PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A21

A21D - Treatment OF Flour OR Dough FOR Baking

Treatment of flour or dough for baking, e.g. by addition of materials; baking; bakery products. 993 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

993
US patents granted
A21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+32%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Treatment OF Flour OR Dough FOR Baking ranks #458 of 670 CPC technology areas - 993 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 32% over five years.

#458
of 670 CPC technology areas
993
US patents granted, 2015–2025
General Mills
leading assignee (56)
+32%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: General Mills, Inc. (56 patents)

CPC subclass A21D - TREATMENT OF FLOUR OR DOUGH FOR BAKING, e.g. BY ADDITION OF MATERIALS; BAKING; BAKERY PRODUCTS - covers 993 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A21 (BAKING; EDIBLE DOUGHS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A21D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. General Mills, Inc. leads with 56 patents, followed by Novozymes A/s at 29 grants and Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. at 20.

Filing activity in A21D is up 32% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A21D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A21D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 32% versus 2015–2019.

60708090100110120 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 69

Who leads A21D?

The 12 most active assignees in TREATMENT OF FLOUR OR DOUGH FOR BAKING, e.g. BY ADDITION OF MATERIALS; BAKING; BAKERY PRODUCTS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows General Mills is the most active filer in A21D, holding 56 of the 993 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass A21D
Rank Company Patents in A21D
#1 General Mills, Inc. 56
#2 Novozymes A/s 29
#3 Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. 20
#4 Intercontinental Great Brands Llc 20
#5 Generale Biscuit 18
#6 Purecircle Sdn Bhd 16
#7 Puratos N.v. 15
#8 EPC Natural Products Co., Ltd. 14
#9 Lesaffre ET Compagnie 12
#10 Purecircle USA Inc. 12
#11 Frito-lay North America, Inc. 11
#12 Primera Technology, Inc. 11
#13 Danisco US Inc. 10
#14 Dupont Nutrition Biosciences APS 10
#15 The Fynder Group, Inc. 10
#16 The Quaker Oats Company 8
#17 Decopac, Inc. 8
#18 Barilla G. & R. Fratelli S.p.a. 7
#19 Rich Products Corporation 7
#20 Enzymotec Ltd. 7

About This Class

CPC subclass A21D belongs to class A21.

993 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A21D assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A21D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A21D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A21D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A21D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 0204060 Patents in A21D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) General MillsNovozymes A/SSociete des Produits…Intercontinental Grea…Generale BiscuitPurecircle Sdn BhdPuratosEpc Natural ProductsLesaffre Et CompagniePurecircle UsaFrito-lay North Ameri…Primera TechnologyDanisco UsDupont Nutrition Bios…
Top 14 A21D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A21D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A21D?
CPC subclass A21D covers TREATMENT OF FLOUR OR DOUGH FOR BAKING, e.g. BY ADDITION OF MATERIALS; BAKING; BAKERY PRODUCTS. It belongs to CPC class A21 (BAKING; EDIBLE DOUGHS), with 993 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A21D?
993 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A21D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A21D?
General Mills, Inc. leads A21D with 56 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A21D collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., A21) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A21D provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

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

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

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.