The History of General Mills

cereal, General Mills, breakfastGeneral Mills has a very long impressive history. It was started by an Illinois senator in 1856 as Minneapolis Milling Company and slowly grew from there. In 1867 it became Washburn "B" Mill and grew again to open Washburn "A" Mill in 1874. The company remaining very successful went on to buy Twin Cities radio station in 1924 and finally became what we know now as General Mills in 1928 when they merged with 26 other mills.

Then, in 1929  the marketing magic began. They started putting box top coupons on General Mills products that could be exchanged for products out of the Betty Crocker catalog. The box tops each had a different value and were known as Betty Crocker coupons. And, although the box top coupons and the Betty Crocker catalog were discontinued in 2006, the savings live on.

The spirit of the coupons was to stretch the dollar of the consumer and to build brand loyalty and no company has done that better than General Mills. With over 100 brands under its umbrella General Mills products are all house hold names. General Mills has expanded outside of the manufacturing food and expanded into manufacturing toys in 1965 with Play-Doh and the restaurant industry with Red Lobster in the 70’s and Olive Garden in 1982.

The heart of the Generals Mill marketing machine is in the center of all of their companies. The versatility and the accessibility to all consumers is what General Mills stands for. This fact is transparent once you visit their website. There is something for every consumer, from recipes to coupons, to sweepstakes and giveaways. When you visit the website it’s easy to navigate as well as informative.

The first option is Betty Crocker, which in keeping with tradition, is where you can sign up for monthly coupons. They will send you nearly $100 of printable coupons every month and then the occasional deals for meals as well as new recipe ideas using General Mill Products. Have a recipe of your own? You can enter that online for a chance to win cash prizes. General Mills is truly an innovative company that has pioneered food manufacturing and marketing in the United States and the world. We have them to thank for the hundreds of dollars worth of coupons we use. We have no doubt there is more to come from General Mills.

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