Pillsbury (brand)

The Pillsbury Company
Company typePublic
Founded1869 (1869), in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
FoundersCharles Alfred Pillsbury
John S. Pillsbury
Defunct2001 (2001)
FateAcquired by General Mills; assets divided
SuccessorGeneral Mills
Headquarters
Minneapolis, Minnesota
,
U.S.
Websitewww.pillsbury.com

Pillsbury is an American brand of baking and dough products, marketed by General Mills and Brynwood Partners. Pillsbury products include refrigerated and frozen dough products, including the Toaster Strudel, marketed by General Mills; and shelf-stable flours and baking products marketed by Brynwood Partners. The brand originated in Minneapolis in 1869 with the founding of C. A. Pillsbury and Company, a flour mill on the banks of the Mississippi River.

The company, later known as the Pillsbury Company, expanded into the restaurant and frozen foods businesses in the mid-20th century, and introduced the Pillsbury Doughboy mascot in 1965. Pillsbury was acquired by British conglomerate Grand Metropolitan in 1989, which divested the restaurant businesses and sold the company to General Mills in 2001. Antitrust concerns prevented General Mills from acquiring Pillsbury's flour and cake mix product lines, which were spun off, bought by Smucker's in 2004, and sold to Brynwood Partners in 2018. Both companies use the circular blue Pillsbury logo and the Doughboy mascot.