Bread Alone Bakery
Bread Alone Bakery is a family-founded, Certified Organic sourdough bakery operating since 1983 in New York's Hudson Valley, producing long-fermentation breads, pastries, and cafe foods for sale through three company-owned cafes, 15 NYC Greenmarkets, wholesale grocery, and food service partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1983
- HeadquartersLake Katrine, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Bread Alone Bakery does
Bread Alone Bakery is a privately held, family-founded organic sourdough bakery headquartered in Lake Katrine, New York, operating since 1983. The company produces Certified Organic, long-fermentation (24+ hours) sourdough breads using water, salt, and organic wheat transformed through natural starter cultures, with no added commercial yeast or preservatives. Core SKUs span sliced and table breads (Whole Wheat Sourdough, Nine Mixed Grain, Whole Grain Health, San Francisco Sourdough, French Sourdough, Rye Sourdough), hand-crafted pastries, and cafe foods, complemented by a seasonal wood-fired pizza stand at Boiceville. Production is anchored at an SQF Certified, USDA Organic facility in Kingston, NY equipped with Heuft Thermo-oil deck ovens and ~200kW of solar capacity, while the original Boiceville site operates as a carbon-neutral, fossil-fuel-free bakery with hand-built Andre Lefort brick ovens and ~366kW of solar, together totaling nearly 600kW of renewable capacity. The company holds the distinction of being the only Climate Neutral Certified bread in the U.S. (since 2020) and is among the longest-certified organic companies in the country.
Bread Alone generates revenue through four channels: (1) direct-to-consumer sales at three company-owned Hudson Valley cafes (Boiceville, Rhinebeck, Woodstock) and online ordering for pickup; (2) NYC Greenmarkets, where a nearly 30-person team staffs 15 weekly locations in partnership with GrowNYC, supported by a Long Island City warehouse and truck fleet; (3) wholesale grocery, distributing Certified Organic sliced and table breads to select retailers including Adams Fairacre Farms, Whole Foods, FreshDirect, FoodKick, and Jet, with daily delivery from NYC to Albany and parts of NJ, CT, MA, Westchester, and Long Island; and (4) food service to partner restaurants, cafes, and area schools. Customer segments are health- and sustainability-conscious individual consumers, premium grocery retailers, and institutional food service partners. The business is family-controlled (CEO Nels Leader, son of founders Dan and Sharon Leader), with no disclosed external funding, M&A activity, or parent company, and a 2025 team size of more than 300 employees.
Bread Alone Bakery firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bread Alone Bakery
- Legal name
- Bread Alone Bakery
- Website
- https://breadalone.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1983
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Bread Alone Bakery is a family-founded, Certified Organic sourdough bakery operating since 1983 in New York's Hudson Valley, producing long-fermentation breads, pastries, and cafe foods for sale through three company-owned cafes, 15 NYC Greenmarkets, wholesale grocery, and food service partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bread Alone Bakery industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Artisan Organic Bakery
- NAICS
- Retail Bakeries (311811), Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181), Commercial Bakeries (311812)
- SIC
- Bakery Products (2050), Retail-Eating Places (5812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice) (THAFAFAG), Wholesale / Commercial Bakeries (B2B Supply) (THAFAFAF), Bakery & Desserts Distribution (CRAOABAE)
Keywords
Where Bread Alone Bakery is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lake Katrine
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Bread Alone Bakery business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Cafe Retail Sales: Three Hudson Valley cafes (Boiceville, Rhinebeck, Woodstock) selling fresh breads, pastries, and cafe foods directly to consumers. Also includes pizza stand at Boiceville location open seasonally.
- Grocery Wholesale: Supplying Certified Organic sliced breads and table breads to select retailers. Daily delivery to areas from NYC to Albany including parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Westchester, and Long Island.
- NYC Greenmarkets: Nearly 30-person-strong NYC team selling bread and baked goods at 15 farmers markets weekly, rain or shine. Sells organic breads from Kingston production bakery and wood-fired breads from Boiceville.
- Food Service: Focused food service menu offered to partner restaurants, cafes, and schools.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Bread Alone Bakery product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bread Alone Bakery produces and sells Certified Organic, long-fermentation sourdough breads, hand-crafted pastries, and cafe foods. It distributes through three company-owned Hudson Valley cafes (Boiceville, Rhinebeck, Woodstock), 15 NYC Greenmarkets, wholesale grocery accounts across the Northeast, and a focused food service program for partner restaurants, cafes, and schools.
Product overview
Bread Alone Bakery operates as an organic sourdough bakery with a portfolio of Certified Organic breads, hand-crafted pastries, and cafe foods. Their core products include various sourdough breads (Whole Wheat, French, San Francisco, Rye varieties), their signature Nine Mixed Grain and Whole Grain Health loaves, and seasonal pastries. The company operates three Hudson Valley cafes (Boiceville, Rhinebeck, Woodstock), supplies wholesale products to grocery retailers and food service partners, and maintains a presence at 15 NYC Greenmarkets. Their Boiceville location is fossil fuel-free with wood-fired ovens, while their Kingston production facility is Certified Organic and SQF Certified.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sourdough Breads Certified Organic, long-fermentation sourdough breads made with water, salt, and organic wheat, including varieties such as Whole Wheat Sourdough, French Sourdough, San Francisco Sourdough, and Rye Sourdough. Sold at cafes, NYC Greenmarkets, and grocery retailers.
- Nine Mixed Grain
Quantifiable outcome
- 100% renewable energy goal by 2030, already well on way with nearly 600kW solar capacity
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Bread Alone Bakery
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Bread Alone Bakery technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Bread Alone Bakery partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, important and minor.
- Irving Farm Coffee RoasterscoreLongtime coffee partner with roots in Hudson Valley and NYC. Developed custom 'Early Riser' blend specifically for Bread Alone (3/4 Colombian, 1/4 Brazilian). Coffee served across all three cafes and available for purchase in whole bean bags. Beans sourced from sustainability-focused co-ops including Monserrate in Huila region and Sancoffee in Minas Gerais, Brazil (SCA 2024 Sustainability Award winner).
- FreshDirectimportantLaunch partner for BPI Certified Commercially Compostable packaging. San Francisco Sourdough available through FreshDirect with plant-based bags derived from sugar cane.
- Hudson Valley BreweryminorCollaboration creating 'Levain' (Sour Farmhouse Ale using 400 lbs of day-old bread) and 'Entremet' (Pastry-Style Sour IPA with cranberry, apple, brown sugar, white chocolate, vanilla). Barrel-aged with house culture and Bread Alone sourdough.
- GrowNYCcoreDecades-long partnership managing 15 NYC Greenmarket locations. Nearly 30-person NYC team staffs markets weekly. Relationship goes back to 1980s when founders Dan and Sharon sold bread at markets. Karma Tenzin has led the team for 15 years.
- La MilanaisecoreLargest milling partner, based in Quebec (4 hour drive from Kingston). 35 years building sustainable milling business. Sources grain from regional North American farms. Partnership of 20+ years. Works over a year in advance to project organic grain needs, providing certainty to growers.
- Farmer Ground FlourcoreMicro-mill in Finger Lakes region of NY founded 2009 by Greg Russo, Neal Johnston, and organic farmer Thor Oechsner. Custom granite millstones produce fresh, vibrant flour. Supplies whole wheat, rye, einkorn, and pastry flour. Committed to regenerative agriculture.
- Small Valley MillingimportantLocated in Halifax, PA. Over decade-long partnership. Mills close to 3 million lbs flour annually on roller mill and stone hammermill. Started as 200-acre family farm, transitioned to organic in 1999. Specializes in rye and spelt flours.
- Ferme BonneTerreimportant5000-acre organic farm in Saint Paul, Quebec (4 hour drive from Kingston). Founded 1985 by brothers, transitioned to organic in 2014. Grows soybeans, wheat, spelt, corn, oats. Uses cover crops for soil health. Family-oriented operation with next generation leadership.
- Oechsner Farmsimportant1200 acres of organic grain in central New York. Founded 1991 by Thor Oechsner. Pursuing Regenerative Organic Certification. Crops include wheat, rye, buckwheat. Believes soil is primary crop, focuses on building health through crop rotations.
- Byers Organic Dairyminor100-acre organic grain farm and dairy in Mercersberg, PA. Seven generations of farming family. Grows spelt for Small Valley Milling. Transitioned to organic in 2000. Limits tilling, follows crop rotation, integrates livestock manure.
- Heuft GMBHimportantGerman manufacturer of best artisan bread ovens. Supplying Heuft Thermo-oil deck ovens for Kingston facility. Electric heat exchanger technology powers steam for wood-fired ovens in Boiceville.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Bread Alone Bakery competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Amy's Bread: Long-established NYC/Hudson Valley artisan bakery producing wholesale breads for restaurants and grocers plus a retail bakery. Highly comparable to Bread Alone in product mix, wholesale/wholesale-to-restaurant channel strategy, and regional footprint.
- Sullivan Street Bakery: NYC artisan bakery known for no-knead and long-fermentation breads, supplying wholesale and operating a retail cafe. Directly comparable to Bread Alone's organic sourdough, long-fermentation process, and cafe-retail hybrid.
- Balthazar Bakery: NYC bakery associated with Balthazar restaurant, producing French-style breads and pastries for retail and foodservice. Comparable artisan positioning and NYC/Hudson Valley distribution.
- Tartine Bakery: Renowned San Francisco artisan bakery operating retail storefronts and a wholesale program around naturally leavened breads. Comparable artisan sourdough focus, multi-channel retail/wholesale model, and strong brand recognition.
- Hot Bread Kitchen: NYC-based bakery producing multi-ethnic breads for wholesale and retail, with a workforce development mission. Comparable in artisan bread manufacturing and Northeast wholesale distribution.
- Dave's Killer Bread: National organic sliced bread brand (owned by Flowers Foods) sold through mainstream grocery. Comparable as an organic bread competitor in the same grocery wholesale channel Bread Alone serves.
Broad incumbents
- King Arthur Baking Company: Long-established Vermont-based baking brand spanning flour, mixes, and baked goods sold nationally through grocery and DTC. Broad incumbent in the same baking space with a similar sustainability/quality narrative but at far greater scale.
- Le Pain Quotidien: Cafe-bakery chain serving organic breads, pastries, and coffee in a bakery-plus-foodservice format. Directly comparable cafe-bakery format and organic bread positioning, but at national/international scale.
- Panera Bread: National bakery-cafe chain selling breads, pastries, and cafe foods. Comparable cafe-bakery business model serving breads plus a coffee/foodservice menu, though at vastly larger scale and conventional (not organic-only) positioning.
- Pepperidge Farm: Large-scale packaged bakery brand owned by Campbell's, distributing breads, rolls, and cookies nationally through grocery. Competes in the same grocery wholesale channel but as a broad incumbent rather than an artisan specialist.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Bread Alone Bakery social profiles
Digital presenceBread Alone Bakery financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bread Alone Bakery leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Bread Alone Bakery funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bread Alone Bakery M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bread Alone Bakery
What does Bread Alone Bakery do?
Bread Alone Bakery produces and sells Certified Organic, long-fermentation sourdough breads, hand-crafted pastries, and cafe foods. It distributes through three company-owned Hudson Valley cafes (Boiceville, Rhinebeck, Woodstock), 15 NYC Greenmarkets, wholesale grocery accounts across the Northeast, and a focused food service program for partner restaurants, cafes, and schools.
Is Bread Alone Bakery a public or private company?
Bread Alone Bakery is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Bread Alone Bakery founded?
Bread Alone Bakery was founded in 1983. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Bread Alone Bakery based?
Bread Alone Bakery is headquartered in Lake Katrine, United States, in the North America region.
How does Bread Alone Bakery make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Cafe Retail Sales are the primary driver. The others are grocery Wholesale, NYC Greenmarkets and food Service.
Who are Bread Alone Bakery's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Amy's Bread, Sullivan Street Bakery, Balthazar Bakery, Tartine Bakery, Hot Bread Kitchen and Dave's Killer Bread. Broad incumbents are King Arthur Baking Company, Le Pain Quotidien, Panera Bread and Pepperidge Farm.
Does Bread Alone Bakery have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bread Alone Bakery.
What industry is Bread Alone Bakery in?
Bread Alone Bakery's product category is Artisan Organic Bakery. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAFAA, Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery), with a secondary code of THAFAFAG, Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice). Its NAICS code is 311811 and its SIC code is 2050.