Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing: NAICS 3118

Overview

Ontario’s bakeries and tortilla manufacturing sector accounts for over 19% of the food and beverage manufacturing sector’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ^{footnote 1[1]}. Ontario accounts for 42% of all bakeries in Canada. Major sector products include bread, tortillas, pretzels, bagels, cakes, croissants, doughnuts, pastries, croutons, crackers and cookies.

2020 Key indicators

In 2020:

• the bakeries and tortilla manufacturing sector was responsible for $2.70 million in GDP, which is an increase of $818 million over the last five years ^{footnote 1[1]}
• there were 1,248 bakeries and tortilla manufacturing businesses in Ontario, which is an increase of 5.3% over the last five years ^{footnote 2[2]}
• there were over 23,000 people employed in the bakeries and tortilla manufacturing sector. Employment in this sector has increased by 2,122 or 10% over the last five years ^{footnote 3[3]}
• the bakeries and tortilla manufacturing sector was responsible for $7.7 billion in revenue from goods manufactured, which is a 40% growth rate over the last five years ^{footnote 4[4]}
• there were $3.6 billion in exports and $1.6 billion of products imported into the province. The United States is our main export market, followed by the United Kingdom ^{footnote 5[5]}

Ontario at a glance

Ontario is home to many processors, including multinational companies and small and medium enterprises.

Aspire Bakeries is the North American division of ARYZTA, focusing on three core brands: La Brea Bakery, Otis Spunkmeyer and Oakrun Farm Bakery. Products manufactured include artisan bread, cakes, cookies, crumpets, English muffins, muffins and waffles ^{footnote 65[65]}.

Canada Bread Groupe Bimbo is the second largest bakery group in Canada and has been feeding Canadians over the last 100 years. Through its product distribution of over 1,000 products, notable brands include Dempster’s, Vachon and Villaggio ^{footnote 66[66]}.

FGF Brands recently became the largest bakery group after the recent acquisition of Weston Foods. With facilities across North America, FGF serves thousands of products daily to retail and foodservice clients globally ^{footnote 8[8]}.

Mondelēz International is a multinational company with four locations in Ontario, two of which are bakery plants. The two bakery plants primarily manufacture Dad’s Cookies, Oreo brand cookies and Peek Freans products ^{footnote 67[67]}.

Investment activities

In 2019, Mondelēz Canada made major capital investments within its East York bakery and Scarborough bakery ^{footnote 33[33]}.

In October of 2021, FGF Brands acquired the Weston Foods fresh and frozen bakery businesses of George Weston Ltd. for $1.2 billion ^{footnote 68[68]}.

Trends

In 2020:

• 37% of baked good consumers in Canada were looking for intense flavours, signaling an opportunity for bolder tasting innovation ^{footnote 69[69]}
• 24% of baked good consumers were looking for internationally inspired options ^{footnote 69[69]}

In 2022, bread sales are expected to account for $4.2 billion (USD) or almost 64% of baked good sales ^{footnote 69[69]}.

Emerging consumer trends include plant-based foods, aligning foods with ideological values, avoiding high fructose corn syrup and vegetable-based products ^{footnote 70[70]}.

Catering to dietary needs, such as paleo, gluten free, vegan and grain free can broaden the consumer base ^{footnote 70[70]}.