Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company operates 46 bakeries that produce breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. The company’s products are sold regionally through a direct store delivery network that encompasses the East, South, and Southwest, and are sold nationwide via delivery to retailers' warehouses.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.HistoryIn 1919, brothers William Howard and Joseph Hampton Flowers opened Flowers Baking Company in Thomasville, Georgia. 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. Less than a year later, Flowers was listed on the American Stock Exchange. In 1982, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FLO.
