| Type | Public (NYSE: FLO) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1919 |
| Headquarters | Thomasville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Key people | George E. Deese (Chairman, CEO, President) |
| Products | Nature's Own, Whitewheat, Sunbeam, Mrs. Freshley's, Blue Bird, Mi Casa, Cobblestone Mill; acquired Tastykake in April 2011 |
| Website | www.flowersfoods.com |
Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company operates 39 bakeries that produce breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, and pastries. The company’s products are sold regionally through an extensive direct-store-delivery network that encompasses the southeastern, mid-Atlantic, and southwest US, plus select markets in California and Nevada, and nationwide through other delivery systems.
Flowers' key brands include Nature's Own, Whitewheat, Cobblestone Mill, Mrs. Freshley's, and Blue Bird. Flowers also markets products under the following company-owned and franchised brands: Aunt Hattie’s, Betsy Ross, Bunny, ButterKrust, Captain John Derst, Country Hearth, Dandee, Evangeline Maid, Flowers, Holsum, Ideal, Mi Casa, Roman Meal, Sunbeam, and Tastykake; the latter, long associated with Philadelphia, was acquired in April 2011.[1]
Flowers Foods has two operating segments. The Direct Store Delivery (DSD) Segment handles fresh breads, 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 and breads and rolls that are sold direct to customers' warehouses. Flowers' Mrs. Freshley's brand of snack cakes is available nationally to retail and vending customers through this segment, as is the European Bakers' brand of frozen specialty breads and rolls, which is available nationally to retail in-store bakeries and foodservice customers.[2]
In 1919, brothers William Howard and Joseph Hampton Flowers opened Flowers Baking Company in Thomasville, Georgia. The bakery met with success, and began to ship its products to the surrounding communities. In 1937, the company acquired a bakery in Tallahassee, Florida, marking the start of a history of growth by acquisition. In 1944, Flowers became the 6th bakery in the U.S. to franchise Quality Bakers of America’s Sunbeam brand and Little Miss Sunbeam for its white bread. In 1968, the company became Flowers Industries, and began trading over-the-counter stock. Less than a year later, Flowers listed on the American Stock Exchange. In 1982, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FLO. In the mid-1990s, it acquired the Keebler Company and Mrs. Smith's Pies. In 2001, Flowers sold its investment in Keebler to the Kellogg Company and delivered $1.24 billion to its shareholders. Flowers’ remaining business units, Flowers Bakeries and Mrs. Smith’s Bakeries, were then spun off into a new company called Flowers Foods. In 2003, Flowers Foods sold its Mrs. Smith’s frozen dessert business to the Schwan Food Company. In 2008, it acquired ButterKrust Bakery in Lakeland, Florida, and merged with Holsum Bakery in Phoenix.[3]
Flowers has made more than 110 acquisitions.