A leading producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods for retail and foodservice customers in the U.S: Flowers Foods, Inc.

Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., since its first bakery was opened by the Flowers family in 1919, is today one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company operates more than 40 highly efficient bakeries that produce a wide range of bakery food for retail and foodservice customers in the U.S.

The company maintains some of the most efficient and technologically advanced bakeries in the country and has a team of outstanding employees and associates. Each bakery operates as a separate subsidiary of the company and has its own president, human resources director, and controller

Fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, and tortillas are available to approximately 80% of the U.S. population through the company’s direct-store-delivery (DSD) network. This network covers the Northeast, South, southern Midwest, Southwest, and California. Independent distributor partners are in supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants delivering and merchandising these fresh bakery foods every day.

Flowers Foods’ top DSD brand is Nature’s Own, the #1-selling bread brand in the United States. Other top brands include Whitewheat, Wonder, Cobblestone Bread Co., and Tastykake.

The company also offers organic baked foods under the Dave’s Killer Bread, Alpine Valley Bread, and Barowsky’s Organic brands. Dave’s Killer Bread and Alpine Valley products also are verified non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project.

Frozen bakery items and fresh snack cakes sold under the Mrs. Freshley’s and European Bakers brands are delivered direct to customers’ warehouses and are sold in retail, vending, and foodservice outlets nationwide. 

Flowers Operating Strategies

Grow sales: Develop new/core markets through new customers, new products, strong brands, acquisitions

Invest wisely: Use technology and efficiencies to be the low-cost producer of delicious bakery foods Give extraordinary service: Go beyond the expected to meet customer needs

Bake smart: Innovate to improve processes, enhance quality, reduce costs, and conserve resources

Appreciate team: Respect every individual, embrace diversity, and promote career growth

The Mission of Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods could not bake, market, or distribute its products without the talent, dedication, and hard work of thousands of employees, associates, and independent distributor partners. Their professionalism, enthusiasm, and dedication to do their best are vital to the success of our company. Our mission is to drive sustainable growth that enhances value for our shareholders, associates, distributors, customers, consumers, and communities.

We accomplish this by:

• Growing Sales: developing new and core markets through new customers, new products, strong brands, and acquisitions
• Investing Wisely: using technology and efficiencies to be the low-cost producer of delicious bakery foods
• Giving Extraordinary Service: going beyond the expected to meet customer needs
• Baking Smart: innovating to improve processes, enhancing quality, reducing costs, and conserving resources
• Appreciating Team: respecting every individual, embracing diversity, and promoting career growth

Our commitment to these actions creates competitive advantages that make Flowers Foods’ success possible. Supporting all our actions are our guiding principles: integrity, service, quality, and commitment.

Flowers Spirit

Flowers Foods celebrates the positive spirit that is alive in our company through our employees. The Flowers Spirit is one of integrity and dedication to a job well done. It encourages others and inspires them to do their best. It’s about caring for those with whom you work as well as for your community and neighbors through charitable actions. The Flowers Spirit is the heart of our company.

Since 2002, the Flowers Spirit Award program has celebrated employees throughout the company who live the Flowers Spirit. These individuals, chosen by coworkers, are honored with a Spirit Award because of their exemplary work performance, their positive attitude, their encouragement of others, and the time and energy they give to their community. In keeping with the spirit of the program, Flowers makes a charitable donation in honor of each Spirit Award recipient.

Every year, from the list of Spirit Award honorees, one person is chosen to receive the programs’ highest honor: the L.S. Flowers Spirit Award. This award is named after Langdon S. Flowers, Sr., former chairman of the company, whose kindness, generosity and encouragement touched the lives of many within our company and the country.

The Flowers Way

As a publicly held company, our goal is to increase the value of Flowers Foods to its shareholders over the long term. During its almost 100 years in business, our company has developed a business strategy that we call THE FLOWERS WAY. Working THE FLOWERS WAY, our company has become one of the most successful wholesale bakers in the country.

THE FLOWERS WAY is about fostering team spirit, appreciating diversity, and making advancement opportunities available to team members. Every day, Flowers Foods’ team members, associates, and independent distributors work together to:

• Invest and manage resources wisely
• Bake smart
• Innovate to improve our business
• Provide outstanding service
• Deliver value, grow our business, and
• Appreciate our team members

Howdy Chief

Allen L. Shiver, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Allen L. Shive has served as president and chief executive officer of Flowers Foods since 2013. He was elected president in 2010 and previously served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer from 2008 to 2009. Shiver served as president and chief operating officer of Flowers Foods Specialty Group from 2003 until 2008 and as president and chief operating officer of Flowers Snack from 2002 to 2003. Prior to those appointments, Shiver served as a bakery president, regional vice president, and executive vice president of operations. He joined the company in 1978.

Shiver is an American Bakers Association (ABA) board member and has served as ABA’s chairman of the board. He currently serves as co-chair of the Grain Foods Foundation Board of Trustees and on the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s President’s Advisory Council and Industry Affairs Council.

“Our mission is to drive sustainable growth that enhances value for our shareholders, associates, distributors, customers, consumers, and communities.”