La Boulangerie de San Francisco

What La Boulangerie de San Francisco does

La Boulangerie de San Francisco is a privately-held French-style bakery company founded in 1995 (operating since 1996) by French baker Pascal Rigo. The company operates a dual-channel business: five neighborhood café bakeries in the San Francisco Bay Area (Pine Street, Cole Valley, Noe Valley, Hayes Valley) and Irvine, California, serving fresh-made breads, pastries, sandwiches, and specialty coffee for dine-in and takeout; and a wholesale packaged-goods operation under the wholly-owned Shaw Bakers subsidiary, which produces and distributes branded breads, croissants, sandwiches, and snacks through national grocery retailers including Whole Foods Market, Costco, and Nugget Markets, with Instacart enabling home delivery.

The company's product technology is anchored in traditional French baking technique—most notably a 24-layer laminated dough process for croissants and a slow butter-addition method for brioche—executed with premium inputs including Central Milling organic flour, cage-free eggs, and NAE poultry. The wholesale product portfolio has expanded to include Japanese Style Milk Bread, Croissant Toast, Croissant Grilled Cheese sandwiches, and Croissant Crunchies snacks. Production is concentrated in two Bay Area facilities operated by Shaw Bakers (South San Francisco and San Leandro), which supply both own cafés and external retail accounts.

Revenue is generated through direct café sales, packaged-goods wholesale to grocery retailers, direct online ordering via the Toasttab platform for café pickup and delivery, and catering orders routed through EZ Cater. The company is privately held with no disclosed parent, institutional investors, or funding rounds, and ownership is described as remaining with the founder and original backers. The brand was consolidated in 2024 when the company rebranded from La Boulange to La Boulangerie de San Francisco. Headcount is reported at 11–50 employees, which appears low for the company's stated retail and wholesale footprint and may understate production and front-line café staffing.

Name

La Boulangerie de San Francisco

Legal name

La Boulangerie San Francisco

Website

https://laboulangeriesf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal French Bakery Products

NAICS

Retail Bakeries (311811), Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Commercial Bakeries (311812), Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice) (THAFAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA), Bread & Pastry Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAC)

Keywords

• French bakery products
• Artisanal breads pastries
• Wholesale packaged breads
• Café bakery chain
• Croissants and brioche

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Café Bakery Sales: Revenue from five café bakeries in the San Francisco Bay Area and Irvine, offering fresh baked goods, sandwiches, and specialty coffee for dine-in and takeout
2. Retail Packaged Products: Sale of pre-packaged breads, croissants, and snacks through grocery store chains including Whole Foods, Costco, and Nugget Markets across the US
3. Online Ordering: Direct online orders through Toasttab platform for café pickup and delivery at all locations
4. Catering Services: Catering orders through EZ Cater platform for events and gatherings

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

La Boulangerie de San Francisco operates neighborhood French bakery cafés and produces packaged breads, croissants, sandwiches, and snacks. The company runs five café bakeries in the San Francisco Bay Area (Pine Street, Cole Valley, Noe Valley, Hayes Valley) and Irvine, CA, and distributes packaged bakery products nationwide through retailers including Whole Foods, Costco, and Nugget Markets via its wholesale subsidiary Shaw Bakers.

Product overview

La Boulangerie is a French bakery company operating in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1996, founded by Pascal Rigo. The company offers a unified product portfolio consisting of five café bakeries (Pine Street, Cole Valley, Noe Valley, Hayes Valley, and Irvine) serving fresh daily-made foods, and a wholesale operation (Shaw Bakers) producing packaged breads (Japanese Style Milk Bread, Brioche Loaf, Brioche Buns, Dinner Rolls, Croissant Toast, Cranberry Dinner Rolls), sweet and savory croissants (Smoked Ham & Swiss Pockets, Turkey Pesto Pockets), sandwiches (Croissant Grilled Cheese), and snacks (Cinnamon Sugar Croissant Crunchies) distributed through retailers including Whole Foods, Costco, and Nugget Markets. The products are characterized by French baking techniques, pure butter, and premium ingredients including American-milled flour from Central Milling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shaw Bakers: Wholesale bakery operation producing breads, croissants, and baked goods for retail distribution across the US

Products and services

• Café Bakeries Five neighborhood café bakeries in the San Francisco Bay Area (Pine Street, Cole Valley, Noe Valley, Hayes Valley) and Irvine, CA offering fresh breads, pastries, sandwiches, specialty coffee, and other items made daily from scratch for dine-in and takeout.
• Breads Packaged bread products including Japanese Style Milk Bread, Croissant Toast, Brioche Loaf, Brioche Buns, Dinner Rolls, and Cranberry Dinner Rolls available through grocery retailers nationwide.
• Sweet & Savory Croissants Croissant products made with 24 layers of dough and butter, including Smoked Ham & Swiss Croissant Pockets and Turkey Pesto & Swiss Cheese Pockets, distributed through grocery retailers.
• Sandwiches Pre-packaged sandwiches featuring buttery brioche and flaky croissant bases, including Croissant Grilled Cheese with Cheddar, Gruyere, Swiss, and American cheeses, sold through grocery retailers.
• Snacks Snack products including Croissant Crunchies, a fusion of flaky croissant goodness dusted with sugar and spice, available in Cinnamon Sugar flavor through grocery retailers.
• Shaw Bakers Wholesale Bakery Wholly-owned wholesale bakery subsidiary producing packaged breads, croissants, and baked goods for grocery store distribution across the United States, operating two facilities in South San Francisco and San Leandro.
• Catering Services Catering orders for events and gatherings fulfilled through the EZ Cater platform, allowing customers to order La Boulangerie bakery items for groups and occasions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 24 layers of dough and butter in every croissant

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, regional and minor.

• Central MillingcoreOthersLongstanding partnership with Central Milling in Logan, UT - described as the best organic flour miller in the United States, operating since 1867. Provides high-quality flour and grains for La Boulangerie's baked goods.
• Whole Foods MarketmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor grocery retailer partner distributing La Boulangerie packaged breads and croissants in stores nationwide.
• CostcomajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWarehouse retailer featuring La Boulangerie frozen bakery offerings including seasonal items like Valentine's Day treats. Products sourced for frozen bakery offerings.
• Nugget MarketsregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional California grocery chain partner carrying La Boulangerie products in their stores.
• InstacartminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHome delivery service partner enabling customers to receive La Boulangerie products from partner retailers via instacart.com.
• EZ CaterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCatering platform partner for event orders, allowing La Boulangerie to serve catering customers through ezcater.com.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Trader Joe's Private Label Bakery: Trader Joe's private label bakery products occupy similar shelf space and price points at competing retailers. Comparable as the dominant specialty-grocery private label competing for the same consumer occasions.

Broad incumbents

• Le Pain Quotidien: International bakery-café chain rooted in European tradition with broad U.S. footprint. Comparable in concept (neighborhood bakery café with packaged retail) but operates at significantly larger scale.
• Bimbo Bakeries USA: Largest commercial bakery in the U.S. with broad packaged bakery portfolio in grocery. Comparable as a competitor for the same grocery shelf space La Boulangerie occupies at Whole Foods and Costco.
• Panera Bread: National café-bakery chain offering bakery products, sandwiches, and coffee in a café setting. Comparable in café-bakery format and product mix (breads, sandwiches, coffee) at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• La Farine French Bakery: Bay Area French bakery with wholesale distribution and retail operations. Comparable as a regional French bakery operating wholesale alongside direct-to-consumer channels.
• Boudin Bakery: San Francisco-based artisan bakery chain with both retail cafés and wholesale packaged breads. Directly comparable as a regional French bakery brand operating cafés plus grocery distribution with national footprint.
• Maison Kayser: International French artisanal bakery and café chain. Comparable as a French-technique bakery brand combining cafés with packaged retail products sold through grocery channels.
• Tartine Bakery: Bay Area artisan bakery and café operator with a strong brand around French technique. Comparable as a premium-positioned Bay Area bakery brand with cafés and packaged product extensions.
• St Pierre Group: British bakery brand specializing in brioche and croissants sold through U.S. grocery retailers. Comparable as a packaged specialty bakery brand distributed through major grocery channels nationwide.

Regional players

• Arizmendi Bakery: Bay Area worker-owned bakery cooperative with neighborhood locations and wholesale. Comparable as a Bay Area artisan bakery brand competing for similar local customers and retail accounts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/stories/laboulangeriesf
• Xx.com/laboulangeriesf
• Facebookfacebook.com/laboulangeriedesf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 La Boulangerie de San Francisco