PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A23

A23L - Foods

Foods, foodstuffs or non-alcoholic beverages, not otherwise provided for; preparation or treatment thereof. 12,738 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

12,738
US patents granted
A23
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+31%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Foods ranks #146 of 670 CPC technology areas - 12,738 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 31% over five years.

#146
of 670 CPC technology areas
12,738
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Societe des Produits…
leading assignee (267)
+31%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. (267 patents)

CPC subclass A23L - FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF - covers 12,738 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A23 (FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A23L is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. leads with 267 patents, followed by Nestec S.a. at 202 grants and DSM IP Assets B.v. at 156.

Filing activity in A23L is up 31% 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 A23L innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A23L, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 31% versus 2015–2019.

6008001,0001,2001,400 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 813

Who leads A23L?

The 12 most active assignees in FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Societe des Produits… is the most active filer in A23L, holding 267 of the 12,738 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 A23L
Rank Company Patents in A23L
#1 Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. 267
#2 Nestec S.a. 202
#3 DSM IP Assets B.v. 156
#4 N.v. Nutricia 132
#5 Cargill, Incorporated 100
#6 Givaudan Sa 92
#7 Suntory Holdings Limited 91
#8 General Mills, Inc. 86
#9 Symrise Ag 86
#10 Purecircle Sdn Bhd 83
#11 Jiangnan University 82
#12 Abbott Laboratories 77
#13 CJ Cheiljedang Corporation 73
#14 Conopco, Inc. 64
#15 THE Coca-cola Company 64
#16 Amorepacific Corporation 60
#17 Monsanto Technology Llc 58
#18 RIJK Zwaan Zaadteelt EN Zaadhandel B.v. 53
#19 Firmenich Sa 52
#20 KAO Corporation 51

About This Class

CPC subclass A23L belongs to class A23.

12,738 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 A23L 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 A23L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A23L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 50100150200250300 Patents in A23L Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Societe des Produits…NestecDsm Ip Assets B VNutriciaCargill IncorporatedGivaudanSuntory HoldingsGeneral MillsSymrisePurecircle Sdn BhdJiangnan UniversityAbbott LaboratoriesCj CheiljedangConopco
Top 14 A23L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A23L?
CPC subclass A23L covers FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF. It belongs to CPC class A23 (FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES), with 12,738 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A23L?
12,738 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A23L between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A23L?
Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. leads A23L with 267 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A23L 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., A23) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A23L 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.