General Mills History

In 1973, Betty Crocker introduced Salad Puffs to “liven up salads and munch more.” These crunchy toasted bits were in Sour Cream and Onion flavor.

With “Unbelievably Fluffy, Incredibly Light!” texture, Yoplait Whips soared when they hit the market in 2002.

Our Chocolate POWS made milk explode with chocolate flavor. However, the formula didn't quite catch on and the product was soon discontinued.

A new hot oatmeal appeared in 1990. Under Cover Bears Instant Oatmeal featured bears made with real fruit.

From the 1960s into the 1970s, Betty Crocker introduced a variety of toaster sandwiches including these Grilled Cheese Toastwiches.

In 1959, General Mills connected stockholders across the county in one meeting via closed-circuit television for the first time.

Betty Crocker's favorite New Year's Eve recipes from 1962 included Rose Petal Ice Cream and New Years Eve Punch!

In 1955, Betty Crocker introduced a "Just in Time for Christmas" holiday cookbook to help with many last minute ideas to celebrate the season.

This pin was a cherished award for thousands of high school girls (and later, boys) who took the test in The Betty Crocker Search for the American Homemaker of Tomorrow, from 1955 to and 1977. The student with the highest score at their high school earned the pin. State and national winners earned more than $2.1 million in scholarships. Learn more, in our latest podcast, on "A Taste of General Mills."

Slice'n Bake Cookies make decorating holiday cookies easy, just like this 1978 step-by-step ad showed.

Betty Crocker distributed this exclusive eight-page "Holiday Almanac" in 1959, packed with more than 100 new recipe ideas for gift baking.

General Mills debuted Caramel Cones as a sweet snack in the late 1960s. The snack was a caramel glazed wheat cone with peanut bits.

Pillsbury introduced the Holiday Cookie Kit in 1960. It contained two packages of refrigerated cookie dough plus a free stencil decorator and 25 cookie trimming ideas.

Chex Party Mix recipe first appeared on the side panel of Chex cereal boxes in 1953. The story behind the recipe’s popularity is credited to the wife of a Ralston Purina executive who brought the party mix to a social gathering in 1955.

Betty Crocker once provided this day-by-day guide for December to make sure every host around the holidays was prepared for Christmas, which “begins long before the twenty-fifth.”

Pillsbury introduced Crescent rolls in 1961. With the convenience of refrigerated dough, they were an easy, delicious addition to “trim” any holiday meal.

In 1948, Betty Crocker introduced Crustquick to make baking holiday favorites a bit easier.