Bread Alone Bakery

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.

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

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

• Organic sourdough bread
• Artisan bakery products
• Wholesale bread distribution
• Retail cafe operations
• Organic food production

Headquarters

HQ city

Lake Katrine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Food Service: Focused food service menu offered to partner restaurants, cafes, and schools.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core 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

Named customers8 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, important and minor.

• Irving Farm Coffee RoasterscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2024Longtime 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).
• FreshDirectimportantChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 29 August 2023Launch partner for BPI Certified Commercially Compostable packaging. San Francisco Sourdough available through FreshDirect with plant-based bags derived from sugar cane.
• Hudson Valley BreweryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 October 2019Collaboration 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.
• GrowNYCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDecades-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 MilanaisecoreOthersLargest 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 FlourcoreOthersMicro-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 MillingimportantOthersLocated 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 BonneTerreimportantOthers5000-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 FarmsimportantOthers1200 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 DairyminorOthers100-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 GMBHimportantTechnology or IntegrationGerman 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/breadalone

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Bread Alone Bakery