CPC technology class · A23

A23V - Indexing Scheme Relating TO Foods

Indexing scheme relating to foods, foodstuffs or non-alcoholic beverages and lactic or propionic acid bacteria used in foodstuffs or food preparation. 9,116 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

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

9,116
US patents granted: A23
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +25%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Indexing Scheme Relating TO Foods ranks #178 of 670 CPC technology areas - 9,116 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 25% over five years.

#178
of 670 CPC technology areas: 9,116
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Societe des Produits…
leading assignee (208): +25%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. (208 patents)

CPC subclass A23V - INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION - covers 9,116 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 A23V is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. leads with 208 patents, followed by Nestec S.a. at 158 grants and N.v. Nutricia at 121.

Filing activity in A23V is up 25% 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 A23V innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A23V, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 25% versus 2015–2019.

Societe des Produits…

208
Nestec

158
Nutricia

121
Dsm Ip Assets B V

117
Abbott Laboratories

73
Purecircle Sdn Bhd

62
Cargill Incorporated

61
Givaudan

61
Cj Cheiljedang

56
General Mills

55
Jiangnan University

52
Mars Incorporated

52

What this shows Societe des Produits… is the most active filer in A23V, holding 208 of the 9,116 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 A23V
Rank	Company	Patents in A23V
#1	Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a.	208
#2	Nestec S.a.	158
#3	N.v. Nutricia	121
#4	DSM IP Assets B.v.	117
#5	Abbott Laboratories	73
#6	Purecircle Sdn Bhd	62
#7	Cargill, Incorporated	61
#8	Givaudan Sa	61
#9	CJ Cheiljedang Corporation	56
#10	General Mills, Inc.	55
#11	Jiangnan University	52
#12	MARS, Incorporated	52
#13	Conopco, Inc.	50
#14	Chr. Hansen A/s	50
#15	Symrise Ag	49
#16	Suntory Holdings Limited	46
#17	Amorepacific Corporation	44
#18	THE Coca-cola Company	38
#19	Mead Johnson Nutrition Company	32
#20	Firmenich Sa	31

About This Class

CPC subclass A23V belongs to class A23.

9,116 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 A23V 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 A23V assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23V. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A23V?

CPC subclass A23V covers INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION. It belongs to CPC class A23 (FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES), with 9,116 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in A23V?

9,116 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A23V between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in A23V?

Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. leads A23V with 208 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for A23V 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 A23V 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.