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Flowers Foods Acquires Simple Mills

Natural food brand added to company’s portfolio in better-for-you segments
Lynn Petrak, Progressive Grocer
Simple Mills Organic Seed Flour Crackers
Simple Mills, now under the Flowers Foods umbrella, offers a line of better-for-you snacks, including crackers, cookies, bars and baking mixes.

Flowers Foods Inc. has officially acquired Simple Mills, a Chicago-based natural food brand that offers crackers, cookies, bars, baking mixes, and pancake and waffle mixes.  The deal broadens Flowers’ portfolio of packaged bakery foods.

Simple Mills was founded in 2012 and has built its line of better-for-you products to become a top brand in the natural channel. Its products are available in more than 30,000 U.S. stores, and the company was named one of Progressive Grocer’s Impact Award winners in 2022.

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With the acquisition valued at $795 million, Thomasville, Ga.-based Flowers offers more natural options to complement its existing brands that include Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse and Tastykake.

"The addition of Simple Mills to our brand portfolio increases our presence in better-for-you and attractive snacking segments, diversifies our category exposure, and enhances our growth and margin prospects," said Ryals McMullian, chairman and CEO of Flowers. "We look forward to supporting the Simple Mills team as they embark on a new phase of growth, by broadening distribution, accelerating innovation and amplifying brand awareness, while advancing their mission."

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Earlier this month, Flowers reported its latest financial results, showing a 1.6% decline in sales for the fourth quarter but a 20.9% increase in net income. For the full fiscal year, net sales rose 0.2% and net income spiked 101% to $248.1 million. 

“We are excited about the pending acquisition of Simple Mills, which is expected to be accretive to adjusted EBITDA in 2025, but dilutive to adjusted EPS,” said McMullian at the time of the financial release. “The addition of this fast-growing, better-for-you brand is emblematic of our focus on targeting pockets of opportunity within and beyond our existing categories. Our M&A capabilities, combined with the implementation of our portfolio strategy and other actions, gives us continued confidence in our ability to drive future growth consistent with our long-term financial targets.”

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