What Shepherd's Grain does

Shepherd's Grain is a farmer-owned premium flour brand founded in 2003 by Washington State wheat farmers Fred and Vicki Fleming and Karl and Lexie Kupers, legally organized as Columbia Plateau Producers LLC. The company operates an alliance of progressive family farms practicing regenerative agriculture and sells seven identity-preserved flour SKUs — PROOF Low Gluten Bread Flour, OPUS High Gluten Flour, PÂTISSERIE Pastry Flour, NAPOLETANA 00 Pizza Flour, SEMOLINA Durum Flour, ENSEMBLE Whole Wheat Flour, and CAKE Flour — through a nationwide foodservice distributor network exclusively to commercial customers such as bakeries, artisan bakers, pastry chefs, and food manufacturers.

The company's technical differentiator is its identity-preserved supply chain: every bag carries a printed lot code that maps to specific farm and Certificate of Analysis data, with wheat kept segregated from field through milling. All Shepherd's Grain flours are milled exclusively by Grain Craft, the largest independent milling company in the United States operating 12 mills nationwide, which also provides customer-facing technical support. The company's offerings carry three third-party certifications — Food Alliance Certified, Salmon-Safe Certified, and Non-GMO Project Verified — applied to farmers, flours, and the mills.

The business model is straightforward B2B distribution: Shepherd's Grain coordinates regenerative wheat sourcing from growers in the US and Canada, contracts Grain Craft for milling under identity-preserved protocols, and sells finished flour to commercial buyers through foodservice distributors. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; sales and ordering inquiries are handled via a direct email contact ([email protected]), and prospective customers can request flour samples through the company website. The company is privately held by its founding farmers with no external funding, no institutional investors, and a reported 1-10 employee headcount consistent with a lean owner-operated structure.

Name

Shepherd's Grain

Legal name

Columbia Plateau Producers LLC

Website

https://shepherdsgrain.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shepherd's Grain is a farmer-owned premium flour brand selling seven identity-preserved, regeneratively grown flour SKUs exclusively to commercial bakeries, artisan bakers, and food manufacturers through a nationwide foodservice distributor network in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Baking Flour

NAICS

Grain and Oilseed Milling (3112)

SIC

Grain Mill Products (2040)

akta.pro primary industry

Flour & Milling Products Manufacturing (wheat, corn, rice, specialty flours) (AFAKABAD)

Keywords

• Premium artisan flour
• Regenerative wheat flour
• Identity-preserved flour
• Foodservice flour supply
• Specialty baking flour

Headquarters

HQ city

Reardan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Flour Product Sales: Shepherd's Grain sells premium regenerative flour products through a network of foodservice distributors. Products include PROOF Low Gluten Flour, OPUS High Gluten Flour, PÂTISSERIE Pastry Flour, NAPOLETANA 00 Pizza Flour, Semolina, ENSEMBLE Whole Wheat Flour, and Cake Flour. Sales are B2B, targeting commercial bakeries, food manufacturers, and artisan bakers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Shepherd's Grain produces and sells a portfolio of seven premium, identity-preserved, regenerative wheat flours (PROOF, OPUS, PÂTISSERIE, NAPOLETANA, SEMOLINA, ENSEMBLE, and CAKE) milled exclusively by Grain Craft and distributed through foodservice distributors to commercial bakeries, artisan bakers, and food manufacturers in the U.S. Each bag carries a printed lot code that traces the wheat back to the specific regenerative farm that produced it, with full Certificate of Analysis data available per lot.

Product overview

Shepherd's Grain is a farmer-owned premium flour brand offering a portfolio of seven identity-preserved, regenerative agriculture flours, all milled exclusively by Grain Craft. The product line includes PROOF Low Gluten Bread Flour (12.2% protein), OPUS High Gluten Flour (14.0% protein), PÂTISSERIE Pastry Flour (8.5% protein), NAPOLETANA 00 Pizza Flour (12.5% protein), SEMOLINA Durum Flour (12.2% protein minimum), ENSEMBLE Whole Wheat Flour (14.5% protein), and CAKE Flour (8.0% protein). Each flour is traceable to specific regenerative farms via lot codes printed on bags, with full Certificate of Analysis data available. Distribution is exclusively through foodservice distributors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PROOF Low Gluten Bread Flour A flagship low gluten flour (12.2% protein, 0.52% ash) made from Hard Red Winter Wheat and Hard White Wheat varieties, favored by artisan bakers for workability, consistency, flavor, and forgiveness in high-hydration fermented products and most baked goods. Sold to commercial bakeries and artisan bakers.
• OPUS High Gluten Flour A premium strong flour (14.0% protein, 0.55% ash) made from a blend of Dark Northern Spring wheat varieties with strong gluten strength for pliable dough, intended for bagels, traditional pretzels, pizzas, and other products requiring strong dough or long fermentation.
• PÂTISSERIE Pastry Flour
• NAPOLETANA 00 Pizza Flour
• SEMOLINA Durum Flour
• ENSEMBLE Whole Wheat Flour
• CAKE Flour

Quantifiable outcome

• Full traceability from field to flour mill through lot codes and COA documentation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Grain CraftcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerGrain Craft is the exclusive milling partner for all Shepherd's Grain flours. As the largest independent milling company in the United States with 12 mills nationwide, Grain Craft provides the scale, technical expertise, and service required to meet demanding customer specifications. Grain Craft's quality control and technical support teams provide customer support. All Shepherd's Grain branded flours are identity-preserved from fields through the milling process by Grain Craft.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• King Arthur Baking Company: Employee-owned premium flour brand with deep B2B foodservice presence and growing emphasis on sustainably grown wheat. Directly comparable as a branded specialty flour company targeting commercial bakeries with quality and provenance-driven positioning.
• Cairnspring Mills: Regional stone mill in the Pacific Northwest producing identity-preserved, sustainably grown flour for bakeries. Directly comparable as a similar-sized regenerative flour company serving artisan bakeries in overlapping geographies.
• Janie's Mill: Illinois-based stone mill producing freshly milled heritage and modern wheat flours for bakers. Comparable as a small-to-mid scale specialty mill with farm-direct sourcing and bakery-focused distribution.
• Hayden Flour Mills: Small specialty mill producing heritage and identity-preserved flour from Arizona-grown wheat. Highly comparable as a similar-sized regenerative/heritage flour brand with farm-direct sourcing and B2B bakery customers.
• Anson Mills: Specialty producer of heritage and organic grains and flours with strong chef/bakery following. Comparable in regenerative/heirloom positioning, premium pricing, and foodservice-led distribution model.
• Giusto's Vita-Grain: West Coast specialty flour and grain company serving artisan bakers with stone-ground and identity-preserved products. Comparable in artisan bakery focus, specialty flour portfolio, and regional foodservice distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Bob's Red Mill: Large specialty/natural foods flour and grain brand with broad retail and foodservice distribution. Comparable as a specialty flour portfolio targeting artisan and health-conscious bakers, but at much larger scale and with broader product breadth.
• Ardent Mills: One of the largest North American flour millers with a growing portfolio of specialty and sustainable wheat programs (e.g., Ultragrain). Comparable as a flour supplier to commercial bakeries and food manufacturers, though at vastly larger scale and with broader commodity exposure.
• Bay State Milling: Large US flour miller with a growing specialty and ancient-grain portfolio (e.g., HealthSense, Simply Splendor). Comparable as a flour supplier to commercial bakeries with increasing emphasis on specialty, identity-preserved, and sustainability-differentiated wheat.

Emerging players

• Capay Mills: Small Northern California mill specializing in organic, heritage, and identity-preserved flour for craft bakeries. Comparable as a regenerative/specialty flour brand targeting the same artisan bakery and chef customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/shepherdsgrain/?hl=en
• Xx.com/ShepherdsGrain

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Shepherd's Grain