General Mills
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| General Mills, Inc. | |
 |
|
| Type | Public (NYSE: GIS) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1866 |
| Headquarters | HQ in Golden Valley, Minnesota; manufacturing facilities around the world |
| Key people | Steve Sanger, Chairman and CEO Ken Powell, Vice Chairman |
| Industry | Food processing |
| Products | Baking mixes, Breakfast cereals, yogurt, refrigerated dough, soup, pizza, snack foods, ice cream, soy products, vegetables, flour, and more... |
| Revenue |  $11.070 billion USD (2004) |
| Slogan | The Company of Champions |
| Website | www.generalmills.com |
General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is a Fortune 500 corporation, mainly concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets such brands as Betty Crocker, Progresso, Yoplait, Old El Paso, and Pillsbury, as well as numerous well-known breakfast cereals (see below).
Contents |
[edit] History
The company can trace its history to the Minneapolis Milling Company, an organization founded in 1866 by Cadwallader C. Washburn which leased power rights to mills operating along Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River. His brother William D. Washburn also assisted 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. A year later, the "A" mill exploded, killing 17 workers and also demolishing several nearby buildings. The mill was rebuilt and continued to operate for several decades.
In the 1920s, the company stepped in to take over a failing Twin Cities radio station, renaming it WCCO.
General Mills itselves was created in 1928 when Washburn-Crosby President James Ford Bell directed his company to merge with 26 other mills.
During the 1960s, retired USAF General Edwin W. Rawlings helped transform this firm from a family-led firm to a business that effectively exercises corporate social responsibility as a core value.
In 1963 after the death of George Parker, the Parker Brothers were bought.
In 1970, General Mills acquired a five-unit restaurant company called Red Lobster and expanded it nationwide. Soon, a division of General Mills titled General Mills Restaurants developed to take charge of the Red Lobster Chain.
From 1976 to 1985 General Mills went to court due beeing the parent company of Parker Brothers that hold the rights on the brand name and gaming idea of the board game Monopoly for putting down the so called Anti-Monopoly game of an enconomics professor. The dispute extended up to the Supreme Court where the intended target was mainly denied due to insufficient exclusive rights whilst the owned brand still remains valid until today. During the 1980s, General Mills sold Parker Brothers to Kenner.
In 1982, General Mills Restaurants founded a new Italian themed restaurant chain called Olive Garden.
In 1988, General Mills sold General Mills Specialty Retail Group, which was the parent company of both Eddie Bauer (sold to Spiegel, Inc.) and Talbots.
In 1990, General Mills and Nestlé started a 50/50 joint venture called Cereal Partners Worldwide to market breakfast cereals for both the United States and Europe. CPW distributes cereals manufactured by both companies under the Nestlé brand name.
General Mills spun off its Restaurant division in 1995 into Darden Restaurants.
In 2001, the company purchased Pillsbury, although it was officially described as a "merger." However, Diageo still stands strong without Pillsbury.
In October of 2004, the General Mills monster-themed triple pack breakfast cereals were introduced in supermarkets and wholesale retail stores, featuring Boo Berry (blueberry-flavoured), Count Chocula (chocolate-flavoured), and Franken Berry (strawberry-flavoured).
In late 2004, the company transitioned its entire breakfast cereal line to whole grain due to scientific research showing the positive impact consuming whole grains has on individuals' health. Also, in 2004, General Mills was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers by Working Mothers magazine.
[edit] Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of General Mills are: Paul Danos, William Esrey, Raymond Gilmartin, Judith Hope, Heidi Miller, Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, Steve Odland, Michael Rose, Robert Ryan, Stephen Sanger (chairman), Michael Spence, and Dorothy Terrell.
[edit] Brands and products
[edit] Breakfast cereals
- Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
- Basic 4
- Boo Berry
- Buc-Wheats
- Cheerios
- Chex
- Cinnamon Toast Crunch
- Cocoa Puffs
- Cookie Crisp
- Count Chocula
- Fiber One
- Franken Berry
- French Toast Crunch
- Frosted Cheerios
- Fruity Cheerios
- Golden Grahams
- Honey Nut Cheerios
- Jurassic Park Crunch
- General Mills Kaboom
- Kix
- Lucky Charms
- Oatmeal Crisp
- Raisin Nut Bran
- Reese's Puffs
- Total (cereal)
- Trix (cereal)
- Wheaties
[edit] Other
- 8th Continent
- Betty Crocker
- Bisquick
- Bugles
- Cascadian Farm
- Diablitos Underwood (Venezuela only)
- Forno de Minas
- Frescarini
- Fruit Snacks
- Gardetto's
- Gold Medal Flour
Gold Medal Flour factory in Minneapolis.
- Green Giant
- Häagen-Dazs
- Hamburger Helper
- Jeno's
- Jus-Rol
- Knack & Back
- La Salteña
- Latina (brand)
- Milk 'n' Cereal Bars - breakfast or snack bars consisting of two layers of some of General Mills' most popular cereals and mixed it with a milk substitute to form a bar.
- Muir Glen
- Nature Valley
- Old El Paso
- Pillsbury
- Pop Secret
- Progresso
- Totino's
- V. Pearl
- Wanchai Ferry
- Yoplait/Colombo (yogurt)
- See also: Former brands of General Mills
[edit] See also
- Millsberry, advergames by General Mills
[edit] External links
- General Mills homepage
- Box Tops for Education
- General Mills corporate brands
- Brand New You (online calorie counter, calorie controlled recipes and fitness advice)
- General Mills MBA Case Study w/Solution
- Cereal Partners Worldwide (A marketing partnership with Nestlé)
- Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide
- Yahoo! - General Mills, Inc. Company Profile (Corporate data)
| Minnesota-based Corporations |
|---|
| Minnesota-based Fortune 500 Corporations (by size): Target Corporation | UnitedHealth Group | Best Buy | Travelers | 3M | Supervalu | U.S. Bancorp | Northwest Airlines | CHS | General Mills | Medtronic | Xcel Energy | Land O'Lakes | Thrivent Financial for Lutherans | C. H. Robinson Worldwide | Hormel | Nash Finch | Ecolab | The Mosaic Company |
| Minnesota-based Fortune 1000 Corporations (by size): Companies listed above, plus PepsiAmericas | Bemis Company | Pentair | St. Jude Medical | Alliant Techsystems | Valspar | Patterson Companies | Minnesota Life | Regis Corporation | Polaris Industries | Toro | Deluxe Corporation | Donaldson Company | Fastenal | H.B. Fuller | Federated Mutual Insurance | Ceridian |
| Major Minnesota-based non-public or externally owned corporations (alphabetically): Andersen Windows | Cargill | Carlson Companies | Dairy Queen | Musicland | Schwan Food Company |
