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 grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

12,738
US patents granted: #1/11
in A23: 34.5%
A23 class share: +15%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Foods ranks #146 of 670 CPC technology areas - 12,738 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 15% over five years.

#146
of 670 CPC technology areas: 12,738
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Societe des Produits Nestle
leading assignee (267): +15%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A23L's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A23L recorded 5,920 grants versus 5,157 in 2015–2019 (+15% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2022 at 1,272 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 988 (+29% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. holds 2.1% of the class ; the top three share 4.9%.

Leaderboard read

A23L concentration, lead at 2.1%

Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. leads this historical grant record at 2.1% of A23L - foreign corporation assignees hold 59% of class grants (4,770 of 8,110). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 2.1%
Top three share: 4.9%
Lead over #2: 65

Where A23L sits inside A23

Among 11 subclasses in A23 (Foods OR FOODSTUFFS; Treatment Thereof, NOT Covered BY Other Classes), A23L ranks #1 and holds 34.5% of the parent class's 36,876 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A23V 9,116 A23K 3,247 A23B 2,807 A23G 1,990 A23P 1,818 A23C 1,603 A23D 1,053 A23F 971

Rising assignees active in A23L

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

#1 Upside Foods, Inc. 23x 1 → 23 company-wide · 19 in A23L
#2 Glac Biotech Co., Ltd. 21x 1 → 21 company-wide · 16 in A23L
#3 Chr. Hansen HMO GmbH 17x 0 → 17 company-wide · 11 in A23L
#4 Tate & Lyle Solutions USA LLC 13x 0 → 13 company-wide · 12 in A23L
#5 Nichirei Foods Inc. 11x 1 → 11 company-wide · 6 in A23L

A23L grants by year, peak 2022 (1,272)

US utility-patent grants per year in A23L, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 15% versus 2015–2019.

Societe des Produits…

267
Nestec

202
Dsm Ip Assets B V

156
Nutricia

132
Cargill Incorporated

100
Givaudan

92
Suntory Holdings

91
General Mills

86
Symrise

86
Purecircle Sdn Bhd

83
Jiangnan University

82
Abbott Laboratories

77

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.

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

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).

Classes near A23L's 12,738-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A23L (#146 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.1%) - not the A23 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H01S 12,879 G01L 12,902 Y04S 12,488 A01H 12,482

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B01J 2.1% A61J 2.1% D02G 2.1% C09D 2.1%

Questions about A23L

Which company holds the most patents in A23L?

Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. leads A23L with 267 patents (2.1% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 59% of class grants.

Which A23L assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A23L, Upside Foods, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (23x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 23 in 2022–2024) while holding 19 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does A23L compare inside parent class A23?

Inside A23 (Foods OR FOODSTUFFS; Treatment Thereof, NOT Covered BY Other Classes), A23L ranks #1 of 11 subclasses by grant volume and holds 34.5% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A23V (9,116 grants).

What to do with this data

A23L in context - here's where to go next.

Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. leads A23L with 267 grants in this class. See full portfolio
A23L ranks #146 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class A23, the largest sibling subclass is A23V with 9,116 grants. Explore A23V

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A23L figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (12,738 grants in the tracked window).

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.