NAICS 311812 Quarterly Industry Report
Commercial Bakeries
Comprehensive industry research for valuation professionals, business owners, buyers, and lenders
NAICS Code: 311812Sector: 31Updated: Q1 2026
About This Report
This Fair Market Value industry report for NAICS 311812 provides valuation-focused intelligence for professionals assessing commercial bakery businesses. Data is sourced from FDA[6] food labeling regulations, U.S. Additional data is drawn from [Bureau of Labor Statistics[7].. Census Bureau](https://www.census.gov/) manufacturing statistics, and SBA size standards[8] to support business appraisals, acquisition due diligence, lending decisions, and investment analysis for commercial bakery enterprises.
Industry Snapshot
Key metrics for the commercial bakeries industry.
Industry Definition & Overview
Commercial Bakeries (NAICS 311812) encompasses establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing fresh and frozen bread, bread-type rolls, and other fresh bakery products (except cookies and crackers) for wholesale distribution to grocery retailers, restaurants, institutions, and other commercial accounts. These operations produce bread loaves, hamburger and hot dog buns, bagels, croissants, muffins, donuts, cakes, croutons, and stuffing mixes at commercial scale using automated mixing, proofing, baking, slicing, and packaging equipment. The U.S. Census Bureau[5] classifies commercial bakeries separately from retail bakeries (NAICS 311811), frozen bakery products (NAICS 311813), and cookie and cracker manufacturing (NAICS 311821).
The U.S. commercial bakery industry produces billions of pounds of bread and baked goods annually, with large-scale automated plants producing branded and private-label bread for national grocery chains alongside regional bakeries serving local markets. The FDA[6] regulates ingredient standards, nutritional labeling, and allergen declarations for commercially produced bakery products. Product innovation focuses on whole grain, multigrain, organic, gluten-free, and clean-label formulations responding to consumer health and ingredient transparency preferences.
Business valuations for commercial bakeries focus on production capacity and equipment automation level, route distribution systems (direct store delivery versus warehouse delivery), brand portfolio strength, private-label contract manufacturing volume, and geographic market coverage. Appraisers evaluate baking line throughput, distribution fleet efficiency, customer concentration across retail accounts, ingredient procurement strategies, and the competitive dynamics between national branded bakeries, regional producers, and in-store grocery bakery departments.
What's Included in This Industry
- Sector-specific valuation multiples and financial benchmarks for commercial bakery manufacturing operations
- Revenue and profitability analysis across bread, rolls, buns, bagels, cakes, donuts, and specialty baked goods product segments
- SBA size standard classification and lending threshold data for NAICS 311812
- Comparable transaction data from recent commercial bakery acquisitions, route distribution sales, and production facility purchases
- Market analysis covering bread consumption trends, whole grain and organic growth, gluten-free expansion, and private-label competition dynamics
- Workforce and labor cost benchmarking for production line operators, dough mixers, oven operators, route drivers, and maintenance technicians
- Industry risk assessment including flour and ingredient cost volatility, distribution fleet expenses, consumer carbohydrate avoidance trends, and labor costs
- Regulatory compliance overview covering FDA labeling and allergen requirements, FSMA preventive controls, and delivery truck sanitation and temperature standards
- Capital expenditure profiles for automated mixing systems, proofing chambers, tunnel ovens, slicers, packaging lines, and delivery truck fleets
- Production metrics including loaves per line hour, distribution stops per route, stale return rates, ingredient yield ratios, and cost per unit benchmarks
NAICS Classification Hierarchy
| Level | Description | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Subsector | Food Manufacturing | 311 |
| Industry Group | Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing | 3118 |
| NAICS Industry | Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing | 31181 |
| National Industry | Commercial Bakeries | 311812 |
Related NAICS Codes
| Code | Description | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| 311811 | Retail Bakeries | Retail bakeries manufacturing and selling baked goods directly to consumers from storefronts, competing with commercial bakeries for consumer bread and pastry spending |
| 311813 | Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing | Frozen cakes, pies, and pastry manufacturers producing frozen baked goods that compete with fresh commercial bakery products in grocery retail distribution |
| 311821 | Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing | Cookie and cracker manufacturers sharing shelf-stable baked goods distribution channels and competing for consumer snack and baked goods spending allocation |
| 424410 | General Line Grocery Merchant Wholesalers | General line grocery merchant wholesalers distributing commercial bakery products from production facilities to retail grocery and foodservice customer accounts |
| 445110 | Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers) | Supermarkets and grocery retailers purchasing bread and commercial bakery products for bread aisle distribution alongside in-store bakery department operations |
| 722511 | Full-Service Restaurants | Full-service restaurants purchasing bread, rolls, buns, and bakery items from commercial bakeries for table service and menu preparation applications |
Geographic Concentration
Top states by share of national establishments.
| # | State | % Est. | Total Est. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 14.2% | 390 |
| 2 | New York | 9.5% | 261 |
| 3 | Texas | 6.8% | 188 |
| 4 | Florida | 5.8% | 159 |
| 5 | Ohio | 4.8% | 132 |
| 6 | New Jersey | 4.7% | 128 |
| 7 | Illinois | 4.2% | 116 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | 4.1% | 113 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 3.1% | 86 |
| 10 | Oregon | 2.8% | 77 |
% Of Establishments
0%
14%
Source: County Business Patterns, U.S. Census Bureau[3]
SBA Lending Summary
656
Total SBA Loans
$250.5M
Total Loan Volume
$382K
Average Loan Size
11 yrs
Average Loan Term
9.94%
Average Interest Rate
8,560
Jobs Supported
Source: SBA 7(a) Program Data, U.S. Small Business Administration — FY 2025[4]
Key Insight: The SBA[9] classifies Commercial Bakeries (NAICS 311812) with a size standard of 1,000 employees. Commercial bakery operators within this threshold qualify for SBA-backed lending[10] and government contracting preferences, with regional bakeries accessing capital for production expansion and distribution fleet development. Eligible businesses can access SBA 7(a) loans[11] for working capital, equipment, and acquisition financing, while 504 loans[12] support major fixed-asset purchases including real estate and heavy machinery.
Top SBA Lenders
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Avg Loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 112 | $38.9M | $347K |
| 2 | Wintrust Bank National Association | 8 | $22.4M | $2.8M |
| 3 | Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC | 8 | $21.6M | $2.7M |
| 4 | Byline Bank | 8 | $15.6M | $1.9M |
| 5 | Brookline Bank, a Division of Beacon Bank and Trust | 8 | $15.1M | $1.9M |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this industry.
What is the NAICS code for commercial bakeries?
Commercial Bakeries are classified under NAICS code 311812, covering wholesale bread, rolls, and fresh bakery product manufacturing per the U.S. Census Bureau[5] industry classification system.
What is the SBA size standard for commercial bakeries?
The SBA[9] sets the size standard for NAICS 311812 at 1,000 employees, qualifying eligible commercial bakery operations for small business lending programs and government contracting preferences.
How are commercial bakeries valued?
Valuations focus on production capacity, route distribution systems, brand strength, private-label volume, and market coverage per U.S. Census Bureau[13] manufacturing statistics.
What products does NAICS 311812 cover?
Products include bread, rolls, buns, bagels, croissants, muffins, donuts, cakes, croutons, and stuffing mixes produced for wholesale distribution per U.S. Census Bureau[5] definitions.
What is direct store delivery in bakery distribution?
Direct store delivery (DSD) involves bakery route drivers delivering fresh bread and baked goods directly to retail store shelves, managing inventory, stale returns, and product rotation.
What risks affect commercial bakeries?
Major risks include flour and ingredient cost volatility, distribution fleet operating expenses, consumer low-carb diet trends, private-label pricing pressure, and competition from in-store grocery bakeries.
What regulations apply to commercial bakeries?
The FDA[6] regulates ingredient standards, nutritional labeling, allergen declarations, and FSMA preventive controls for commercial bakery manufacturing and packaging operations.
How is the bread market evolving?
Consumer demand for whole grain, organic, artisan-style, and clean-label bread products is growing while traditional white bread consumption has declined, driving product reformulation across the industry.
Sources & References
Government datasets and editorial sources used in this report.
- [1]U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages bls.gov
- [2]U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Census census.gov
- [3]U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns census.gov
- [4]U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA 7(a) Loan Program Data data.sba.gov
- [5]U.S. Census Bureau census.gov
- [6]FDA fda.gov
- [7]U.S. Additional data is drawn from [Bureau of Labor Statistics bls.gov
- [8]SBA size standards sba.gov
- [9]SBA sba.gov
- [10]SBA-backed lending sba.gov
- [11]SBA 7(a) loans sba.gov
- [12]504 loans sba.gov
- [13]U.S. Census Bureau census.gov
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