What Highland Baking does

Highland Baking Co. is a family-owned, second-generation industrial bakery founded in 1984, operating from a 5th generation baking family lineage. The company runs two 250,000 square foot production facilities in Northbrook, IL and Spartanburg, SC, sharing nine production lines that produce a broad portfolio of bread products — hamburger buns, pretzel buns, ciabatta, sub/hoagie/hot dog buns, pan breads, specialty sandwich rolls, dinner rolls/sliders, and artisan breads. Production capabilities span commercial-scale manufacturing adapted from artisan techniques, with Hard Red Spring Wheat as the standard dough base and extensive customization options (toppings, scoring patterns, glazes/shines). Both facilities hold GFSI certification under the SQF standard.

The business operates a B2B go-to-market focused on foodservice operators and distributors, distributing nationally through Sysco, US Foods, Performance Food Group, McLane, and Gordon Food Service. Revenue is generated across four streams: private label bread programs (custom formulations), foodservice distribution, co-packing services for regional groceries and other food manufacturers, and culinary/innovation services (trend research, menu design, ideation sessions). Customers span QSR chains, fast casual, casual and full-service restaurants, convenience stores, and brand owners seeking private label products. A Culinary Innovation Center at the Northbrook headquarters and a cloud-based HBC Scheduling Portal support customer engagement and logistics coordination.

Underlying operations include on-site frozen storage at both plants, off-site cold storage at Lineage Cold Storage in Geneva, IL (effective January 2025), and full-service distribution coordination with carriers. The company also offers in-house R&D with prototyping on smaller bread lines for scale-up transition, nutritional and labeling support, and SCAMPER-based ideation methodology. There are no public funding rounds, no disclosed revenue figures, and no parent company; ownership remains entirely within the founding family with stated emphasis on long-term relationships over short-term returns.

Name

Highland Baking

Legal name

Highland Baking Company

Website

http://highlandbaking.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Highland Baking Co. is a family-owned industrial bakery operating two 250,000 sq ft SQF-certified facilities producing private label and foodservice bread products distributed nationally through Sysco, US Foods, PFG, McLane, and Gordon Food Service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Bakery / Bread Manufacturing

NAICS

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

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen Bakery Products Manufacturing (AFAKAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Bakery Manufacturing (Gluten-Free, Artisan, Health-Focused) (AFAKAAAG)

Keywords

• Commercial bread production
• Private label bakery
• Foodservice distribution
• Artisan bread manufacturing
• Co-packing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Northbrook

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Private Label Bread Products: Highland Baking produces custom bread products for private label programs, delivering high-quality baked goods tailored to specific brand requirements. They work with food service operators to develop signature products matching exact specifications.
2. Foodservice Distribution: Produces and supplies bread products to foodservice distributors and operators including QSR, fast casual, casual dining, and full service restaurants. Products delivered through established distribution channels including Sysco, US Foods, PFG, McLane, and Gordon Food Service.
3. Co-Packing Services: Matches customer product specs and pack configurations beyond traditional foodservice chains, including experience with regional groceries, bakeries, and other food manufacturing companies.
4. Culinary and Innovation Services: Provides ideation, trend research, menu writing and design, culinary support, and concept development services through their Culinary Innovation Center.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Highland Baking is a family-owned commercial bakery that manufactures, fresh-freezes, and distributes a broad portfolio of bread and bun products (hamburger buns, pretzel buns, ciabatta, subs/hoagies/hot dog buns, pan breads, specialty sandwich rolls, dinner rolls & sliders, and artisan breads) across two 250,000 sq ft SQF-certified facilities. The company also offers co-packing/private label services, R&D and formulation matching, and culinary innovation services to foodservice operators and distributors.

Product overview

Highland Baking Co. is a family-owned commercial bakery (2nd generation, 5th generation baking family since 1984) operating two 250,000 square foot production facilities in Northbrook, IL and Spartanburg, SC with nine production lines. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of bread and bun products including Hamburger Buns, Pretzel Buns, Ciabatta, Subs/Hoagies/Hot Dog Buns, Pan Breads, Specialty Sandwich Rolls, Dinner Rolls & Sliders, and Artisan Breads (baguettes, demi baguettes, focaccia, sourdough loaves, batards). Products are designed for private label programs and large-scale foodservice operations. The company provides supporting services including production, R&D/product development, distribution, culinary marketing and trend research, ideation and innovation, and culinary support. The bakery uses Hard Red Spring Wheat as the standard dough base and offers customization options including toppings (seeded, onions, cheeses, grains), topography (scoring patterns), and glazes/shines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hamburger Buns A wide variety of burger buns featuring formats to satisfy sandwich needs, including Brioche, Potato, Cheese, Seeded, Grains, and Onion varieties. Designed for QSR and foodservice operators.
• Pretzel Buns Pretzel bread products including breadsticks, hot dog and hamburger buns, and dinner rolls in single-cut, double-cut, cross-cut, and triple-cut formats. Designed for foodservice operators seeking pretzel-style bread.
• Ciabatta Ciabatta bread in several formats including dinner rolls, full-size sandwich carriers, and baguettes, with varieties such as herbs, grains, seeded, and onions. Designed for fast casual and casual dining operators.
• Subs, Hoagies & Hot Dog Buns Extensive assortment of sub rolls, hoagies, and hot dog buns available in white, wheat, rye, seeded, cheesy, and grain topped varieties. Designed for QSR and sandwich shop operators.
• Pan Breads Nostalgic sliced pan bread in a wide selection of loaves available in white, wheat, rye, brioche, potato, challah, pullman, seeded, and grains. Designed for sandwich carriers and table bread applications.
• Specialty Sandwich Rolls Specialty sandwich rolls including stamped knot bun, focaccia, telera, seeded, and cheese topped rolls, along with focaccia, telera, and bolillo varieties. Designed for diverse cuisine-style sandwich applications.
• Dinner Rolls & Sliders Dinner rolls and sliders offering unique and classic flavor profiles including pretzel, brioche, potato, cheeses, onions, seeded, and grains varieties. Designed for casual dining and full-service restaurants.
• Artisan Breads Artisan-style breads including baguettes (regular and sourdough), demi baguettes, ciabatta, herb focaccia squares, sammy tuscan, sliced sourdough loaves, and sourdough batard, featuring paper-thin to crispy outer crust and open-celled crumb. Designed for fast casual and upscale dining operators.
• Production Services (Co-Packing / Custom Manufacturing) Full-scale commercial bread production at two 250,000 sq ft facilities with nine production lines, offering frozen national distribution and in-house frozen storage. Includes commercialization and reformulation capabilities for private label programs.
• Research & Development Services Product development services including formulation matching, prototyping on smaller bread lines with rack and hearth ovens for smooth scale-up transition, and nutritional and labeling support.
• Distribution Services Frozen national distribution collaboration with major distributors including Sysco, US Foods, Performance Food Group, McLane, and Gordon Food Service, with cloud-based scheduling portal for dock scheduling, lane optimization, and carrier/vendor management.
• Culinary & Creative Services Culinary marketing, trend research, concept development, menu writing and design, culinary support, and ideation services including culinary immersion tours and SCAMPER methodology sessions, for foodservice operators and brand owners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Next service day sample delivery for many requests
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Lineage Cold StorageminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Lineage Cold Storage in Geneva, IL serves as Highland Baking's off-site cold storage location for selected items as of January 1, 2025. Highland Baking transitioned shipping of certain products from their Northbrook facility to Lineage's facility. Includes dedicated scheduling portal and driver check-in process.
• SyscocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSysco is a major national foodservice distributor that Highland Baking collaborates with for product distribution. The partnership enables delivery of Highland Baking products to foodservice operators across Sysco's distribution network.
• US FoodscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS Foods is a major national foodservice distributor that Highland Baking works with for product distribution. The relationship facilitates wide-ranging delivery capabilities for Highland Baking's bread products.
• Performance Food Group (PFG)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPerformance Food Group is a national foodservice distributor partner handling product distribution for Highland Baking across their network of customers.
• McLanecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMcLane is a national foodservice distributor partner for Highland Baking, handling product distribution to end customers through their established network.
• Gordon Food ServicecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGordon Food Service is a regional and national foodservice distributor partner for Highland Baking, enabling product distribution across their network.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• H&S Bakery: Family-owned commercial bakery headquartered in Baltimore, MD, producing bread, rolls, and buns for foodservice and retail customers nationally. Highly comparable to Highland Baking in scale, B2B foodservice focus, multi-generational family ownership, and reliance on major distributor networks.
• Saputo (US Bakery): Saputo acquired the US specialty/Italian-style bakery business of Laiterie Lamothe and runs commercial bakery operations producing breads, rolls, and artisan-style products for foodservice and retail. Comparable in product format, foodservice orientation, and customization capabilities.
• Europastry: Spain-based global bakery group with significant US operations producing frozen breads, buns, and artisan-style products for foodservice and retail. Directly comparable to Highland's frozen national distribution model and artisan-bread-at-scale positioning.
• St Pierre Group: Commercial bakery specializing in brioche, morning goods, and specialty breads for foodservice and retail, with strong presence in the US QSR channel. Comparable in product specialization, premium/artisan positioning, and foodservice customer mix.
• Country Style Baking: Canadian commercial bakery producing breads, buns, and artisan rolls for foodservice and retail across North America. Comparable mid-scale commercial baker with foodservice orientation, private ownership profile, and multi-category bread portfolio.
• La Brea Bakery: Artisan bread brand operated by Aryzta, producing hearth-baked breads, rolls, and specialty items for foodservice and grocery. Directly comparable to Highland's artisan-bread-at-scale product positioning and foodservice customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Bimbo Bakeries USA: The largest commercial bakery in the United States and a subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo, producing breads, buns, rolls, and sweet baked goods under brands including Sara Lee, Thomas', and Entenmann's. Overlaps directly with Highland's QSR and foodservice bread/bun portfolio but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Flowers Foods: NYSE-listed commercial baker of breads, buns, rolls, and snack cakes (Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread) with national DSD and foodservice distribution. Direct competitor in the commercial bread/bun category serving similar QSR and retail customers, though at materially larger scale.
• Pepperidge Farm: Campbell Soup-owned commercial bakery producing breads, rolls, cookies, and crackers for retail and foodservice under the Pepperidge Farm brand. Comparable in commercial bread/bun production for foodservice, though embedded within a much broader CPG portfolio.
• Maple Leaf Foods: Canadian food company with a significant commercial bakery segment producing breads and buns for foodservice and retail across North America. Comparable in commercial bread/bun production at scale, though as part of a broader protein and prepared-foods portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/highlandbakingco
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

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 Highland Baking