Cole's Quality Foods, Inc.

What Cole's Quality Foods, Inc. does

Cole's Quality Foods, Inc. is a U.S. frozen-bakery manufacturer founded in 1943 in Muskegon, Michigan, by Wes Devon, and now headquartered at 1420 Progress St., North Liberty, Iowa (1420 Progress St., North Liberty, IA 52317). The company produces a focused portfolio of frozen garlic bread, Texas Toast, and breadstick SKUs — including Original Garlic Bread, Zesty Italian Garlic Bread, Garlic Mini Loaf, Five Cheese Texas Toast, classic Garlic Breadsticks, and the Mozzarella Cheese Stuffed Garlic Breadsticks (marketed as the best-selling stuffed breadstick in the U.S.). The portfolio sits on a frozen shelf-life technology platform delivering a stated 365-day shelf life with heating via air fryer, oven, toaster oven, grill, or stovetop. Cole's invented the first commercially available frozen garlic bread in 1973, establishing category leadership that has persisted for over five decades. The company operates three production sites with 200+ employees, all in the Midwest.

The business model is straightforward branded CPG distribution rather than software or recurring revenue. Cole's sells one-time-purchase frozen products at retail pricing set by individual grocery retailers, distributed through 'fine retailers all across the U.S.' in the freezer aisle and supported by a broker partner portal offering downloadable retail packaging and logo assets. A direct-to-consumer surface exists via coles.com, with recipe content and customer service contact (1.855.587.8820) handling product inquiries. The company has no disclosed subscription model, no API/SDK offering, and no app; revenue is derived purely from physical-goods sales through traditional grocery retail and broker channels, serving U.S. families and home cooks as its primary end consumer segment. Following the 2025 acquisition by Furlani Foods, Cole's now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of a strategic operating parent amid broader frozen-bakery industry consolidation.

Name

Cole's Quality Foods, Inc.

Legal name

Cole's Quality Foods, Inc.

Website

https://coles.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cole's Quality Foods is a U.S. frozen-bakery manufacturer founded in 1943, producing a focused portfolio of frozen garlic bread, Texas Toast, and breadstick SKUs distributed through grocery freezer aisles nationwide under the original frozen garlic bread brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Frozen Bakery Products

NAICS

Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing (311813), Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181), Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing (3118)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen Bakery Products Manufacturing (AFAKAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Frozen Snacks & Appetizers (CRADADAD)

Keywords

• Frozen garlic bread
• Frozen bakery products
• Texas toast
• Frozen breadsticks
• Frozen bread manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

East Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Frozen Food Sales: Cole's generates revenue through the sale of frozen bakery products (garlic bread, Texas Toast, breadsticks) to retail consumers through grocery store freezer aisles across the United States. This is a one-time product purchase model with no subscription component.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cole's Quality Foods manufactures and sells frozen garlic bread and related frozen bakery products (Texas Toast, Garlic Bread, Breadsticks, Croutons) for U.S. retail grocery sale. The company produces its own SKUs at Midwest facilities and distributes them nationally through grocery freezer aisles, supported by a broker partner portal and direct consumer contact.

Product overview

Cole's Quality Foods, Inc. is a frozen bread company offering a portfolio of frozen garlic bread products including Texas Toast varieties (Original and Five Cheese), Garlic Bread in multiple formats (Original, Zesty Italian, and Mini Loaf), and Breadsticks (Garlic Breadsticks and Mozzarella Cheese Stuffed Breadsticks). The company invented the first commercially available frozen garlic bread in 1973 and holds the position of best-selling stuffed breadstick in the US. All products are frozen with a 365-day shelf life and are distributed nationally through retail freezer aisles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Texas Toast Garlic Texas Toast made with real garlic and butter, used as a side dish or bread for hot sandwiches; pre-sliced frozen product that heats in 3-4 minutes per side. Sold through U.S. grocery freezer aisles.
• Five Cheese Texas Toast Savory garlic Texas Toast topped with asiago, mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar, and provolone cheese; includes 8 pre-sliced servings and is ready in under 10 minutes. Sold through U.S. grocery freezer aisles.
• Original Garlic Bread America's original frozen garlic bread, made with freshly baked bread from the Cole's Midwest bakery and topped with the brand's signature garlic spread; a family staple sold through U.S. grocery freezer aisles.
• Zesty Italian Garlic Bread Garlic bread made with a unique spice blend and a hint of mild heat, positioned as Cole's most flavorful bread SKU in the freezer aisle; previously marketed under the Select Garlic Bread name.
• Garlic Mini Loaf 8oz smaller-format garlic bread loaf designed for couples or small families, delivering the same taste as Cole's Original Garlic Bread in a smaller portion; sold through U.S. grocery freezer aisles.
• Garlic Breadsticks Classic twisted garlic breadsticks designed to hold more garlic butter and herbs; served as a dinner side, snack, or appetizer with dipping sauces. Sold through U.S. grocery freezer aisles.
• Mozzarella Cheese Stuffed Garlic Breadsticks Breadsticks stuffed with 100% real mozzarella cheese, buttery and garlicky, served piping hot in less than 10 minutes with no thawing required; marketed as the best-selling stuffed breadstick in the U.S.
• Garlic Butter Croutons Croutons made from Cole's Texas Toast, seasoned with oregano, salt, and pepper and baked until golden brown; used as topping for soups, salads, or casseroles.

Quantifiable outcome

• First frozen garlic bread invented in 1973
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Furlani FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2025Furlani Foods acquired Cole's Quality Foods as part of broader consolidation trends in the bakery industry. The acquisition is noted in the context of industry consolidation as companies seek to meet evolving consumer demands through expanded product portfolios and distribution networks.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• McCain Foods: McCain Foods is a global leader in frozen potato and frozen appetizer/snack products serving grocery and foodservice. It is a broad incumbent shaping frozen-aisle merchandising decisions that affect Cole's shelf placement and category visibility in US retail.
• Pillsbury (General Mills): Pillsbury is a flagship mass-market frozen and refrigerated baked-goods brand under General Mills covering breads, rolls, cookies, and toaster pastries. It is a broad incumbent shaping the same frozen/refrigerated bakery category Cole's operates in.
• Eggo (Kellanova): Eggo is the dominant US frozen breakfast/waffle brand under Kellanova. While its category (waffles) differs, it competes with Cole's for the same freezer-aisle real estate and same weekday-family-meal occasions.

Direct peers

• New York Frozen Foods (New York Garlic Co.): New York Frozen Foods is a Midwest/US frozen garlic bread specialist producing Texas Toast, garlic loaves, and stuffed bread products competing head-to-head with Cole's on grocery freezer-aisle shelves nationwide.
• Furlani Foods: Furlani Foods is the strategic parent company that acquired Cole's in 2025. Furlani independently produces frozen garlic bread, Texas Toast, and breadsticks, making it a direct competitor and sister brand with overlapping product lines, distribution channels, and target customers in the US frozen bread category.
• Inn-M Foods: Inn-M Foods produces frozen garlic breads, pizza breads, and Italian specialty baked items primarily for grocery retail and foodservice. It competes with Cole's in the frozen garlic bread category across US retailers.
• Michael Angelo's / Michael's of Brooklyn: Michael Angelo's manufactures premium frozen Italian entrées, appetizers, and garlic bread products sold through grocery retailers nationwide. It directly competes with Cole's in the frozen garlic bread and Italian-style appetizer segments serving family-occasion meals.
• Rhodes Bake-N-Serv: Rhodes is a major US producer of frozen bread dough, rolls, and pre-baked bread products sold through grocery retail. It overlaps with Cole's in frozen bread consumption occasions and competes for freezer-aisle shelf space.

Emerging players

• Boboli: Boboli is a specialty frozen flatbread/pizza crust brand sold through grocery retail. It overlaps with Cole's in the frozen flatbread/pizza-crust category and same family-dinner usage occasions.
• Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen: Mama Cozzi's produces frozen take-and-bake pizzas, garlic breadsticks, and Italian-style baked items for retail. It overlaps with Cole's on the frozen garlic-bread-occasion use case and competes for similar SKU real estate at grocery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/colesbreads
• Facebookfacebook.com/colesbreads

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cole's Quality Foods, Inc.