, General Mills acquired a pet supplement business, Fera Pets, Inc. On September 12, 2024, General Mills announced that it would sell its North American yogurt division to Groupe Lactalis and Sodiaal. Lacatlis would buy the US brands while Sodiaal would by the Canadian brands which would be completed by 2025. The sale for its Canadian yogurt division was completed on January 27, 2025, officially bringing all of Yoplait's international operations under Sodiaal.


Brands


Breakfast cereals

General Mills's breakfast cereals include: * Basic 4 * Boo-Berry * Cascadian Farm * Cheerios and its variants * Chex and its variants * Cinnamon Toast Crunch * Cocoa Puffs * Cookie Crisp *
Count Chocula Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
* Fiber One / Fibre One * Franken-Berry * French Toast Crunch * Gold Flakes * Honey Nut Clusters * Kix * Lucky Charms * Morning Summit * Oatmeal Crisp * Raisin Nut Bran * Reese's Puffs * Total * Trix *
Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring list of athletes on Wheaties boxes, prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originall ...
Some brands are marketed outside the US and Canada by the Cereal Partners joint venture using the
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
brand.


Cereal collaborations

General Mills' past and current cereal collaborations include:


Grain snacks

The company's grain-snack brands include: * Bugles * Cascadian Farms * Chex Mix * Gardetto's * Nature Valley * Fiber One / Fibre One bars


Baking goods

The company's baking-goods brands include: * Betty Crocker * Bisquick (now a Betty Crocker brand) * Gold Medal Flour * Jus-Rol * Knack & Back * La Salteña * Pillsbury * V. Pearl It also produces fruit snacks, including Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Fruit Shapes.


Meal products

The company's meal products brands include: * Betty Crocker * Diablitos Underwood * Old El Paso * Wanchai Ferry


Organic food

It also produces
organic food Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resou ...
s, via Cascadian Farm, which they took over when they bought Small Planet Foods, and Muir Glen. More recently, as of 2014, it has purchased
Annie's Homegrown Annie's Homegrown (or simply Annie's) is an American organic food company owned by General Mills. The company was founded in Hampton, Connecticut, by Annie Withey and Andrew Martin, who had previously founded Smartfood popcorn along with Ken ...
.


Other brands

Other company brands include Annie's, Blue Buffalo, Frescarini, Latina, Tiki Pets, Totino's, Jeno's, Progresso,
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
and
Lärabar Lärabar is a brand of energy bars produced by General Mills. The bars come in a variety of flavors such as apple pie, carrot cake, cinnamon roll, and mint chip brownie. History Lärabar was created by Denver native Lara Merriken, who was lo ...
. It also produces Häagen-Dazs ice cream outside of the U.S. and Canada. General Mills acquired the meat-based brand Epic Provisions in 2016.


Discontinued brands

General Mills brands no longer manufactured include: * Banana Wackies / Wackies (introduced 1965; discontinued 1968) * Baron von Redberry and Sir Grapefellow (introduced 1972, discontinued 1975) * Benefit (which contained psyllium, an Indian-grown grain used as a laxative and cholesterol-reducer) * Body Buddies (introduced 1979; two flavors, Brown Sugar & Honey and Natural Fruit Flavor) * Buc Wheats * Buñuelitos ("Sweetened corn puffs with cinnamon and a touch of honey... Traditional south of the border flavor made right here in the U.S.A.") * Chocolate Flavor Donutz (introduced 1982; discontinued 1984) * Circus Fun (introduced 1986; discontinued 1989) * Clackers (introduced 1968; discontinued 1973) - graham cracker-flavored * Clusters (introduced 1987) * Country Corn Flakes (introduced 1961) * Crazy Cow - A chocolate corn cereal which resembles cocoa puffs (introduced 1978, discontinued, 1980) * Crispy Wheats 'n Raisins (introduced 1980) * E.T. Cereal (introduced 1984, discontinued 1986) * Fingos ("The Cereal Made to Eat with Your Fingers") * Frosty O's (introduced 1959; discontinued 1979) * Fruit Brute (introduced 1974; discontinued 1982) * Fruity Yummy Mummy * Goodness Pack, an assortment of eight single-serving boxes of different cereals, designed to compete with
Kellogg's Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...
and Post Cereals assortments * Harmony * Hi-Pro (introduced 1958; discontinued 1964) * Hidden Treasures * Ice Cream Cones (vanilla, chocolate, chocolate chip flavors; introduced 1987, discontinued same year; briefly reintroduced in 2003) * Jets (formerly Sugar Jets; discontinued 1974) *
Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...
Crunch * Kaboom (introduced 1969) * Millenios from Cheerios * Mr. Wonderful's Surprise ("Only Cereal with a Creamy Chocolate Filling") *
Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
Cereal * Neopets Islandberry Crunch (based on the
Neopets ''Neopets'' is a free-to-play virtual pet site, virtual pet browser game. First launched in 1999, the game allows users to own virtual pets ("Neopets") and explore a virtual world called "Neopia." Players can earn one of two virtual currency, v ...
online virtual pet community) * Pac-Man Cereal * Peanut Butter Toast Crunch * Powdered Donutz (introduced 1981; discontinued 1984) * Princess Fairytale Flakes * Ripple Crisp * Rocky Road * S'Mores Grahams / S'Mores Crunch * Sprinkle Spangles * Star Wars Episode II (based on the 2002 film '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'') * Strawberry Shortcake * Sugar Jets (introduced 1954) * Sunrise Organic * Triples (introduced 1991) * Twinkles (introduced 1960; discontinued 1973) * USA Olympic Crunch (a tie-in with the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
in Nagano, Japan) * Wheat Hearts * Wheat Stax (introduced 1966; discontinued 1971) ("Now there's a cereal you can stack") * Wheaties Dunk-a-Balls


Public and legal issues


Association with "anti-diet" movement

The company has been associated with social media campaigns and education of dieticians promoting the "anti-diet" movement. This activity has been connected with helping to promote some of its own foods, which are high in sugar content.


Change to legal terms

In April 2014, the company announced that it had changed its
legal terms Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
on its website to introduce an
arbitration clause In contract law, an arbitration clause is a clause in a contract that requires the parties to resolve their disputes through an arbitration process. Although such a clause may or may not specify that arbitration occur within a specific jurisdict ...
requiring all disputes with General Mills to be resolved in
small claims court Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it ma ...
or
arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...
and not as a participant in a
class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
. The change was made shortly after a judge's March 26, 2014, denial of a motion to dismiss a class action regarding the marketing of the company's Nature Valley brand products. Users would be deemed to accept the terms by interacting with General Mills on its website in various ways, such as downloading coupons, subscribing to newsletters, or participating in Internet forums hosted on the website. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' stated that the agreement could be interpreted to additionally construe purchasing General Mills products at a grocery store or liking the company's
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page as assent to the terms; General Mills disclaimed that interpretation, calling it a "mischaracterization". The change in terms resulted in a massive backlash of protests via consumer groups and social media, and General Mills reverted the terms back to the original content after only a few days.


Involvement in Israeli settlements

On February 12, 2020, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
published a
database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...
of companies doing business related in the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, including
East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...
, as well as in the occupied
Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
. General Mills was listed on the database on account of the activities of its subsidiary General Mills Israel in
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
s in these occupied territories, which some have argued is illegal under international law. As of the update on June 30, 2023, General Mills is no longer involved in
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
s and has been removed from the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...
.


Animal welfare

In 2015, General Mills set a timeline for the phase-out of products using eggs from caged chickens, committing that US products would be cage-free by 2025. In 2017, the pledge was expanded to cover chickens across the company's global operations, not just the US.


Carbon emissions

In response to pressure from activist groups and shareholders, General Mills has committed to reducing emissions from its dairy operations by 40% by 2030.


See also

* List of food companies * List of Minnesota companies Competitors *
Kellogg's Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...
*
Post Holdings Post Holdings, Inc. is an American Fast-moving consumer goods, consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with businesses operating in the center-of-the-store, refrigerated, foodservice, and food ingredient categ ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control Food product brands Baking mixes Breakfast cereal companies Dairy products companies of the United States Snack food manufacturers of the United States Multinational food companies Multinational companies headquartered in the United States Manufacturing companies based in Minnesota Companies based in Minneapolis Hennepin County, Minnesota American companies established in 1856 Food and drink companies established in 1856 1856 establishments in Minnesota Territory Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Yogurt companies