Leaven

What Leaven does

Leaven & Co. (also operating as Leaven & Companions) is a craft wholesale bakery founded in 2004 and headquartered at 220 Coster Street in the Bronx, New York. The company produces over 200 artisan bread, bun, and pastry SKUs — including dinner rolls, burger and slider buns across five dough bases, baguettes, craft rustic loaves, pretzels, bagels, lobster rolls, milk bread, and seasonal items such as Hot Cross Buns — for B2B wholesale customers across the greater New York region (spanning NYC, Long Island to Montauk, New Haven, and Philadelphia). All products are clean-label (real butter, whole eggs, whole milk, pure honey, King Arthur flour) and built on a proprietary pre-ferment system of poolish, biga, and levain natural leavens, with overnight baking and morning delivery via a wholly-owned 20-route fleet.

The company serves approximately 300+ wholesale customers across five verticals: restaurants (fine dining, casual, burger concepts), hotels, country clubs, caterers, and retail stores. Its go-to-market is sales-led B2B, combining dedicated account managers (Joe Perillo, Brandon Johnson), a Customer Service Center, an online ordering portal for existing accounts (with a 3 PM day-before cut-off), and a free Sample Box program (Bread, Pastry, Brioche, Pretzel, Sandwich, Dinner Roll) delivered within two business days to convert prospects. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

Leaven's revenue model is straightforward wholesale B2B with no disclosed pricing tiers; differentiation rests on custom product development for chef-driven menus, a 20+ year track record, deep craft expertise (Head Baker Simon Bowden, trained at the San Francisco Baking Institute), and the wholly-owned distribution network that enables last-minute and same-day fulfillment. Leadership is led by President Mark Rimer (since 2017). The company has maintained a 10+ year partnership with City Harvest, donating 160,000+ pounds of bread in 2024. No external funding, parent company, M&A, or public-company signals are present in the data.

Name

Leaven

Website

https://leavenco.nyc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Leaven & Co. is a Bronx-based craft wholesale bakery founded in 2004 that produces 200+ clean-label artisan breads, buns, and pastries using natural leaven fermentation and delivers them overnight via a wholly-owned 20-route fleet to 300+ chef, hotel, country club, caterer, and retail accounts across the greater New York region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Bakery

NAICS

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

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Pastry, Cakes & Tortes Manufacturing (AFAKAAAB)

Keywords

• Wholesale artisan bakery
• Craft bread supplier
• Commercial bakery products
• Chef bread wholesale
• Buns and rolls wholesale

Headquarters

HQ city

Bronx

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Bread and Pastry Sales: B2B wholesale bread and pastry sales to chefs, restaurants, hotels, country clubs, caterers, and food service operators in the greater New York area. Products include dinner rolls, burger buns, breadsticks, lavash, sandwiches, craft breads, sliced loaves, baguettes, pretzels, bagels, pastries, croissants, and custom products. Orders placed via online system or through sales team, with delivery on dedicated routes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Leaven & Co. is a craft wholesale bakery that bakes artisan breads, buns, rolls, pastries, and specialty seasonal items for chefs and food service operators across the greater New York area. Products are made using natural leaven and pre-ferment techniques (poolish, biga, levain) with clean-label ingredients, baked overnight and delivered fresh daily via a wholly-owned distribution network. The company offers a free sample program and collaborates with chefs on custom product development for unique menu items.

Product overview

Leaven & Co. (Leaven & Companions) is a craft wholesale bakery serving discerning chefs across the greater New York area since 2004. The company operates a unified product portfolio organized around artisan breads, buns, pastries, and specialty seasonal items. The core lineup spans dinner rolls, burger and slider buns (in five dough varieties: French Brioche, American Brioche, Potato, Savory, and Milk Bread), sandwich breads, craft rustic breads (sourdough, multigrain, ciabatta, batards), baguettes, pretzels, bagels, lobster rolls, hot cross buns, and pastries. The company also offers a free sample box program for chefs to trial products before ordering. All products are clean-label (no artificial additives), baked overnight using pre-ferments (poolish, biga, levain), and delivered fresh daily via the company's own 20 local distribution routes. Custom product development for specific chef menus is a key differentiator.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dinner Rolls Artisan dinner rolls baked fresh daily in multiple varieties including white Epi, semolina fennel raisin, brioche pullapart with cheddar cheese, challah twist, cranberry walnut pullapart, multiseed crunch square, and seven grain pullapart, sold wholesale to chefs and food service operators.
• Burger and Slider Buns Premium burger and slider buns made from five signature doughs (French Brioche, American Brioche, Potato Roll, Savory Dough, and Milk Bread), available in 2-inch, 3-inch, 4-inch, and 5-inch sizes with a variety of toppings and specialty flavors, sold wholesale to chefs and restaurants.
• Breadsticks and Lavash Artisan breadsticks and lavash flatbread offered as part of the wholesale bread and pastry product line for chefs.
• Sandwich Breads 7-inch slow-fermented sandwich breads including seeded semolina, multigrain, and ciabatta, plus Pullman loaves in 4x4-inch and 5x5-inch sizes for French toast, designed for performance on professional food service lines.
• Craft Breads Artisan rustic breads including sourdough, multigrain, pumpernickel, light rye, ciabatta, and batards (oval rustic breads), crafted using pre-ferments (poolish, biga, levain) for deep flavor and superior texture.
• Baguettes French-style baguettes including Semolina Baguette and Semolina Demi Baguette, featuring a poolish-based dough for mild acidity and a slightly sweeter flavor, sold wholesale to chefs.
• Pretzels Pretzel products including mini (1-inch), slider (2-inch), and full-size (3-4-inch) pretzel buns (salted or unsalted), classic pretzel loops (3-inch, 6-inch, and jumbo 10-inch), and the Original Pretzel Croissant (mini or large, with or without sesame).
• New Yorker Bagels Traditional New York-style bagels, part of the wholesale craft bread lineup for chefs and food service operators.
• Lobster Roll Collection Lobster roll lineup with varieties including Classic, Everything, and Seaweed (made with nori and Wild Atlantic sea lettuce), built on a proprietary savory brioche and potato dough blend, sold wholesale to chefs.
• Hot Cross Buns Seasonal Easter spiced fruit buns marked with a cross, made with plump dried fruit, warm spices, and King Arthur unbleached flour, available for order ahead of Easter weekend.
• Milk Bread Line Soft, smooth milk bread buns and Pullman loaves positioned as a premium alternative to brioche or potato rolls, designed for sweet and savory applications including French toast and stacked burgers.
• Pastries Handmade pastry lineup including croissants, pain au chocolat, chocolate twists, and signature pretzel croissants, made with clean ingredients and real butter, scaled for volume food service.
• Sample Box Program Free sample box program offering Pastry, Brioche, Pretzel, Sandwich, and Dinner Roll sample boxes delivered to prospective wholesale customers in the NY region within two business days, enabling product trial before ordering.

Quantifiable outcome

• Deliveries arrive fresh by morning service even with orders placed as late as 3 PM
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 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.

• City HarvestcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 201410+ year food rescue partnership. In 2024, donated over 160,000 pounds of bread and pastries helping feed 53,000 families in NYC. Partnership prevents food waste with 46,000+ pounds of CO2 emissions avoided annually. Collaboration supports community nutrition and environmental sustainability goals.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• La Brea Bakery: National artisan bread brand acquired by Aryzta, supplying restaurants and grocery nationwide; competes with Leaven on chef accounts but at a much larger national scale and broader distribution.

Direct peers

• Orwashers Bakery: Long-established NYC artisan bakery producing breads and pastries wholesale and retail; comparable in craft heritage, B2B foodservice distribution, and product breadth across breads and viennoiserie.
• Balthazar Bakery: SoHo-based artisan bakery supplying NYC restaurants and retail customers with French-style breads and pastries; directly comparable to Leaven in craft method, NYC wholesale focus, and chef customer base.
• Amy's Bread: Manhattan-based artisan wholesale bakery producing European-style breads for NYC restaurants, hotels, and retailers; comparable in wholesale B2B model, craft pre-ferment technique, and chef customer concentration.
• Bien Cuit: Brooklyn-based artisan bakery known for naturally leavened breads using long fermentation; competes with Leaven for the same NYC chef/restaurant customers on craft quality and clean-label positioning.
• Tom Cat Bakery: Long Island City-based artisan bakery serving NYC restaurants, hotels, and country clubs with hand-shaped breads and pastries; highly comparable wholesale-to-chefs model with similar route distribution.

Regional players

• Bread Alone Bakery: Upstate New York organic artisan bakery with Hudson Valley roots supplying NYC-area wholesale and retail accounts; comparable craft organic positioning though a different regional footprint.
• Lady M Confections: NYC-origin luxury pastry brand producing cakes and viennoiserie for retail and foodservice; comparable in pastry craftsmanship and clean-label positioning though more retail-facing than Leaven's wholesale model.

Emerging players

• Wildgrain: Subscription-based DTC artisan bread and pastry brand; competes with Leaven for end-customer artisan demand but uses a frozen shipping model rather than local route delivery, signaling potential future DTC encroachment.

Others

• Thomas Hammer (Bakery/Coffee): Regional artisan bakery-cafe operator; adjacent in craft baking space though retail-cafe-led rather than wholesale, useful as a benchmark for craft brand building and food-cost economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leaven-co
• Facebookfacebook.com/leavenco.nyc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Leaven