USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

General Mills, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 294 granted patents across 58 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: A23L (FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF).

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

294

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

12.1

Avg claims per patent

+18%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

General holds 294 US patents across 58 technology areas, rank #1,426 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#1,426
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 5%
by Innovation Score (57.5/100): 12.1
avg claims per patent: +18%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

General Mills, Inc. has been granted 294 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing General Mills, Inc. at rank #1,426 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 58 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 12.1 claims per patent with primary concentration in A23L (FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF). As a US Corporation, General Mills, Inc. is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, General sits between Konica Minolta Laboratory U.s.a., Inc. (295 patents, rank #1,422) and University Of Washington Through Its Center For Commercialization (293 patents, rank #1,430) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 57.5/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Between 2020 and 2025 the company received 159 grants, compared with 135 in the 2015–2019 window, a +18% shift in five-year velocity. Steady filing volume suggests sustained innovation without dramatic pivots. The US Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. General Mills, Inc.'s 12.1 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 58 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark General Mills, Inc. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Konica Minolta La…

295
Macom Technology…

295
Nucurrent

295
Chengdu Monolithi…

294
Genius Optical (X…

294
Silicon Storage T…

294
General Mills ◀

294
Globalwafers

293
University of Was…

293

What this shows General holds 294 patents at rank #1,426, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near General

By rank, the assignees closest to #1,426 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in A23L (Foods)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in General's primary technology class.

General's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

57 Top 5% higher than 95% of 50,000 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2025

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

General Mills, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	26	8.8%
2016	19	6.5%
2017	34	11.6%
2018	26	8.8%
2019	30	10.2%
2020	42	14.3%
2021	22	7.5%
2022	24	8.2%
2023	20	6.8%
2024	34	11.6%
2025	17	5.8%

Which technologies does General Mills, Inc. patent most?

A23L - FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF 86

A21D - TREATMENT OF FLOUR OR DOUGH FOR BAKING, e.g. BY ADDITION OF MATERIALS; BAKING; BAKERY PRODUCTS 56

A23V - INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION 55

A23P - SHAPING OR WORKING OF FOODSTUFFS, NOT FULLY COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS 49

B65D - CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES 31

A23G - COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF 28

A21C - MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING OR PROCESSING DOUGHS; HANDLING BAKED ARTICLES MADE FROM DOUGH 27

B65B - MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING 19

A23B - PRESERVATION OF FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; CHEMICAL RIPENING OF FRUIT OR VEGETABLES 16

A23D - EDIBLE OILS OR FATS, e.g. MARGARINES, SHORTENINGS OR COOKING OILS 15

A23C - DAIRY PRODUCTS, e.g. MILK, BUTTER OR CHEESE; MILK OR CHEESE SUBSTITUTES; MAKING OR TREATMENT THEREOF 14

A23J - PROTEIN COMPOSITIONS FOR FOODSTUFFS; WORKING-UP PROTEINS FOR FOODSTUFFS; PHOSPHATIDE COMPOSITIONS FOR FOODSTUFFS 12

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 9

A47J - KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES 9

B02B - PREPARING GRAIN FOR MILLING; REFINING GRANULAR FRUIT TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS BY WORKING THE SURFACE 8

Top 15 of 58 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Growing

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#1,426

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

57.5 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does General Mills, Inc. hold?

General Mills, Inc. holds 294 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 58 technology areas.

What is General Mills, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

General Mills, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 57.5 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does General Mills, Inc. focus on?

General Mills, Inc.'s top technology area is A23L (FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF) with 86 patents. The company has filed patents in 58 CPC subclasses total.

Is General Mills, Inc.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

General Mills, Inc.'s recent filing velocity is +18% compared to the prior five-year period. The company is maintaining or growing its patent output.

What does claim depth mean for General Mills, Inc.'s patents?

General Mills, Inc.'s patents average 12.1 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the General Mills, Inc. patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

How to use this portfolio

General's 294 grants land it in the top 5% by Innovation Score, but volume alone doesn't tell you where the strength sits.

Read that count against the largest US assignees before treating it as dominance - General ranks #1,426 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in A23L - see who else leads that technology area. A23L leaders
Check what the four-part Innovation Score actually rewards before comparing it to another company. How the score works

Patent counts and the Innovation Score measure patenting activity, not commercial success or the legal strength of any patent. Many patents are filed defensively. Verify the status of an individual patent against official USPTO records.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.