Our history
The way people eat has changed. So has the company that feeds them.
The way people eat has changed. So has the company that feeds them.
Since 1866, what started as a flour business on the Mississippi has grown into more than 100 brands sold in over 100 countries. Along the way, the focus has remained on making food people rely on, with care for the communities connected to how it’s made.
General Mills began with flour.
In 1866, Cadwallader Washburn built a mill on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, founding the Washburn-Crosby Company. It was the largest flour mill west of Buffalo, New York. The location was deliberate: St. Anthony Falls provided the water power that made large-scale milling possible.
Grain moved in. Flour moved out. It was a business shaped by geography, timing and demand, turning wheat into something people could use every day.
Then, in 1878, an explosion destroyed the mill and claimed 18 lives. Washburn personally made sure the families who lost loved ones were taken care of.
What followed set the tone for everything that came next. The facility was rebuilt with new safety systems and dust ventilation that became a model for the industry — and the technology was shared freely.
By 1880, the flour coming out of Minneapolis was earning international recognition. That product was Gold Medal Flour, still on shelves today.
In 1928, Washburn-Crosby merged with other regional milling companies to form General Mills. The name was new. The ambition was larger.
By then, the company had already started asking a different question: not just how to make ingredients, but how to make food people would choose. That shift changed everything that followed.
In the early 20th century, General Mills began connecting with consumers in new ways. Betty Crocker began as a fictional persona to authentically respond to consumers following a promotional contest in 1921. She became something else entirely: a trusted voice for millions of home cooks, offering recipes, advice and a sense that someone at the company understood what it was like to feed a family.
The products changed, too. Bisquick, introduced in 1931, simplified baking, giving people a faster, affordable and more consistent way to cook. Cheerios arrived in 1941, originally called CheeriOats, offering something breakfast hadn’t quite seen before: a ready-to-eat oat cereal that was genuinely quick and genuinely good.
More than product launches, they reflected how daily life was changing, and people were seeking convenience.
As the company grew, so did its curiosity about what else it could shape beyond the kitchen. Not all of these ventures remain part of the business today, but they illustrate a spirit of experimentation that shaped how the company evolved.
In the mid-20th century, General Mills supported advanced engineering and scientific research, including work on Alvin, a deep-sea research submersible that went on to play a role in ocean exploration.
It also found new ways to connect with families through play. In the late 1960s, the company moved into toys, by bringing brands like Kenner and Parker Brothers into its portfolio. Products such as the Easy-Bake Oven, Spirograph and Star Wars action figures became part of childhood for generations.
In the 1970s and 1980s, General Mills also moved into the restaurant business, including Red Lobster and later the creation of Olive Garden. Those businesses reflected another way food could fit into everyday life, outside the home.
Over decades, General Mills expanded into new food categories, acquired brands and followed where people’s appetites and needs were heading.
Nature Valley began as a cereal before the granola bar launched in 1976, reflecting a growing interest in food that felt more natural and could be eaten on the go. It was an early sign of how eating habits were continuing to shift.
In 1999, General Mills acquired Cascadian Farm, putting the company on a path to becoming one of the largest producers of natural and organic food in North America.
The acquisition of Pillsbury in 2001 brought one of the most recognized names in baking into the portfolio, along with a larger presence in meals and refrigerated foods.
In 2018, Blue Buffalo marked a deliberate move into pet food, building on something the company had been watching: how people think about pet nutrition — often with a focus on natural, wholesome ingredients — had begun to mirror how they think about their own food.
Today, the portfolio spans more than 100 brands sold in over 100 countries including Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Annie’s, Progresso and Blue Buffalo.
General Mills has found its way into communities as naturally as it’s found its way into kitchens.
Since 1996, Box Tops for Education has helped generate nearly $1 billion for schools across the United States and reaches more than 69,000 schools each year. As it has evolved from clipped coupons to a digital app, the program has remained grounded in a simple idea: buying groceries can support schools. Its scale over three decades shows how much small, consistent actions can add up.
More than 150 years in, the fundamentals are still the same. Grain becomes food. Food reaches people. People return to it throughout the day.
Everything around that keeps shifting. Tastes change, kitchens evolve and expectations keep rising, ready-to-eat cereal to natural and organic foods to how people think about pet nutrition. Innovation has been part of how General Mills has responded, and we’ll keep adapting as those changes continue.
The next chapter brings new ingredients, new ways of growing food and new questions about what a food company owes the land and the people connected to it. Work like advancing regenerative agriculture is part of that shift, alongside efforts to reduce emissions, rethink packaging and strengthen the systems behind how food is made. So is figuring out what comes next.
It all connects back to the instinct that rebuilt a flour mill along the Mississippi in 1878: when something needs to change, change it.
Key moments that shaped how General Mills grew over time
1866: Cadwallader C. Washburn builds a flour mill in Minneapolis
1878: A mill explosion leads to new safety practices
1880: Superlative Flour gains international recognition and becomes Gold Medal Flour
1928: General Mills is formed through a merger of milling companies
1920s–1940s: Shift from ingredients to consumer foods as iconic brands Betty Crocker, Wheaties, Bisquick and Cheerios are introduced
1976: Launch of Nature Valley granola bars
1996: Box Tops for Education launches, generating nearly $1 billion for schools over time
1999: Cascadian Farm acquired, an early move into natural and organic foods
2001: Acquisition of Pillsbury expands the company’s portfolio across meals, baking and refrigerated foods
2018: Blue Buffalo joins General Mills, adding pet food to the portfolio-
Today: More than 100 brands sold in over 100 countries
