PHOENIX — Café Valley Bakery, a producer and distributor of baked foods to in-store bakery and foodservice customers, has acquired the assets of Freed’s Bakery, a Manchester, NH-based maker of iced mini cupcakes.
Freed’s produces every day and seasonal mini-iced cupcakes and is known for its variety of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes topped with colorful icing and designs. Sold in 12- and 24-count packages, Freed’s Bakery products are continuously refreshed to meet ever-changing customer needs, Café Valley said.
Based in Phoenix, Café Valley produces baked foods for in-store bakeries, club stores, foodservice customers and convenience stores in North America. Brian Owens, chief executive officer of Café Valley, said the acquisition of Freed’s will expand Café Valley’s position in the thaw-and-sell baked foods market.
“Our everyday and seasonally targeted range of iced mini cupcakes offers an indulgent, snack-size treat ideal for special events and gatherings,” he said. “Iced mini cupcakes are a perfect complement to our core business of cakes, muffins, coffee cake bites, and croissants, and will provide a key growth area for our retail and foodservice partners. We are incredibly excited to be able to better serve our customers with this acquisition.”
Café Valley operates baking plants in Phoenix and Marion, Ind.
Freed’s Bakery for many years was part of the Maplehurst Bakeries business that, in turn, was part of Weston Foods, a division of Toronto-based George Weston Ltd. Weston Foods in 2021 was acquired by FGF Brands, Inc., but the Maplehurst business, which specializes in frozen baked foods, was not included in the sale.