CPC technology class · A23

A23P - Shaping Or Working Of Foodstuffs

Shaping or working of foodstuffs, not fully covered by a single other subclass. 1,818 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

1,818
US patents granted: #6/11
in A23: 4.9%
A23 class share: +17%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Shaping Or Working Of Foodstuffs ranks #377 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,818 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 17% over five years.

#377
of 670 CPC technology areas: 1,818
US patents granted, 2015–2025: General Mills
leading assignee (49): +17%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A23P's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A23P recorded 870 grants versus 746 in 2015–2019 (+17% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2021 at 187 grants and bottomed in 2016 at 131 (+43% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee General Mills, Inc. holds 2.7% of the class ; the top three share 6.4%.

Leaderboard read

A23P concentration, lead at 2.7%

General Mills, Inc. leads this historical grant record at 2.7% of A23P - us corporation assignees hold 56% of class grants (618 of 1,104). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 2.7%
Top three share: 6.4%
Lead over #2: 6

Where A23P sits inside A23

Among 11 subclasses in A23 (Foods OR FOODSTUFFS; Treatment Thereof, NOT Covered BY Other Classes), A23P ranks #6 and holds 4.9% 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.

A23L 12,738 A23V 9,116 A23K 3,247 A23B 2,807 A23G 1,990 A23C 1,603 A23D 1,053 A23F 971

Rising assignees active in A23P

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 Primera Technology, Inc. 11x 1 → 11 company-wide · 12 in A23P
#2 Nichirei Foods Inc. 11x 1 → 11 company-wide · 9 in A23P
#3 Trucapsol LLC 10x 1 → 10 company-wide · 5 in A23P
#4 Formulated Solutions, LLC 7.00x 0 → 7 company-wide · 6 in A23P
#5 Seattle Food Tech, Inc. 7.00x 0 → 7 company-wide · 5 in A23P

A23P grants by year, peak 2021 (187)

US utility-patent grants per year in A23P, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 17% versus 2015–2019.

General Mills

49
Societe des Produits…

43
Gea Food Solutions…

25
Wenger Manufacturing

25
Frito-lay North…

22
Mars Incorporated

20
Nestec

19
Jiangnan University

17
Philip Morris Usa

17
Decopac

15
Intercontinental…

14
Kellogg

13

What this shows General Mills is the most active filer in A23P, holding 49 of the 1,818 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 A23P
Rank	Company	Patents in A23P
#1	General Mills, Inc.	49
#2	Societe des Produits Nestle S.A.	43
#3	GEA Food Solutions Bakel B.V.	25
#4	Wenger Manufacturing Inc.	25
#5	Frito-Lay North America, Inc.	22
#6	Mars, Incorporated	20
#7	Nestec S.A.	19
#8	Jiangnan University	17
#9	Philip Morris USA Inc.	17
#10	Decopac, Inc.	15
#11	Intercontinental Great Brands LLC	14
#12	Kellogg Company	13
#13	The Quaker Oats Company	13
#14	Marel Further Processing B.V.	12
#15	Primera Technology, Inc.	12
#16	Conopco, Inc.	11
#17	N.V. Nutricia	11
#18	Meiji Co., Ltd.	11
#19	Firmenich SA	10
#20	International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.	10

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A23P 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 A23P assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23P. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A23P's 1,818-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A23P (#377 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.7%) - not the A23 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H01T 1,823 F16G 1,830 B21J 1,805 G01W 1,805

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F28F 2.7% E03F 2.7% B29K 2.7% G16H 2.7%

Questions about A23P

Which company holds the most patents in A23P?

General Mills, Inc. leads A23P with 49 patents (2.7% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 56% of class grants.

Which A23P assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A23P, Primera Technology, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (11x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 11 in 2022–2024) while holding 12 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does A23P compare inside parent class A23?

Inside A23 (Foods OR FOODSTUFFS; Treatment Thereof, NOT Covered BY Other Classes), A23P ranks #6 of 11 subclasses by grant volume and holds 4.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A23L (12,738 grants).

What to do with this data

A23P in context - here's where to go next.

General Mills, Inc. leads A23P with 49 grants in this class. See full portfolio
A23P ranks #377 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class A23, the largest sibling subclass is A23L with 12,738 grants. Explore A23L

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

Methodology - A23P figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (1,818 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.