BagelFest

What BagelFest does

BagelFest is a privately held, founder-bootstrapped live-events company that produces what it positions as the world's premier annual bagel festival. Founded in 2019 by Sam Silverman (the 'Bagel Ambassador'), BagelFest started as a 300-person gathering in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and now operates two marquee annual events: New York BagelFest held each November at Citi Field's Piazza 31 Club in Queens, and BagelFest West launched in April 2026 at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. The core event format combines consumer ticketed tastings (morning, afternoon, and VIP tiers starting at $49, with 25+ samples included), competitive award categories such as 'Best Bagel' and 'Schmear of the Year' judged by industry experts and attendee voting, and an exhibitor hall featuring 50+ artisan bagel shops, ingredient suppliers, and breakfast brands. BagelFest also runs the BagelUp umbrella — a portfolio of year-round offerings including curated NYC bagel tours, hands-on bagel baking workshops, BagelFeast nationwide shipping, and consulting services for bagel businesses — plus a print-on-demand e-commerce merchandise line.

The company monetizes through four primary streams: consumer and trade ticket sales, exhibitor and vendor booth fees, tiered sponsorship packages (with King Arthur Baking Company as presenting sponsor and Yelp, Malt Products, BBGA, and Sauce as supporting sponsors), and merchandise. BagelFest functions as both a B2C consumer experience and a B2B trade platform, serving three customer segments: artisan bagel shop owners seeking visibility and awards, industry suppliers and brands seeking B2B networking, and bagel enthusiasts seeking immersive food experiences. The underlying technology is minimal — a Squarespace-hosted website, standard e-commerce, and social media channels — as the value proposition is inherently physical and community-driven, anchored by founder Sam Silverman's personal brand across Instagram (@bagelambassador) and TikTok (@brooklynbagelblog). The company has no disclosed external funding, no app, no AI/ML capabilities, and operates with a small specialized team led by Silverman and supported by marketing, operations, and baking instruction leads. Notable alumni outcomes — PopUp Bagels' $60M valuation and 300-store expansion, Starship Bagel's first-ever James Beard Outstanding Bakery nomination — function as the company's primary proof-of-value and go-to-market asset.

Name

BagelFest

Legal name

BagelFest

Website

https://bagelfest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BagelFest is a privately held live-events company that produces the annual New York BagelFest (at Citi Field) and BagelFest West (in Los Angeles), serving artisan bagel shops, industry sponsors, and consumer attendees through ticketed tastings, competitions, and the year-round BagelUp portfolio of tours, workshops, and consulting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

akta.pro primary industry

Pop-Up Food Vendors (Temporary Stands/Markets) (THAFAHAE)

Keywords

• Food festival events
• Culinary trade shows
• Specialty bakery events
• Experiential food events
• Artisan food competitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Event Tickets: BagelFest generates primary revenue through ticket sales to consumers and industry professionals attending the annual festival. Multiple session tiers are offered (morning, afternoon, VIP early access). Tickets are non-refundable and samples are included with admission.
2. Exhibitor & Vendor Fees: Bagel shops and breakfast brands pay to exhibit and compete at BagelFest. Exhibitors receive booth space to serve samples and gain visibility. Competition categories include 'Best Bagel', 'Schmear of the Year', 'Best Showmanship', and 'Most Creative'.
3. Sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue from presenting sponsors (King Arthur Baking Company) and supporting sponsors (Yelp, Malt Products, BBGA). Sponsorship tiers include presenting, supporting, and likely other levels, with brand visibility across event materials and media coverage.
4. Merchandise Sales: BagelFest operates an e-commerce shop selling branded merchandise including t-shirts ($30), hoodies ($65), hats ($30), totes ($20–$30), and accessories. Products are made on demand (print-on-demand model) to reduce overproduction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BagelFest produces ticketed, in-person festivals celebrating bagels, with the New York edition held annually at Citi Field in Queens (November) and BagelFest West held at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles (April). Each event features unlimited bagel samples from dozens of top makers, live competitions judged by industry experts, and awards including 'Best Bagel,' 'Schmear of the Year,' 'Best Showmanship,' and 'Most Creative.' The company is produced under the parent entity BagelUp, which also operates NYC Bagel Tours, Bagel Baking Workshops, BagelFeast nationwide shipping, bagel-business consulting, and a branded print-on-demand merchandise shop.

Product overview

BagelFest operates as a multi-faceted bagel festival and experiential brand. The core product is the annual BagelFest event (held at Citi Field in NYC) featuring bagel tastings, competitions, and awards. The portfolio includes NYC Bagel Tours (curated tours of iconic bagel shops), Bagel Baking Workshops (hands-on classes), BagelFeast (nationwide bagel shipping), consulting services for bagel businesses, and BagelFest West (Los Angeles expansion). BagelUp serves as the parent company providing year-round engagement through these integrated offerings. Additionally, the company sells branded merchandise including apparel and accessories through its online shop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• BagelFest participation helped PopUp Bagels close an $8M Series A and achieve a $60 million valuation, with plans to open 300 stores.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• King Arthur Baking CompanycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 April 2024King Arthur Baking Company serves as the presenting sponsor of BagelFest, marking the beginning of a multi-year partnership. The collaboration is described as a 'natural fit' given that King Arthur flour is used in the recipes of every major BagelFest winner including PopUp Bagels, Starship Bagel, and Olmo. King Arthur provides flour products, technical support, and brand sponsorship visibility at the festival.
• YelpsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerYelp is listed as a sponsor of BagelFest, providing brand visibility at the event and cross-promotional support. Nature of Yelp's specific contributions is not detailed beyond sponsorship.
• Malt Products CorporationsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerMalt Products Corporation is listed as a supporting sponsor of BagelFest. Malt syrup is a key ingredient in authentic bagel-making (used in the boiling process for flavor and crust development), making this a natural ingredient-supplier sponsorship.
• BBGA (Bagel Bakers Guild of America)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBGA is listed as a supporting sponsor of BagelFest. As the Bagel Bakers Guild of America, BBGA represents artisan bagel makers and is a natural industry association partner for the premier bagel event.
• Bagel Bakers Guild of America (BBGA)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerKaren Bornarth, Executive Director of the Bread Bakers Guild of America (BBGA), moderated a BagelFest panel on scaling and sustaining a bagel business. The BBGA is an industry body supporting bread and bagel artisans.
• Sauce (Pickup & Delivery Network)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSauce is presented as the sponsor of the Bagel Buzz Instagram Live series. Sauce is a pickup and delivery network built for restaurants, helping them retain more of every online order and strengthen customer relationships. They offered BagelFest viewers a free six-month trial with code BAGELBUZZ25.
• PopUp Bagels (case study brand)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPopUp Bagels is featured as a flagship success story in BagelFest's case studies. A two-time Best Bagel winner (2021, 2022), PopUp Bagels leveraged its BagelFest wins to secure an $8M Series A and achieve a $60M valuation. The relationship is a mutually beneficial showcase: BagelFest promotes PopUp Bagels as proof of its platform value; PopUp Bagels credits the event as a catalyst for growth.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Feast Portland: Multi-day food and drink festival in Portland featuring tastings, classes, and chef-driven events. Directly comparable to BagelFest's festival format and artisanal food positioning, but operating in a different geographic market.

Broad incumbents

• Eater: Food media brand (part of Vox Media) covering restaurants and food culture with events and experiential programming. Comparable as a food-culture media and event IP platform, but with much larger audience and broader coverage than BagelFest's bagel-specific focus.
• Bon Appétit: Established food media brand that produces consumer events, tasting experiences, and culinary content. Comparable to BagelFest as a food media + event hybrid, with significantly broader culinary reach and existing event infrastructure.
• James Beard Foundation: Culinary industry organization that hosts the prestigious James Beard Awards and associated tastemaker events. Comparable to BagelFest as a credentialing and tastemaker platform for the culinary industry, though operating at a much broader and more institutional scale.

Direct peers

• South Beach Wine & Food Festival: Major annual food and beverage festival in Miami featuring tastings, competitions, and exhibitors. Closely mirrors BagelFest's event-driven, sponsor-funded festival model with similar consumer/trade hybrid positioning at larger scale.
• Goldbelly: Online marketplace for shipping artisanal and regional foods (including bagels) nationwide. Directly comparable to BagelFest's BagelFeast nationwide shipping service and artisan-food brand-building mission, though Goldbelly operates as a continuous e-commerce platform rather than a single annual event.
• NYC Wine & Food Festival: Annual multi-day culinary festival in New York featuring tastings, exhibitors, and chef programming with strong sponsor support. Directly comparable to BagelFest's annual ticketed festival model serving both consumers and trade, though at significantly larger scale and across broader food categories.
• New York Coffee Festival: Annual single-category beverage festival in New York featuring tastings, exhibitor booths, and educational programming. Closely mirrors BagelFest's positioning as a category-defining festival for a specific food vertical with a similar consumer/trade audience mix.
• TimeOut Market: Operator of curated food halls and food-focused experiential venues in major cities. Comparable to BagelFest as a curated multi-vendor food experience platform, though TimeOut operates permanent venues rather than annual festivals.

Others

• Atlas Obscura: Experiential media and events company producing food tours, immersive experiences, and curated culinary adventures. Comparable to BagelFest's NYC Bagel Tours and BagelUp experiential offerings as a content-plus-experiences business model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BagelFest
• Instagraminstagram.com/bagelfest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 BagelFest