Red Hen Baking

What Red Hen Baking does

Red Hen Baking Co. is a certified-organic artisan bakery and café headquartered in Middlesex, Vermont, founded on September 1, 1999 by Randy George and Eliza Cain. The company manufactures hearth-baked breads, pastries, café provisions, creemees, and stone-milled flour, producing approximately 2,200 loaves per day across 360 days a year using slow fermentation, hand-shaping, and hearth oven baking. Since 2020, an in-house New American Stone Mill (granite from Barre, Vermont) has processed roughly 250 lbs of local grain daily, with 99% of wheat and rye sourced from farms within 300 miles and VOF organic certification held continuously since 2000.

The business operates three integrated go-to-market channels: a retail café (relocated to 60 Main Street in Montpelier's historic downtown on May 1, 2026 under a 5-year lease), a wholesale delivery network serving approximately 65 retail stores, co-ops, restaurants, and cafés across Vermont and the Upper Valley of New Hampshire within a 60-mile radius, plus farmers market presence (Montpelier, Waitsfield) and same-day online pickup via Dripos and Toast. Revenue is generated through transaction-based retail sales (bread, pastries, sandwiches, soups, coffee, creemees, pizza), wholesale distribution to named accounts including Brattleboro Food Co-op, City Market/Onion River Co-op (multiple Burlington locations), Hunger Mountain Co-op, Healthy Living Market (South Burlington and Williston), and restaurants such as Hen of the Wood, Juniper at Hotel Vermont, Guild Tavern, Barr Hill, Michael's On The Hill, and The Farmhouse Tap & Grill, plus catering services. The company employs 42-50 full-time staff including bakers, chefs, baristas, and delivery drivers, with hourly wages ranging from $17.50 to $26.

Red Hen has remained founder-owned and bootstrapped throughout its 25-year history with no external institutional investment. In February 2023, the company implemented a no-tipping policy, raising prices to directly fund wage increases while redirecting customer donations to staff-chosen charities (over $300,000 donated in the past two years via tip jar contributions). Vertical supply chain integration is a defining feature: long-term relationships with regional flour mills (Le Moulin des Cedres in Quebec since ~2015, Farmer Ground Flour in New York since 2009), organic grain farmers (Elysian Fields Farm since 2020, Thornhill Farm since 2013), and produce suppliers (Foote Brook Farm, Pete's Greens, Champlain Orchards) anchor the company's positioning in the Northeast local food movement, complemented by a partnership with the Northern Grain Growers Association and a Boston-area extension via Farmers to You.

Name

Red Hen Baking

Legal name

Red Hen Baking Co.

Website

https://redhenbaking.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Red Hen Baking Co. is a Vermont-based certified-organic artisan bakery founded in 1999, producing 2,200 hearth-baked loaves daily and distributing wholesale to 65 retail and restaurant accounts across Vermont and the Upper Valley, while operating a retail café.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Bakery

NAICS

Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181), Commercial Bakeries (311812), Retail Bakeries (311811)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Artisan & Specialty Bakeries (Sourdough, Heritage Grains) (THAFAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wholesale / Commercial Bakeries (B2B Supply) (THAFAFAF), Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA)

Keywords

• Artisan bread baking
• Organic pastries
• Hearth baked breads
• Stone milled flour
• Cafe and bakery

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterbury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cafe Retail Sales: In-person sales at their cafe location offering pastries, sandwiches, soups, coffee, and creemees. Walk-in customers and online ordering for pickup.
2. Wholesale Bread Distribution: B2B sales to retail stores, co-ops, restaurants, and cafes across Vermont and Upper Valley New Hampshire. Bread delivered fresh daily 7 days a week, 360 days per year.
3. Farmers Markets: Direct sales at farmers markets including Montpelier Farmers Market and Waitsfield Farmers Market.
4. Catering Services: Custom catering for weddings and events, including coffee & pastry catering and lunch catering menus.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Red Hen Baking Co. manufactures certified-organic artisan hearth breads (including Miche, Baguette, Ciabatta, Olive Bread, 3 Millers, multiple rye and whole wheat varieties) and pastries at its Middlesex, Vermont bakery. The company sells retail through its Montpelier cafe and online pickup ordering, distributes wholesale to co-ops, grocery stores, restaurants, and cafes across Vermont and the Upper Valley of New Hampshire, and offers catering services. Approximately 2,200 loaves are baked daily on average, 360 days per year, using in-house stone-milled flour from local grains.

Product overview

Red Hen Baking Co. is a certified-organic artisan bakery and cafe operating in Middlesex and Montpelier, Vermont since 1999. The company operates a single-location bakery with an attached cafe, offering fresh hearth-baked breads (including Miche, Baguette, Ciabatta, Olive Bread, 3 Millers, and various rye and whole wheat varieties), artisan pastries, creemees (soft-serve ice cream), sandwiches, soups, and specialty provisions. The business model combines retail cafe service with wholesale bread delivery to over 30 retail locations across Vermont and New Hampshire, plus catering services. They mill their own flour in-house using a New American Stone Mill and source 99% of wheat and rye from farms within 300 miles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 430,000 lbs of local wheat processed annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Elysian Fields Farm (Joe Hescock)coreOthers · 1 January 2020Organic farm in Shoreham, Vermont owned by Joe Hescock. Grows Redeemer wheat variety specifically for Red Hen. In 2020, Red Hen purchased their own stone mill to process Joe's grain in-house, milling approximately 250lbs of local grains daily. Wheat is grown as part of his organic dairy farm operation.
• Le Moulin des Cedres (Les Fermes Longpres)coreOthers · 1 January 2015Family-run organic farm and roller mill in Les Cedres, Quebec (150 miles from bakery). Three brothers operate the diversified farm which supplies organic roller-milled flour. Red Hen has worked with the Dewavrin family for over 10 years. This partnership enables sourcing of all white flour from a regenerative agriculture practice that is just a few hours drive from the bakery.
• Thornhill Farm (Todd Hardie)coreOthers · 1 January 2013Organic farm in Greensboro, Vermont growing Certified Organic winter rye and elderberries. Todd delivers rye berries to the bakery where it is milled in-house. This partnership enables production of all-Vermont breads including Kingdom Rye and Sprouternickel.
• Farmer Ground FlourcoreOthers · 1 January 2009Micro-mill in Trumansburg, New York (Finger Lakes region). Collaborative project between organic farmer Thor Oechsner and millers Greg Russo and Neal Johnston. Supplies weekly deliveries of fresh, stone-ground flour with all grains milled to order. Founded in 2009 by friends passionate about local agriculture and organic grains.
• New American Stone Mills (Andrew Heyn)coreOthersMill manufacturer in Elmore, Vermont owned by Andrew Heyn of Elmore Mt. Bread. Designs and builds commercial stone mills using granite cut from Barre. Delivered Red Hen's custom mill in October 2020, enabling expanded in-house milling capacity.
• Foote Brook Farm (Tony Lehouillier)minorOthersFarm in Johnson, Vermont supplying yellow potatoes specifically grown for Red Hen since 2000. Potatoes are stored year-round for consistent supply.
• Pete's GreensminorOthersFarm in Craftsbury, Vermont supplying certified Organic produce used in soups, sandwiches, and pastries throughout the year. Major supplier for Thanksgiving pumpkin pies.
• Champlain OrchardsminorOthersOrchard in Shoreham, Vermont supplying apples for year-round apple pies and galettes using local fruit.
• Northern Grain Growers AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit association supporting grain growers in the Northeast. Co-founded by Jack Lazor with Heather Darby of UVM Extension. Randy George sits on the Board. Red Hen participates in bake tests with grain samples from UVM test plots.
• Farmers to YouminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDelivery partner based in Cambridge, MA enabling Red Hen bread delivery to Boston area customers online, extending geographic reach beyond typical 60-mile delivery radius.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pain D'Avignon: Vermont-based commercial bakery producing European-style artisan breads and viennoiserie distributed across New England. Comparable in wholesale artisan bread production, though larger and more industrial in scale.
• Acme Bread Company: Berkeley, California-based artisan wholesale bakery supplying Bay Area restaurants, retailers, and farmers markets with hearth-baked breads. Comparable in wholesale density, restaurant supply, and cafe/direct channels.
• King Arthur Baking Company: Norwich, Vermont-based flour and baking company that produces and sells artisan breads and baking products both wholesale and direct-to-consumer. Most directly comparable peer — also Vermont-based, certified-organic heritage, and operates wholesale + retail channels.
• Grand Central Bakery: Pacific Northwest artisan bakery and cafe chain founded in Portland, Oregon — the same bakery where founder Randy George worked before starting Red Hen. Closely comparable artisan wholesale + cafe model.
• Metropolitan Bakery: Philadelphia-based artisan wholesale bakery and cafe with a wholesale bread program to restaurants/co-ops and a retail cafe. Comparable artisan model and channel mix.
• She Wolf Bakery: Brooklyn-based artisan wholesale bakery and cafe producing naturally-leavened breads for NYC restaurants and direct-to-consumer. Comparable in wholesale + cafe artisan bread production.
• Elmore Mt. Bread: Small artisan bakery in Elmore, Vermont, owned by Andrew Heyn — the same craftsman who built Red Hen's New American Stone Mill. Comparable in geography, scale, and artisan bakery/cafe model; tight community overlap.
• Vermont Bread Company: Middlebury, Vermont-based commercial bakery producing organic artisan breads distributed throughout the Northeast. Closest direct competitor in scale and channel mix to Red Hen in the Vermont wholesale/retail bread category.

Broad incumbents

• La Brea Bakery: National artisan-style bread brand produced by Aryzta for foodservice and retail grocery nationwide. Overlaps in product category but operates at industrial scale with broad retail distribution rather than a regional artisan positioning.
• Bimbo Bakeries USA: Largest commercial baker in the U.S. (parent of Thomas', Sara Lee, Entenmann's), now marketing organic and artisan sublines. Relevant as the broad-incumbent competitive backdrop shaping shelf space and consumer pricing across Red Hen's wholesale category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=GkF1VSXMGsM
• Xx.com/RedHenBakingCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/redhenbaking

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Red Hen Baking