The Flour Child Grows Up

General Mills, Inc. is an American manufacturer and marketer of well-known brands of processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Although General Mills's single flour factory can be traced back to the Minneapolis Milling Company of 1866, with the merger of four additional mills, the company was officially established in 1928. In the 1930s, 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—renamed Cheerios in 1945. In 1939, another GM engineer, Helmer Anderson, created a new device that sealed bags of flour with glue instead of being tied with a string. In 1947, the first Betty Crocker cake mix was introduced. Well before its buyout of Pillsbury in 2001, the pudgy Doughboy made his first commercial debut in 1965. And it was only the beginning of this widely diversified company. Their drive for innovation propelled General Mills into many new territories over the years, highlighted below.

Perhaps the most surprising is that General Mills established their Aeronautical Research Division with chief engineer Otto C. Winzen in 1946. This division developed high-altitude balloons in conjunction with the United States Navy Office of Naval Research, such as the project Skyhook balloons for atmospheric research. In 1956, hundreds of General Mills balloons carried reconnaissance equipment by the United States under Project Genetrix to survey the Eastern bloc country's nuclear capabilities. The now famous Black Box for airplanes was developed in 1953 in partnership with the University of Minnesota.

Also unknown to the average citizen, General Mills acquired many famous businesses starting in 1968 with the acquisition of Gorton's frozen seafood, though spun off to other companies by 1995. Also in 1968, the toy and game manufacturers Rainbow Crafts—the makers of Play-Doh, Kenner, and Parker Bros. were acquired. The following year, they moved into specialty retailing with purchases of Lacoste clothing, Monet Jewelry, and the Red Lobster restaurant chain. By 1970 Hamburger Helper made its way onto grocery shelves. The apparel company, Eddie Bauer, was purchased in 1971—later acquired by Spiegel in 1988—as well as the U.S. rights to the Yoplait yogurt brand. By 1983, The Olive Garden Italian restaurant chain was launched, later to be spun off to shareholders in 1995 as Darden Restaurants. More recent history was the joint venture with Nestlé S.A. called Cereal Partners in 1990, which markets many existing General Mills cereal brands outside the US and Canada under the Nestlé name. As per other lucrative multinational manufacturers, further acquisitions continued through 2023.