Flowers Foods

30°50′11″N 83°58′42″W

Flowers Foods Corporation
TypePublic
NYSE: FLO
S&P 400 Component
IndustryPackaged bakery products
Founded1919 (1919)
HeadquartersThomasville, Georgia, U.S.
Key people
George E. Deese (Non-executive Chairman of the Board); A. Ryals McMullian (President and CEO)
ProductsWonder Bread, Nature's Own, Whitewheat, Sunbeam, Mrs. Freshley's, Blue Bird, Mi Casa, Cobblestone Mill, Tastykake, Dave's Killer Bread
Revenue$3.95 billion (2018)[1]
Number of employees
9,200[1] (2018)
Websiteflowersfoods.com

Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packed bakery food. The company operates 47 bakeries producing bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. Flowers Foods' products are sold regionally through a direct store delivery network that encompasses the East, South, Southwest, West, and the Northwest regions of the United States and are delivered nationwide to retailer's warehouses.[2] It has made acquisitions of a number of bakeries and other food companies over the years, continuing through to the present day. As of February 2013, it had grown to be the "second-largest baking company in the United States".[3]

Flowers Foods has two operating segments: The Direct Store Delivery (DSD) and the Warehouse. The DSD Segment handles fresh bread, buns, rolls, and snack cakes that are sold regionally through a network of independent distributors. The company is continually expanding its market reach through acquisitions and by stretching its current territory. Flowers' Warehouse Segment is responsible for the national distribution of frozen snack cakes, bread, and rolls that are sold directly to the customer's warehouses. Flowers owns the brands Mrs. Freshley's and European Bakers. Mrs. Freshley's produces snack cakes, which are available nationally to retail and vending customers through this segment. The European Bakers brand of frozen specialty bread and rolls are available nationally to retail in-store bakeries and foodservice customers.[2]

History
Main bakery in Thomasville, Georgia

In 1919, brothers William Howard and Joseph Hampton Flowers opened Flowers Baking Company in Thomasville, Georgia.[4] They made their first acquisition, of Tally Maid bakery, in 1937, and in 1942, became the sixth bakery in the U.S. to franchise Quality Bakers of America’s Sunbeam brand and Little Miss Sunbeam for its white bread.[5]

After acquiring bakeries in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia in the mid-to-late 1960s, the company in 1968 made an initial public offering, changed its name to Flowers Industries and began trading over-the-counter.[3] Less than a year later, Flowers was listed on the American Stock Exchange. In 1982, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FLO, and the following year was listed for the first time on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. Industrial corporations, at number 470.[5]

Acquisitions

As Flowers Foods, the company has continued acquiring bakeries and other food companies, while it has sold others.

In 1996, Flowers acquired both the Keebler Company and Mrs. Smith's Pies. In 2001, Flowers sold its investment in Keebler to the Kellogg Company; its remaining business units, Flowers Bakeries and Mrs. Smith's Bakeries, were then spun off into a new company called Flowers Foods. In 2002 Flowers Foods restructured into 3 divisions: Flowers Bakeries, Flowers Snack, and Mrs. Smith’s Bakeries.[3]

In late 2002, Flowers purchased Ideal Baking Company, and bought Bishop Baking Company from Kellogg Company, giving the company a presence in north Arkansas, southern Missouri, and parts of Tennessee including Memphis.[6][7]

The 3-division era did not last long. In 2003, Flowers sold its Mrs. Smith's frozen dessert business to the Schwan Food Company. Flowers renamed the Flowers Snack division, yielding 2 divisions: Flowers Bakeries and Flowers Specialty.[3]

Royal Cake Company was purchased in September 2005, and Flowers continued to operate the bakery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[8] In February 2006, Flowers acquired Derst Baking Co. of Savannah, Georgia, though it continued to operate under its name as part of Flowers Foods Bakeries Group.[9]

In 2008, Flowers acquired both ButterKrust Bakery in Lakeland, Florida, and Holsum Bakery in Phoenix.[5][10] The following year, the company purchased Leo's Foods, which makes tortillas.[11]

Acquisitions continued in the second decade of the 21st century. Philadelphia-based snack cake baker Tastykake was acquired in 2011, expanding the company's markets into the mid-Atlantic region,[3][12] and in 2012 it purchased Lepage Bakeries in Maine and acquired assets and licenses from Bimbo Bakeries for Sara Lee and Earthgrains brands in California and Oklahoma City.[3][13] The company purchased most of the bread brands of Hostess Brands, including Wonder Bread, plus 20 closed Hostess bakeries, in 2013.[14][15]

Three further bread acquisitions were made In 2015. Flowers Foods purchased Dave's Killer Bread of Milwaukie, Oregon, for $275 million in cash;[16] bought Alpine Valley Bread Co., an organic bakery in Mesa, Arizona;[17] and purchased the North American rights to the Roman Meal trademark for bread, buns, and rolls.[18]

At the end of 2018, Flowers Foods bought Canyon Bakehouse, a privately held gluten-free bread company based in Johnstown, Colorado. Including the Canyon Bakehouse purchase, at that point the company had acquired 16 companies since 2003.[19]

See also

Sources
  1. "Flowers Foods". Fortune. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  2. "About Flowers Foods". www.flowersfoods.com.
  3. "Timeline–Flowers Foods' history through acquisitions". Reuters. February 21, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  4. Lightsey, Ed (January 2009). "STAFF OF LIFE". Georgia Trend. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  5. "Our History". www.flowersfoods.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  6. "Flowers Foods Acquires Ideal Baking Co". Arkansas Business News. October 25, 2002. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  7. "Flowers Foods completes Bishop Baking Co. buy". Atlanta Business Chronicle. December 30, 2002. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  8. "USA: Flowers Foods buys Royal Cake Company". just-food.com. September 2, 2005. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  9. "Flowers acquires Derst Baking". Atlanta Business Chronicle. February 20, 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  10. "US: Flowers Foods to buy Holsum Bakery". June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  11. "Flower's Foods Acquires Tortilla Maker Leo's Food". PerishableNews. October 26, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  12. DiStefano, Joseph N. (April 11, 2011). "Tastykake sale: Plants stay open; buyer to repay PA". Philly.com. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  13. "Divestiture Trustee Announces Sale of Sara Lee and EarthGrains Brands in California and Oklahoma City Area to Flowers Foods". October 26, 2012. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  14. Choi, Candace (January 11, 2013). "Hostess Names Flowers as Lead Bidder for Bread Brands". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  15. "Flowers completes Hostess bread asset acquisition". Food Business News. July 22, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  16. Theen, Andrew (August 13, 2015). "Dave's Killer Bread bought by Flowers Foods for $275M". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  17. Nunes, Keith (September 9, 2015). "Flowers Foods to acquire Alpine Valley Bread". Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  18. Sosland, Josh (February 26, 2015). "Flowers acquires Roman Meal trademark in North America". bakingbusiness.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  19. Zacks Equity Research (December 17, 2018). "Flowers Foods' Latest Buyout to Enhance Gluten-Free Offerings". nasdaq.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
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