What is the History of General Mills?

General Mills, known as GIS on the New York Stock Exchange, is one of the most recognizable and famous companies in the world. It posts annual sales of around $13 billion US Dollars (USD), and it has a formidable foothold in markets all over the world, with a constant eye towards expansion in the developing world. This Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company had humble beginnings, like many corporate powerhouses found across the United States.

The start of General Mills occurred in the 1860s, when Cadwallader Washburne purchased a flour mill in Minnesota, and started developing better milling techniques to produce flour of a higher quality. Washburne ended up merging his operations with those of John Crosby, another flour miller, and by the 1880s, they were winning awards for their flour, and acquiring additional flour mills to expand their business. In 1928, the Washburne Crosby Company merged with a number of regional mills to create General Mills.

This company may have started in flour, but it quickly expanded its offerings. In addition to producing flour, the company has long been famous for its involvement in baked goods, cereals, and packaged foods which are ready to eat. In the 1960s and 1970s, General Mills also briefly diversified into retail clothing, toys and games, and restaurants, although the company later divested these holdings in the 1980s and 1990s to focus on food service.

General Mills is second only to Kellogg's in the cereal market, and it owns a number of notable brands including Green Giant®, Cheerios®, Gold Medal Flour®, Progresso®, and Pillsbury®. The company has long been a pioneer in the realm of packaged foods and baking mixes, and it continually releases new inventions. In the 1990s, General Mills was one of the first companies to recognize the growing health food craze, and it responded by rolling out numerous lines of healthy products. The company also jumped onto the green business bandwagon early, promoting itself as a “corporate good citizen” interested in protecting the environment.

The company belongs to the Fortune 500, and it is well known as a good place to work, with excellent benefits and policies which promote the hiring of women and minorities. Numerous engineering breakthroughs in the world of food service and mass production of food have been made in General Mills labs, suggesting that the company's liberal hiring policies have worked to its benefit. The company is also famous as the inventor of Betty Crocker®, a fictional character introduced in 1921. Today, Betty and the line of products branded with her name is well known in the United States and abroad.