General Mills, the US-based consumer food conglomerate that maintains brands such as cereal Lucky Charms and ice cream range Häagen-Dazs, launched a corporate venturing arm on Thursday called 301.
Named after the street address of Pillsbury A Mill, the flour mill in Minneapolis owned by General Mills, 301 will seek to identify startups in the food sector which have already shown early success and established a significant brand.
The investment unit grew out of the original incarnation of 301, which served as an incubator within General Mills. The programme was launched in 2012 and led to the creation of several products for the company, such as Nibblr, a personalised subscription-based snack delivery offering.
General Mills’ brands are currently available in more than 100 countries, and include products such as cereal Cheerios, Mexican-style food range Old El Paso and yoghurt label Yoplait.
John Haugen, vice president and general manager of 301, said: “Through these partnerships we will help entrepreneurs scale their vision by providing them with a combination of capital and the capabilities that General Mills has built over the past 150 years in the food industry.”
In addition to 301, Fortune reports that General Mills has also invested in meat substitute developer Beyond Meat as part of a strategic partnership the companies formed in 2013.