Interstate Bakeries Corporation

Infobox_Company
company_name = Interstate Bakeries Corporation
company_
company_type = Public (nasdaq|IBCIQ)
foundation = 1995
company_slogan =
location = Kansas City, Missouri, USA
key_people = Craig D. Jung, CEO
industry = Retail
num_employees = 25,000
products = Brands such as Wonder Bread, Hostess, and Dolly Madison
revenue = profit$2.917 billion USD (2007)
net_income = loss$112.848 million USD (2007)
homepage = [http://www.interstatebakeriescorp.com/ www.interstatebakeriescorp.com] |

Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC) (Pinksheets|IBCIQ) or Interstate Brands Corporation is the largest wholesale baker and distributor of fresh bakery products in the United States, and is the owner of the Hostess, Wonder Bread, Dolly Madison, Butternut Breads, and Drake's brands. It is based in Kansas City, Missouri.

It was formed in 1995 by the buyout of Continental (number one baker at that time) by Interstate Brands Corporation (number three baker) from the Ralston Purina Company. A large portion of the payment was in stock. Shortly after the buyout, the stock jumped significantly. Ex-Merita Baking head, Charles Sullivan, became the CEO. Butternut and Wonder Bread operated with different cultures: Butternut was seat-of-the-pants, with each bakery a self-contained profit center; Wonder Bread was very "procedural and by-the-book." This caused some problems early on. In both cultures, snack cakes were more profitable due to "economies-of-scale and logistics." When extended-shelf-life enzymes were developed for bread, the hope was to convert the system of many small inefficient bakeries into an efficient network of a relatively few giant bakeries like their snackcakes operation. Bad luck intervened; the old resurrected Atkin's diet and Krispy Kreme doughnuts affected pricing and sales volume.

On September 22, 2004, Interstate Bakeries filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company also named a new chief executive. James R. Elsessor, who had taken over as CEO for Charles Sullivan, was replaced by Tony Alvarez. Interstate Bakery's stock, which had been at one time $34/share, fell to $2.05/share as they declared bankruptcy. This is currently the longest bankruptcy in US history. The company has been financed until September which then should allow IBC to come out of bankruptcy.

The Brands of Interstate Bakeries Corporation

In the United States, these include:

* Baker's Inn
* Beefsteak
* Blue Ribbon
* Bread du Jour
* Butternut Breads
* Colombo
* Cotton’s
* Di Carlo
* Drake's
* Dolly Madison
* Dutch Hearth
* Eddy’s
* Home Pride
* Hostess
* J.J. Nissen
* Merita
* Millbrook
* Mrs. Cubbison’s
* Parisian
* Standish Farms
* Sweetheart
* Wonder Bread

Other Brands Manufactured by IBC

* Marie Callender’s
* Holsum
* Sun-Maid
* Roman Meal

External links

* [http://www.interstatebakeriescorp.com Interstate Bakeries corporate website]