The Most Notable Acquisitions Made By General Mills

General Mills To Buy Organic-Food Maker AnnieÃs For $820 Million

General Mills is a massive American corporation that primarily produces and sells food and food related products. The company can trace its roots all the way back to 1866 when General Mills was just a small time mill for wheat. Today the company is based where it was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota and remains to sell a bunch of great products. Currently General Mills owns over 86 brands making them an industry leader. Not all of these brands were created by General Mills, a lot were attained from business acquisitions. For example, General Mills recently acquired Annie’s  for $820 million and they are a maker of natural and organic foods. We are going to take a brief look at some of the best acquisitions that General Mills has made over the years.

5. Red Lobster 

Back in 1970 General Mills noticed a seafood restaurant that popped up on their radar called Red Lobster. At the time there were only 5 restaurants in the Red Lobster chain but General Mills had some big plans for this seafood restaurant. They wanted to expand the chain nationwide, and they did just that. General Mills owned Red Lobster for a number of years before selling the brand to shareholders under the Darden Restaurant brand. Even thought General Mills no longer owns Red Lobster, the expansion of this chain is attributed to General Mills.

4. Pillsbury 

For a long period of time Pillsbury was a major competitor to General Mills. Pillsbury also got its start as a mill based in Minneapolis that arose in the early 1870’s. Pillsbury has the iconic Pillsbury Dough Boy as their mascot and produces a variety of baking and food goods. In 2001 General Mills acquired the brand from Diageo, who previously owned the brand.

3. Häagen-Dazs

While having a super European name, Häagen-Dazs got its start in 1961 in the Bronx. The company originally produced vanilla, chocolate, and coffee ice cream flavors. The company began to turn a profit and started opening up retail stores in New York in the 1970’s. Häagen-Dazs was eventually purchased by Pillsbury in the 1980’s and when General Mills acquired Pillsbury they also acquired Häagen-Dazs. However as part of the General Mills-Pillsbury deal, Nestle produces Häagen-Dazs in the United States, while General Mills produces it in all other countries around the world.

2. Progresso 

Progresso got its start when two Italian-Americans who both ran Italian importing companies joined forces in 1925. Their brand primarily consisted of canned Italian foods, which were primarily soup. The Progresso soup company became very successful and grew in size. They were acquired by Imasco in 1969, which was later acquired by Pillsbury. Since General Mills acquired Pillsbury in 2001, they absorbed Progresso as well.

1. Yoplait

Yoplait has been making a variety of yogurt products for some time now. Yoplait originally go its start when a group of French dairy farmers in the 1960’s came to together to create a cooperative to sell their products nationally. This consolidation of efforts proved to be successful as Yoplait’s products are now sold world wide. In 2011 General Mills purchased the majority interest of 51% of the company and operates the brand today.

Photo from Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Written by Sebastian Hensiek

From Philadelphia, Sebastian is a fan of music, writing, art, and entertainment.