Baking & Snack - November 2015 - 14

Flowers looks toward 'organic' growth
With recent acquisitions, Flowers Foods has
both the leading brand and considerable production capacity in the organic bread space,
giving the company confidence in its potential to capture growth opportunities ahead,
said Allen Shiver, president and CEO of the
Thomasville, GA-based company.
In a special conference call with investment
analysts, Mr. Shiver and other Flowers executives discussed the company's recent acquisitions of organic baking companies. Flowers
closed on its deal to acquire Dave's Killer Bread
(DKB), Milwaukie, WI, in September and
completed its purchase of Alpine Valley Bread,
Meza, AZ, in October.
The ground for growth in organic foods is
fertile, especially so for organic bread. More than 80% of American
families include some organic foods in their shopping carts, according to Mr. Shiver. "And the interest in organic breads in particular is broad, appealing to a wide variety of households from
millennials to boomers," he noted.
He said industry experts expect solid low double-digit growth
rates for organic bread going forward. "For the most part, organic
breads have not been made available through an extensive and
service-oriented distribution system," Mr. Shiver observed. "We
will leverage Flowers' distribution strengths in DSD [direct-store

distribution] and warehouse to reach more
retailers and additional consumers in new
geographies."
While encouraged by macro signs pointing
to category growth ahead, Mr. Shiver said it is
the specific strengths of the businesses acquired
by Flowers that give the company confidence.
At DKB, the management team will continue
to be led by John Tucker, CEO. Additionally, the
company will continue to offer employment opportunities under the Second Chance Program,
an initiative devoted to giving those with criminal histories the chance to secure a job.
Alpine Valley Bread's history dates back 18
years when Todd Wood and his wife, Andrea,
opened a small bakery in a strip mall in Mesa,
AZ. They baked bread, rolls and buns made from certified organic,
non-bioengineered ingredients.
"After first serving retail and foodservice customers and expanding to two bakeries, Alpine today focuses on wholesale production
for retail grocers and leverages warehouse distribution to major
club and retail stores," Mr. Shiver said.
In addition to the appeal of the Alpine Bakery products, brand
and employees, Mr. Shiver said Flowers is "excited by the production capacity Alpine brings to our business."
- Josh Sosland, Milling & Baking News

Drake's hits the 'Funny Bones' again
Funny Bones, a snack cake that was part of the Drake's Cakes line
for many years, returned to store shelves in October. McKee Foods,
Collegedale, TN, which has owned the Drake's brand since 2013,
said Funny Bones will be available in supermarket, supercenters,
value retailers and convenience stores throughout the Northeast.
Funny Bones are made with devil's food cake, peanut butter
crème filling and chocolate flavored icing. The product was first
introduced in 1961.
McKee acquired the Drake's brand from Hostess Brands, Inc.,
after that company declared bankruptcy in 2012. When Drake's
returned to supermarket shelves in September 2013, Funny Bones

were not part of the roster.
Since then, customers have
"flocked to social media
sites asking for" their return, Mr. McKee said.
"Unaffiliated Facebook
pages such as 'Bring Back
Drake's Cakes Funny Bones,'
have also popped up in an effort to show McKee Foods just how
much people want the treat back," the company said.
- Josh Sosland, Milling & Baking News

Hostess CEO to highlight ASB conference
William Toler, president and CEO of Hostess Brands, LLC, Kansas
City, MO, will be a keynote speaker for BakingTech 2016, set for
Feb. 28-March 1, 2016, in Chicago.
The theme of the conference is "Growth through innovation," a
topic that Mr. Toler, along with Kat Cole, group president of Focus
Brands and former president of Cinnabon, will discuss during
their presentations.
In addition to Mr. Toler and Ms. Cole, the conference will feature

14 Baking & Snack November 2015 / www.bakingandsnack.com

technical sessions that will focus on innovations in ingredients that are being driven by
legislation and the move to clean label and away
from partially hydrogenated oils. There also
will be follow-up discussion to BakingTech's
2015 panel on GMO ingredients, including a
discussion of the current state of traditional
and GMO wheat breeding programs.

Toler

http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - November 2015

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