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General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions. In November 1985, General Foods was acquired by Philip Morris Companies (now Altria Group, Inc.) for $5.6 billion, the largest non-oil acquisition to that time. In December 1988, Philip Morris acquired Kraft, Inc., and, in 1990, combined the two food companies as Kraft General Foods (KGF). "General Foods" was dropped from the corporate name in 1995 and now exists only as part of a brand name for a flavored coffee-based beverage, General Foods International. ==History== C. W. Post established his company in Battle Creek, Michigan, having lived there since 1891, when he was a patient at a holistic sanitarium operated by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.〔The timeline and product history is adapted from "A Chronological History of Kraft General Foods, Inc.", prepared by the KGF Archives Department, Glenview, IL, c. 1994.〕〔Details of C.W. Post's career may be found in ''American National Biography'', Vol. 7, pp. 725-7, published by Oxford University Press.〕 Dr. Kellogg, with his brother W.K. Kellogg, had developed a dry corn flake cereal that was part of their patients’ diet. Post's first product, introduced in 1895, was not a cereal, however, but a roasted, cereal-based beverage, Postum. Having developed an aversion to coffee during his time in the sanitarium, Post positioned Postum as a healthy alternative. Its advertising slogan, which he coined himself, was "There's a Reason". Postum's main ingredients were naturally caffeine-free wheat grain, bran, and molasses. Initially, Postum had to be brewed like coffee, but in 1911, Post introduced a powdered, instant formulation. This version of the product was manufactured in Battle Creek until it was discontinued in 2007. In 1897, Post introduced his first dry cereal, a crunchy blend of wheat and barley, which he called Grape Nuts. His first corn-flake product, originally called "Elijah's Manna", appeared in 1904. Owing to consumer resistance to the biblical reference (even Great Britain flatly refused to register the name as a trademark), it was renamed Post Toasties in 1907.〔The Kellogg brothers had been selling their corn flakes and other cereal products since 1897, but with only limited success. Post, who took the cereal business seriously, was equipped to market and advertise his products nationwide; so successfully, in fact, that W.K. Kellogg broke away from his brother and in 1907 founded his own company, the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company (renamed the Kellogg Company in 1922). Kellogg's Corn Flakes eventually overtook Post Toasties in popularity and the latter brand is today only a minor player in the dry-cereal market.〕 C.W. Post was an astute businessman who believed that advertising and aggressive marketing were the keys to a successful enterprise. Within 10 years of its incorporation, his Postum Cereal Company had more than $10 million in capital and was spending $400,000 a year on advertising, sums which were remarkable for the period.〔See ''International Directory of Company Histories'', Volume 2, pp 530-32, published by St. James Press, 1990, for details relating to the company during this period.〕 Although he vigorously opposed labor unions, his employees were the highest-paid in his industry and working conditions at the Post factory were exemplary. He even developed a factory town in which he sold homes to his workers at favorable rates. Postum Cereal Company lost its founder in 1914. C.W. Post underwent an apparently successful appendectomy at the Mayo Clinic, but shortly after returning home to recuperate, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Post had for years suffered from bouts of illness and depression. While his death was without warning, his company was not left rudderless. His daughter, Marjorie Merriweather Post, had been raised in the business and was familiar with virtually every aspect of its operations.〔Biographical details of Post's life may be found in ''American National Biography'', Volume 7, p. 732.〕 She assumed control of the now $20-million Postum Company and managed its affairs for the next eight years. While she did not oversee major product innovations, she did have a good feel for business and for promoting talented managers. In addition, her second marriage, in 1920, was to Edward F. Hutton, the founder of a brokerage firm on Wall Street. Gross revenues in 1921 were $17.75 million.〔Financial details for the company during this period may be found in the annual issues of ’’Moody’s Manual of Investments American and Foreign Industrial Securities’’, published by Moody’s Investor Services.〕 In 1922, Hutton took the newly incorporated Postum Cereal Company public by issuing 200,000 common shares. The 1920s was a period in which common stock was still considered highly speculative, and consequently the newly issued shares carried a dividend at the rate of $5.00 per year. Revenues in 1922 were essentially the same as in 1921, but in 1923, they were $22.25 million and a stock split, in the form of a 100% stock dividend, increased the authorized shares to 400,000. These shares also earned a $3.00 annual cash dividend, representing a 20% increase over the presplit rate. In 1925, with revenues now at $27.4 million, the stock was split once again and the dividend was increased to $4.00 per new share. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「General Foods」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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