IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview - (Page 14)

Well Positioned for Industry leading companies head into IBIE 2016 with eye on organics, alternate categories. by Eric Schroeder, Milling & Baking News W Growth When the baking industry gathered in Las Vegas for IBIE 2013, the industry was in the midst of major change. The different parts of the Hostess Brands business had changed hands, but their new owners had yet to fully realize any synergies from the acquisitions. The feeling is much different for this year's gathering. Flowers Foods, Inc., Thomasville, GA, acquired 20 baking plants and other "bread assets" from Hostess Brands for $355 million in 2013, and the company has since brought the products back to market in a manner that has fit well with Flowers' strategy to grow its freshbaked foods business through market expansion and acquisitions. In early 2015, D. Keith Wheeler, president of Flowers Bakeries, said the acquisition of Wonder and others helped Flowers gain an advantage. The Wonder, Merita, Butternut and Home Pride labels gave Flowers the opportunity to introduce these brands into the market where they had some strength as well as roll out Nature's Own with them. And since the Hostess acquisition, Flowers has yet to slow down. Specifically, the company has seen opportunity in the organic bread market and has tackled it head-on. In September 2015, Flowers Foods acquired Milwaukie, OR-based Dave's Killer Bread, a leading manufacturer of organic bread, for approximately $275 million in cash. Dave's Killer Bread is considered the largest organic bread company in the US, producing 14 / PreShow Guide / IBIE 2016 17 varieties of whole grain, organic products distributed throughout the US and Canada. In October 2015, Flowers completed its buy of Alpine Valley Bread Co. for $120 million in cash and stock. Based in Mesa, AZ, Alpine Valley bakes bread that is natural, organic and non-GMO Project Verified. The company operates two bakeries in Mesa and employs 282. With these purchases, Flowers Foods now 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. Although net income at Flowers dropped to $189 million in fiscal 2015 from $231 million in fiscal 2013, net sales over the past three years have steadily risen, climbing to $3.78 billion from $3.73 billion. Recent acquisitions should only add to those totals. Beyond organics While organic has become a focus at Flowers Foods, it is still only a modest business at Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU), the North America segment of Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V., Mexico City. The organic business at Bimbo is a small one, centered on the company's Eureka! brand, which just went into national distribution. But it is a category that Bimbo is expanding into additional markets, according to company executives. Entering with some stealth into the organic bread market, the company has been more visible in moving to build its whole grains franchise. Just before full-year

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview

IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview
Table of Contents
IBIE PERSPECTIVE - Challenges Amid Attractive Conditions
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY - Well Positioned for Growth
Fuel for the future
PARADE OF PROGRESS - Bakers and exhibitors say they go to IBIE because …It's About the Future
EQUIPMENT TRENDS SURVEY - Good Vibrations
IBIE TECH - Must-have Mobile
ENGINEERING ROUNDTABLE - Putting it on Automatic
ABA PERSPECTIVE - Election 2016: The Stretch Run
Getting the Message Out
‘Premiumization’ opportunities abound
B&CMA, ABA - Pathway to the Future
Cookie-cracker education at IBIE
FSMA & THE BAKERY - Proof of Validation
SANITATION & SAFETY - Signs of the Times
How to collaborate, a PMMI protocol
PACKAGING - One-stop Shop
COLD STORAGE LOGISTICS - Securing Smooth Sailing
INGREDIENT CHOICES - The Big Questions
Go ahead, eat, it’s safe
TAX RELIEF - Go Ahead, Spend
SOCIAL MEDIA - Plugged into Consumers
INGREDIENT TRENDS - Favorable Forecast
INGREDIENT TRENDS: FATS & OILS - Deadline: 2018
WORKFORCE GAP - A New Paradigm
BREAD TRENDS - I Love Bread
bake - Special Edition
Retail Perspective - Road to Recovery
Retail Perspective: Equipment - Innovations Abound
Retail Perspective: Cake - Standing out from the crowd
Retail Perspective: Education - School in session
A World of Opportunity
INTERNATIONAL INSIGHT: BAKED FOODS - Global Growth: It's Not Easy
ALL-AMERICAN TAILGATE - Kickoff IBIE 2016
VEGAS GUIDE - Something for everyone
Off the beaten path
Ad Index

IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview