{{Short description|Commercial bakery company in the United States}} {{use mdy dates|date=July 2019}} {{coord|30|50|11|N|83|58|42|W|display=title}} {{Infobox company | name = Flowers Foods, Inc. | logo = Flowers Foods logo.png | logo_size = | image = Flowers Bakery Headquarters, Thomasville.JPG | image_caption = Headquarters in Thomasville, Georgia | type = Public | traded_as = {{ubl|{{NYSE|FLO}}|S&P 600 component}} | key_people = George E. Deese (Non-executive Chairman of the Board)<br />A. Ryals McMullian (President and CEO) | industry = Packaged bakery products | products = Wonder Bread, Nature's Own, Sunbeam, Mrs. Freshley's, Canyon Bakehouse, Simple Mills, Mi Casa, Tastykake, Dave's Killer Bread, Merita Breads, Captain John Derst's, Evangeline Maid, European Bakers, Butternut, Bunny Bread, Homepride, Papa Pita, Great Grains, Bubba's | revenue = $5.103 billion<ref name="finances">{{Cite web|url=https://investors.flowersfoods.com/news/news-releases/2025/02-07-2025-120058271|title=Flowers Foods, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results|website=investors.flowersfoods.com|access-date=October 20, 2025}}</ref> (2024) | founded = {{Start date and age|1919}} | hq_location = Thomasville, Georgia, U.S. | subsidiaries = | num_employees = 10,200<ref name="about"></ref> | num_employees_year = 2025 | website = [http://www.flowersfoods.com/ flowersfoods.com] }}
'''Flowers Foods, Inc.''', headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company operates 44 bakeries across 19 states that produce a variety of products, including bread, buns, snack cakes, rolls, tortillas and pastries.<ref name="locations">{{Cite web|url=https://flowersfoods.com/about-flowers/|title=About Flowers|website=www.flowersfoods.com/|access-date=October 17, 2025}}</ref> As of February 2013, Flowers Foods had grown to be the "second-largest baking company in the United States."<ref name="timeline">{{cite news |date=February 21, 2013 |title=Timeline–Flowers Foods' history through acquisitions |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/flowersfoods/timeline-flowers-foods-history-through-acquisitions-idUSL4N0BL6UY20130221 |access-date=July 31, 2019 |work=Reuters}}</ref>
Flowers Foods owns several well-known bread and baked goods brands, including Wonder, Nature's Own, Canyon Bakehouse, Dave's Killer Bread, Simple Mills, Tastykake, Mrs. Freshley's, and more.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brands |url=https://flowersfoods.com/brands/ |access-date=October 20, 2025 |website=flowersfoods.com}}</ref> The company continues to expand its market reach through acquisitions and by extending its existing territory.
Flowers Foods distributes its products through two main channels: Direct Store Delivery (DSD) and Warehouse. The DSD segment handles the regional distribution of products through a network of independent distributors. The DSD segment encompasses almost 6,000 independent distributor territories across the East, South, Southwest, West, and Northwest regions of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.floroutes.com/faq#:~:text=The%20direct%2Dstore%2Ddelivery%20(DSD)%20model%20was%20introduced,almost%206%2C000%20independent%20distributor%20territories. |access-date=October 20, 2025 |website=FloRoutes}}</ref><ref name="about">{{cite web |title=About Flowers Foods |url=http://www.flowersfoods.com/FFC_CompanyInfo/AboutFlowersFoods/index.cfm/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202024306/http://www.flowersfoods.com/FFC_CompanyInfo/AboutFlowersFoods/index.cfm |archive-date=December 2, 2016 |access-date=April 27, 2009 |website=www.flowersfoods.com}}</ref> Flowers' Warehouse segment manages the national distribution of frozen products, which are shipped directly to customers' warehouses throughout the continental United States.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2024 |title=Investor Fact Sheet |url=https://investors.flowersfoods.com/~/media/Files/F/Flowers-Foods-V3/documents/investor-fact-sheet-june-2024.pdf |access-date=October 20, 2025 |website=investors.flowersfoods.com}}</ref>
==History== [[Image:Flowers Baking Company, Thomasville.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Main bakery in Thomasville, Georgia]]
=== 1914–1942 === In 1914, brothers William Howard and Joseph Hampton Flowers founded the Flowers Ice Cream Company in Thomasville, Georgia. Recognizing a growing local demand for fresh bread, they expanded their business and, in 1919, established the Flowers Baking Company.<ref name="GTrend">{{cite news|last=Lightsey|first=Ed|title=STAFF OF LIFE|url=http://www.georgiatrend.com/January-2009/Staff-Of-Life/|access-date=8 May 2014|newspaper=Georgia Trend|date=January 2009}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The morning after its launch, 500 loaves of "Flowers Quality Bread" were sold in Thomasville. At the time, the bakery was considered the most modern in Georgia and had the capacity to produce 30,000 loaves of bread per day.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Flowers Baking Company: Established - 1919 |url=https://www.georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/flowers-baking-company-established-1919/ |access-date=October 20, 2025 |website=Georgia Historical Society}}</ref> Throughout the 1920s, Flowers Baking Company distributed bread, rolls, and cakes by rail across southern Georgia and into parts of Alabama and Florida.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Huff |first=Christopher Allen |date=November 11, 2005 |title=Flowers Foods |url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/flowers-foods/ |access-date=October 20, 2025 |website=New Georgia Encyclopedia}}</ref>
During this period, Howard managed the bakery while his brother Joseph oversaw the ice cream business.<ref name=":1" /> In 1929, the company made its first divestiture by selling its ice cream operations to Foremost Dairies.<ref name="GTrend" /> After the death of founder William Howard Flowers in 1934, his 20-year-old son, William Howard Flowers Jr., assumed leadership of the bakery.<ref name=":0" />
The company made its first acquisition in 1937, purchasing Tally Maid Bakery of Tallahassee, Florida. With the onset of World War II, the Flowers bakery operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week to supply bread to U.S. military camps across the southeastern United States.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 27, 2014 |title=Flowers' scent of success has lingered over Thomasville since 1919 |url=https://timesenterprise.com/2014/12/27/flowers-scent-of-success-has-lingered-over-thomasville-since-1919/ |access-date=October 20, 2025 |website=Thomasville Times-Enterprise}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> In 1942, Flowers became the sixth bakery in the U.S. to franchise Quality Bakers of America's Sunbeam brand and use the Little Miss Sunbeam mascot on its bread wrappers.<ref name="flowers">{{cite web |title=Stories behind Flowers Foods brands |date=December 27, 2014 |url=https://timesenterprise.com/2014/12/27/stories-behind-flowers-foods-brands/ |accessdate=July 23, 2025 |publisher=Thomasville Times-Enterprise}}</ref>
=== 1960s–1980s === During the 1960s, Flowers expanded by acquiring bakeries in Panama City, Florida and Opelika, Alabama. In 1965, Flowers constructed a Jacksonville, Florida bakery. Two years later, the company entered the metropolitan Atlanta market by acquiring the Atlanta Baking Company.<ref name=":1" />
In 1968, the company made an initial public offering, revised their name to Flowers Industries Inc., and began trading over-the-counter.<ref name="timeline" /> Less than a year later, Flowers was listed on the American Stock Exchange. The stock offering raised over $2 million, sparking a wave of acquisitions.<ref name=":1" /> The company expanded by purchasing bakeries in Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana and the Carolinas. In 1976, the company entered the frozen foods market by acquiring Stilwell Foods, a frozen vegetable producer.<ref name="timeline" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=April 13, 1986 |title=Stilwell Foods Packages a Success Story |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1986/04/13/stilwell-foods-packages-a-success-story/62729755007/ |access-date=October 17, 2025 |website=The Oklahoman}}</ref>
The company's growth also prompted the need for a larger headquarters, leading to a move in 1975 to a new 15-acre corporate complex south of Thomasville. In 1982, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the "FLO" ticker symbol, 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.<ref name="FLhist">{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.flowersfoods.com/company/history |access-date=July 31, 2019 |website=www.flowersfoods.com}}</ref> During the 1980s, Flowers diversified into the sale of sandwiches and cookies, though it quickly exited those ventures at decade's end. Throughout this period, the company continued acquiring bakeries across the southeast and southwest United States.<ref name="timeline" /><ref name=":1" />
=== 1990s–present === Beginning in the 1990s, several changes occurred at Flowers Industries. In 1996, when the company acquired the national Mrs. Smith’s frozen dessert brand and entered a joint venture to acquire Keebler, a major cookies and crackers company. By the early 2000s, Flowers refocused on snack cakes and bread. In 2001, the interest in Keebler was sold, generating $1.2 billion for shareholders.<ref name="GTrend" /> Following this transaction, Flowers Industries restructured and rebranded itself as Flowers Foods. In 2003, Flowers Foods sold Mrs. Smith’s Bakery.<ref name="timeline" /><ref name=":1" />
Flowers Foods continues to pursue acquisitions with the stated goal of expanding into growing product categories. This includes targeting the Hispanic market with its Mi Casa line of tortillas, and appealing to health- and budget-conscious consumers through its organic offerings like Dave’s Killer Bread and Alpine Valley Bread, as well as Keto-friendly products and smaller loaf options under the Nature’s Own brand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baked Goods for the Hispanic Market {{!}} Prepared Foods |url=https://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/105003-baked-goods-for-the-hispanic-market |access-date=October 20, 2025 |website=www.preparedfoods.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Redman |first=Russell |title=Flowers Foods aiming to 'retake the narrative' in bread |url=https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/28958-flowers-foods-aiming-to-retake-the-narrative-in-bread |access-date=October 20, 2025 |website=Food Business News}}</ref>
==Acquisitions== Flowers Foods has continued to acquire bakeries and food companies throughout its history, while also divesting from others.
In 1976, the company entered the frozen foods market by acquiring Stilwell Foods of Stilwell, Oklahoma, along with its Rio Grande Foods unit in McAllen, Texas.<ref name="timeline" /><ref name=":2" /> In 1996, Flowers acquired both the Keebler Company and Mrs. Smith's Pies. However, in 2001 it sold its investment in Keebler to the Kellogg Company. Its remaining business units, Flowers Bakeries and Mrs. Smith's Bakeries, were spun off into a new entity named Flowers Foods. In 2002, the company restructured into three divisions: Flowers Bakeries, Flowers Snack, and Mrs. Smith's Bakeries.<ref name="timeline" />
In late 2002, Flowers purchased Ideal Baking Company and acquired Bishop Baking Company from Kellogg, expanding its presence into north Arkansas, southern Missouri, and parts of Tennessee, including Memphis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/57412/flowers-foods-acquires-ideal-baking-co |title=Flowers Foods Acquires Ideal Baking Co. |work=Arkansas Business News |date=October 25, 2002 |access-date=2013-10-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2002/12/30/daily6.html |title=Flowers Foods completes Bishop Baking Co. buy |work=Atlanta Business Chronicle |date=December 30, 2002 |access-date=2013-10-28}}</ref> In 2003, Flowers sold its Mrs. Smith's frozen dessert business to the Schwan Food Company and renamed the Flowers Snack division, resulting in two divisions: Flowers Bakeries and Flowers Specialty.<ref name="timeline" />
In 2005, Flowers acquired Royal Cake Company and continued operating its bakery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.just-food.com/news/flowers-foods-buys-royal-cake-company_id85587.aspx |title=USA: Flowers Foods buys Royal Cake Company |website=just-food.com |date=September 2, 2005 |access-date=2013-10-28 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201245/http://www.just-food.com/news/flowers-foods-buys-royal-cake-company_id85587.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> In February 2006, Flowers purchased Derst Baking Co. of Savannah, Georgia, which retained its name under the Flowers Foods Bakeries Group.<ref>{{cite news |title=Flowers acquires Derst Baking |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2006/02/20/daily1.html |access-date=July 21, 2018 |work=Atlanta Business Chronicle |date=February 20, 2006}}</ref> In 2008, Flowers acquired ButterKrust Bakery in Lakeland, Florida and Holsum Bakery in Phoenix.<ref name="FLhist" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.just-food.com/news/flowers-foods-to-buy-holsum-bakery_id102861.aspx|title=US: Flowers Foods to buy Holsum Bakery|date=June 24, 2008|access-date=September 13, 2013|archive-date=April 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419044019/http://www.just-food.com/news/flowers-foods-to-buy-holsum-bakery_id102861.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2009, the company purchased Leo's Foods, a tortilla manufacturer.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.perishablenews.com/index.php?article=0003059 | title=Flower's Foods Acquires Tortilla Maker Leo's Food | work=PerishableNews | date=October 26, 2009 | access-date=October 28, 2013}}</ref>
Acquisitions continued into the 2010s. In 2011, Flowers acquired Philadelphia-based snack cake maker Tastykake, expanding into the mid-Atlantic region.<ref name="timeline" /><ref>{{cite web |last=DiStefano |first=Joseph N. |date=April 11, 2011 |title=Tastykake sale: Plants stay open; buyer to repay PA |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Georgia-firm-buys-Tastykake.html |access-date=2012-11-18 |publisher=Philly.com}}</ref> In 2012, it purchased Lepage Bakeries in Maine and acquired assets and licenses from Bimbo Bakeries for the Sara Lee and Earthgrains brands in California and Oklahoma City.<ref name="timeline" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 26, 2012 |title=Divestiture Trustee Announces Sale of Sara Lee and EarthGrains Brands in California and Oklahoma City Area to Flowers Foods |url=http://www.dechert.com/Divestiture_Trustee_Announces_Sale_of_Sara_Lee_and_EarthGrains_Brands_in_California_and_Oklahoma_City_Area_to_Flowers_Foods_10-26-2012/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417070250/http://www.dechert.com/Divestiture_Trustee_Announces_Sale_of_Sara_Lee_and_EarthGrains_Brands_in_California_and_Oklahoma_City_Area_to_Flowers_Foods_10-26-2012/ |archive-date=2015-04-17 |access-date=2015-04-09}}</ref> In 2013, the company purchased most of the bread brands of Hostess Brands, including Wonder Bread, along with 20 closed Hostess bakeries.<ref>{{cite news |last=Choi |first=Candace |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/hostess-names-flowers-as-lead-bidder-for-bread-brands/ |title=Hostess Names Flowers as Lead Bidder for Bread Brands |access-date=2013-02-26 |work=The New York Times |date=January 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/news_home/Business_News/2013/07/Flowers_completes_Hostess_brea.aspx?ID=%7B93BEC810-9679-4892-8DF5-8FC4FE444FBD%7D&cck=1 |title=Flowers completes Hostess bread asset acquisition |publisher=Food Business News |date=July 22, 2013 |access-date=2013-10-28}}</ref>
Flowers Foods made three acquisitions in 2015: Dave's Killer Bread of Milwaukie, Oregon, for $275 million in cash;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/08/daves_killer_bread_bought_by_f.html |title=Dave's Killer Bread bought by Flowers Foods for $275M |last=Theen |first=Andrew |work=The Oregonian |date=August 13, 2015 |access-date=July 31, 2019}}</ref> Alpine Valley Bread Co., an organic bakery in Mesa, Arizona;<ref>{{cite web |title = Flowers Foods to acquire Alpine Valley Bread |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date = 2018-07-03 |url = https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/29330-flowers-foods-to-acquire-alpine-valley-bread?v=preview |last=Nunes |first=Keith}}</ref> and the North American rights to the Roman Meal trademark for bread, buns, and rolls.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/28182-flowers-acquires-roman-meal-trademark-in-north-america |title=Flowers acquires Roman Meal trademark in North America |last=Sosland |first=Josh |website=bakingbusiness.com |date=February 26, 2015 |access-date=July 31, 2019}}</ref> At the end of 2018, Flowers Foods acquired Canyon Bakehouse, a privately held gluten-free bread company based in Johnstown, Colorado. With that purchase, the company had acquired 16 companies since 2003.<ref name="zacks">{{cite news |author=Zacks Equity Research |date=December 17, 2018 |title=Flowers Foods' Latest Buyout to Enhance Gluten-Free Offerings |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/article/flowers-foods-latest-buyout-to-enhance-gluten-free-offerings-cm1070393 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420232444/https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/flowers-foods-latest-buyout-to-enhance-gluten-free-offerings-2018-12-17 |archive-date=April 20, 2022 |access-date=October 17, 2025 |website=nasdaq.com}}</ref>
Flowers Foods bought Papa Pita for an undisclosed amount in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |author=Poinski |first=Megan |date=December 14, 2022 |title=Flowers Foods buys Papa Pita Bakery for undisclosed amount |url=https://www.fooddive.com/news/flowers-foods-buys-papa-pita-bakery/638711/ |access-date=October 17, 2025 |website=fooddive.com}}</ref> Most recently, in the first quarter of 2025, Flowers Foods acquired Simple Mills for $795 million in cash.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yu |first=Douglas |date=March 3, 2025 |title=From Kitchen Experiment To $795 Million Deal: Simple Mills' Journey To Flowers Foods |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/douglasyu/2025/03/03/from-kitchen-experiment-to-795m-deal-simple-mills-journey-to-flowers-foods/ |access-date=October 17, 2025 |website=Forbes}}</ref>
== Heritage Center == The '''Flowers Foods Heritage Center''' is located in a Thomasville building that opened in 1919, {{Time ago|1919}} as the post office, then was utilized as a public library.<ref name="SHEL">{{cite web |last1=Shelby |first1=Team |title=Flowers Foods Marks 100 Years With History Of Baking Exhibit |url=https://theshelbyreport.com/2019/06/28/flowers-foods-100-baking-exhibit/ |website=theshelbyreport.com |publisher=Shelby Report |access-date=14 March 2026}}</ref> When the Thomas County Public Library moved to the corner of Jefferson and Madison Streets on May 13, 1993, the structure was unoccupied for over 20 years.<ref name="TCPL">{{cite web |title=Thomas County Public Library Mission & History | url=https://www.tcpls.org/about/mission___history.php |website=tcpls.org |publisher=Thomas County Public Library |access-date=14 March 2026}}</ref> In order to give back to Thomasville, Flowers Foods acquired the building in 2015 and funded a renovation that the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation awarded an ''Excellence in Rehabilitation Award''.<ref name=TCPL/> Register Construction managed the project of the two-story building with basement. The scope of work involved excavating and waterproofing the exterior, interior demolition, elevator installation, and finishes corresponding to the building’s Victorian Architecture. An accelerated construction schedule allowed completion two months early.<ref name="REG">{{cite web |title=Flowers Foods Heritage Center |url=https://registerconstruction.net/flowers-foods-heritage-center/ |website=registerconstruction.net |publisher=Register Construction |access-date=14 March 2026}}</ref> On May 24, 2019 the Flowers Foods Heritage Center was opened with the interactive exhibit, "History in the Baking". The self-guided exhibit follows milestones in Flower’s 100-year history from a local bakery owned by the Flowers family to a billion-dollar New York Stock Exchange company. Also included is Thomasville history, the building’s history, and that of the Flowers family.<ref name="EXPL">{{cite web |title=Flowers Heritage Center - 100 Years in the Baking Exhibit |url=https://exploregeorgia.org/thomasville/food-drink/bakeries/flowers-heritage-center-100-years-in-the-baking-exhibit |website=exploregeorgia.org |publisher=Explore Georgia |access-date=14 March 2026}}</ref><ref name="BB">{{cite web |last1=Schroeder |first1=Eric |title=Flowers opens doors to ‘History in the Baking’ exhibit |url=https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/48668-flowers-opens-doors-to-history-in-the-baking-exhibit |website=bakingbusiness.com |publisher=Baking Business |access-date=14 March 2026}}</ref><ref name="HIST">{{cite web |title=Flowers Baking Company: Established-1919 |url=https://www.georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/flowers-baking-company-established-1919/ |website=georgiahistory.com |publisher=Georgia History |access-date=14 March 2026}}</ref>
==See also== * List of brand name breads
==Sources== {{Primary sources|date=March 2011}} {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Flowers Foods}} * {{Official website|https://www.flowersfoods.com}} {{Finance links | name = Flowers Foods, Inc. | symbol = FLO | sec_cik = 1128928 | yahoo = FLO | google = FLO:NYSE }}
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Category:Bakeries of the United States Category:Brand name breads Category:Snack food manufacturers of the United States Category:Companies based in Thomas County, Georgia Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Category:Food and drink companies established in 1919 Category:1919 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)