Sara Lee

What Sara Lee does

Sara Lee is an Australian frozen desserts and baked goods manufacturer headquartered at its historic Lisarow NSW bakehouse (established 8 June 1971), employing approximately 200 staff. The company produces a portfolio spanning cheesecakes, baked cheesecakes, pies and crumbles, puddings, danishes, cakes, croissants, muffins, and ice cream, organized across five sub-brands (Sara Lee Bakery, Mini Cups, Classics, Deluxe, and Ice Cream). Core production technology centers on industrial-scale snap-freezing of freshly baked products, a process lineage dating to 1953, designed to preserve quality and extend shelf life for frozen retail distribution.

The company operates a multi-channel go-to-market model. Domestically, products are distributed through the Australian supermarket duopoly of Woolworths and Coles, Costco Australia (exclusive tray cakes), Abcoe Stores, and independent grocers. A dedicated foodservice channel via saraleefoodservice.com.au serves B2B customers including cafes, restaurants, and caterers with croissants, waffles, tray cakes, and muffins. Internationally, Sara Lee exports to 20+ countries across Asia Pacific, China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, supported by a dedicated export manager and customer service team, with Halal certification enabling Muslim-majority market access.

Revenue is generated through one-time unit sales of branded frozen desserts and bakery products across consumer retail, B2B foodservice, and export channels. The company has changed ownership multiple times — acquired by McCain Foods in 2013, then by The South Island Office Ltd in 2021 (which merged it with The Original Foods Baking Co.), and most recently by Brooke and Klark Quinn in 2024. There is no public listing or institutional investor base identified. Marketing is driven by occasion-based content (birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Mother's/Father's Day), recipe content marketing, and email/ Facebook community engagement.

Name

Sara Lee

Legal name

Sara Lee Holdings Pty Ltd

Website

https://saralee.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sara Lee is an Australian frozen desserts and baked goods manufacturer founded in 1971, producing cheesecakes, pies, puddings, ice cream, and bakery items for retail (Woolworths, Coles, Costco), B2B foodservice, and export to 20+ countries from its Lisarow NSW bakehouse.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Frozen Desserts

NAICS

Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing (311813), Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (311520), Commercial Bakeries (311812)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale / Commercial Bakeries (B2B Supply) (THAFAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ice Cream Cakes & Frozen Dessert Bakery Manufacturing (AFAHAEAH)

Keywords

• Frozen desserts
• Baked cheesecakes
• Frozen puddings
• Commercial bakery
• Ice cream products

Headquarters

HQ city

Wendouree

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Consumer Products: Sara Lee generates revenue through the sale of frozen desserts, cheesecakes, pies, puddings, ice cream, and bakery products through major retail chains and independent stores
2. International Export: Revenue generated from exporting products to over 20 countries across Asia Pacific, China, Korea, South East Asia, and Middle East
3. Foodservice/B2B: Sara Lee operates a dedicated foodservice website (saraleefoodservice.com.au) for B2B customers including croissants, waffles, tray cakes, muffins and more

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sara Lee is an Australian frozen dessert and baked goods manufacturer producing cheesecakes, baked cheesecakes, puddings, pies, crumbles, danishes, croissants, tray cakes, muffins and ice cream from its Lisarow, NSW bakehouse. Products are sold under sub-brands such as Sara Lee Classics, Deluxe, Mini Cups, Bakery and Ice Cream, distributed through major Australian supermarkets and independent stores, exported to over 20 countries, and supplied to foodservice operators via a dedicated B2B channel.

Product overview

Sara Lee is an Australian frozen dessert company established in 1971, producing a comprehensive portfolio of frozen desserts and baked goods from its famous bakehouse in Lisarow, NSW. The product portfolio spans six main categories: (1) Cheesecakes & Bavarians including French Vanilla, Lemon, Strawberry, Mixed Berry, Chocolate Bavarian, and Creamy Tiramisu; (2) Baked Cheesecakes featuring New York Style and Strawberry varieties; (3) Pies & Crumbles including Deep Dish Apple, Apple Crumble, and Apple & Blackberry; (4) Puddings with Sticky Date and Chocolate options; (5) Danishes, Cakes & Bakery encompassing croissants, muffins, tray cakes, and fruit danishes; and (6) Ice Cream in multiple flavours. The company operates through sub-brands including Sara Lee Bakery, Sara Lee Mini Cups (single-serve portions), Sara Lee Classics (core iconic products), Sara Lee Deluxe (premium patisserie-style range), and Sara Lee Ice Cream. Sara Lee also maintains a dedicated export range with Pound Cakes and specific cheesecake variants for international markets across Asia Pacific, China, Korea, South East Asia, and the Middle East. Products are distributed through major Australian retailers (Woolworths, Coles, Costco) and independent stores, with ice cream production in Victoria and frozen desserts from the NSW Central Coast facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sara Lee Bakery: Baked goods range including croissants, muffins, tray cakes, and bakery treats made with real ingredients and time-honoured recipes.
• Sara Lee Mini Cups
• Sara Lee Classics
• Sara Lee Deluxe
• Sara Lee Ice Cream

Products and services

• French Vanilla Cheesecake Iconic frozen French vanilla cheesecake sold under the Sara Lee Classics range; sold at Australian supermarkets for everyday and special-occasion indulgence.
• New York Style Baked Cheesecake Baked New York style cheesecake launched in January 2025 as part of Sara Lee's new baked cheesecake range, targeted at sharing occasions.
• Strawberry Baked Cheesecake Strawberry-flavoured baked cheesecake launched in January 2025 as part of the Sara Lee baked cheesecake range.
• Golden Apple Crumble Golden apple crumble dessert launched by Sara Lee in January 2025 under its pies and crumbles range.
• Sticky Date Pudding Classic Australian sticky date frozen pudding sold through supermarket freezers under the Sara Lee puddings range.
• Crumbly Crumbles & Cream Ice Cream Crumbles-and-cream ice cream launched in January 2025 as part of the Sara Lee ice cream range.
• Custard Danish Custard-filled frozen Danish pastry sold under the Sara Lee bakery range in Australian supermarkets.
• Banana Tray Cake Banana-flavoured tray cake sold under the Sara Lee bakery range, sized for sharing and family occasions.
• Bluey Blueberry Oat Muffin Bluey-branded blueberry oat muffin sold under the Sara Lee bakery muffins range; aimed at family and kids' occasions.
• Sultana Pound Cake Sultana pound cake produced for international export markets under Sara Lee's bakery export range.
• Sandwich Croissant Frozen sandwich croissant sold under the Sara Lee bakery range for at-home preparation.
• Salted Caramel Cheesecake Salted caramel-flavoured cheesecake sold across Australian supermarkets under the Sara Lee cheesecakes range.
• Sara Lee Foodservice Range Dedicated B2B foodservice product range (including croissants, waffles, tray cakes and muffins) sold to cafés, restaurants and caterers via the saraleefoodservice.com.au channel.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Norco (Australian dairy co-operative): Australian dairy co-operative producing ice cream and frozen desserts primarily for Australian and select export markets. Comparable product categories and Australian regional supply-chain roots, but with a heavier focus on the foodservice channel and fewer direct retail dessert SKUs.

Direct peers

• Peters Ice Cream: Iconic Australian ice cream brand with deep supermarket distribution through Woolworths and Coles. Comparable as a heritage Australian frozen dessert brand competing for the same household dessert occasions and freezer-shelf real estate as Sara Lee's ice cream and frozen cheesecake ranges.
• Connoisseur Ice Cream: Peters-owned premium ice cream brand sold through Australian supermarkets. Competes directly with Sara Lee's premium ice cream SKUs (French Vanilla, Hokey Pokey, Rocky Road) in the same retail channels and price tier.
• Mrs Mac's Pies: Australian pie and baked goods manufacturer with major supermarket distribution. Comparable as a frozen/baked goods CPG brand competing for the same Australian household meal and dessert occasions through Woolworths and Coles.
• Bulla Dairy Foods: Australian family-owned dairy company producing ice cream, frozen desserts, and cream. Direct competitor in Australian supermarket frozen dessert and ice cream aisles, with similar retail distribution footprint and overlapping SKU categories (cheesecakes, ice cream tubs).
• Tip Top Bakeries (George Weston Foods): One of Australia's largest bakery brands producing bread, cakes, and baked goods distributed nationally through major supermarkets. Overlaps with Sara Lee's bakery and cake ranges in retail channels and has substantially larger scale in the Australian baked goods market.

Broad incumbents

• Dr. Oetker: German multinational food manufacturer with frozen pizza and dessert ranges. Comparable as a broad-line frozen food brand with premium positioning in frozen desserts, distributed internationally in many of the same Asian and Middle East markets Sara Lee exports to.
• McCain Foods: Global frozen food manufacturer and former Sara Lee owner (2013-2021). Comparable as a major frozen food incumbent with broader portfolio (potato products, pizzas, frozen meals) that includes frozen desserts and baked goods categories overlapping with Sara Lee's offering.
• Häagen-Dazs: Global premium ice cream brand owned by Nestlé, distributed in Australia and across Asia Pacific. Direct competitive overlap with Sara Lee's premium ice cream SKUs in supermarket freezers and the foodservice channel.

Emerging players

• Over The Moo: Australian premium ice cream brand focused on dairy-free and specialty formats. Competes in the Australian premium ice cream segment with Sara Lee's Deluxe and ice cream ranges, but with a narrower, plant-based-focused portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/saraleeaustralia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kitchens-of-sara-lee-pty-ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Sara Lee