Commercial and Retail Bakeries NAICS 311811, 311812

May 20, 2025 - Baker Ditches Artificial Food Dyes

• As HHS Secretary RFK Jr works to rid the US food supply of synthetic petroleum-based dyes, one Alabama bakery has already eliminated artificial colorings from its products, DNYUZ reports. The Mason-Dixon Bakery & Bistro has substituted blue spirulina powder for blue artificial dye and uses turmeric and organic beet juice instead of yellow and red artificial colorings. “It’s healthier, it’s cleaner, and your child can eat a blue cupcake and not be bouncing off of the walls,” says owner Rachel Bryars. After moving to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply in April, the FDA in May approved three food colors from natural sources and is accelerating review and approval of others. The new colors – Galdieria extract blue, Butterfly pea flower extract, and calcium phosphate – expand the palette of available colors from natural sources for manufacturers to safely use in food.
• Employment by bakeries grew 2.5% in March compared to a year ago, while the average industry wage at bakeries and tortilla manufacturers rose 3.3% over the same period to $22.49 per hour, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Bakery payrolls have been rising along with input costs for ingredients such as eggs, cocoa, and more. Bakeries also face rising costs on everything from flour blends to sweeteners as a result of the 10% baseline tariff on US imports, according to Bakery and Snacks, which warns that even higher tariffs on goods from China could have far-reaching consequences for the industry, from higher prices for packaging materials and bakery equipment to disruptions to supply chain disruptions. As bakeries become more expensive to operate, the producer price index has been relatively flat for both retail and commercial bakeries, pinching industry margins.

• Wedding season is approaching and bakeries looking to establish steady wedding traffic should befriend wedding planners and venue coordinators to drive business their way, according to Retail Bakers of America (RBA). These gatekeepers are influential in steering business to vendors through their recommendations. RBA suggests bakeries looking to establish themselves as a go-to choice for wedding cakes drop off a box of samples at local venues or planners’ offices. To sell couples on your bakery, RBA recommends making tastings an experience, highlighting your best cake flavors and creating an inviting ambiance. Charging a small fee for the tasting that can go toward the final order is a good way to weed out free sample hunters. According to The Knot, in 2024 the average cost of a wedding cake was $540. Beyond the cake, offering a dessert table package is an easy way to upsell.
• Soaring snack cake sales have prompted Wonder Bread-maker Flowers Foods to launch a line of cupcakes, donuts, and other sweet treats, marking the company’s first brand extension in its 104-year history, Food Dive reports. Dollar sales of snack cakes have grown rapidly over the past five years, from $1 billion in 2019 to nearly $1.6 billion in 2023, according to Circana data cited by the National Confectioners Association. (While some of the dollar gain reflects inflation, unit sales have increased and are well above pre-pandemic levels.) “Snack cake sales are a bright spot in the bakery aisle, outpacing the overall cake market with robust, double-digit growth,” Cargill marketing manager Wendy Osborn told Food Dive. Consumers continue to show an appetite for snacking and indulgent treats and Flowers Foods’ new line of cinnamon rolls, mini donuts, honey buns, and cupcakes fits squarely within that space, according to Food Dive.