Grupo Bimbo, which claims to be the world’s largest baker, has been building bakeries all over the world. It announced in May it plans to “invest” approximately $1 billion in U.S. facilities between now and 2028. No specific sites were mentioned, but the funding “will support maintenance, product innovation, accessibility and affordability, nutrition enhancements and expanded regenerative agriculture partnerships with suppliers,” the company said.

“This investment reflects our confidence in the strength of our brands in the United States and will ensure we can continue delivering nutritious and delicious bread, baked goods and snacks to millions of American families,” said Greg Koehrsen president of Bimbo Bakeries USA.

Snack bar processor Nature’s Bakery, part of the Mars Inc. family of brands, last summer opened its new baking facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The $240 million facility spans more than 339,000 sq. ft. and will employ more than 230 workers — with a production capacity of more than 1 billion snack bars.

The new Nature’s Bakery facility is LEED Silver-certified and is expected to lower trucking-related CO₂ emissions by an estimated 5,700 tons per year. On the operations side, smart automation helps drive improvements, including innovative systems for ingredient delivery, mixing and cooling.

Lotus Bakeries recently said it will spend €500 million ($578 million) on three manufacturing sites on three continents, including one in the U.S. (Mebane, N.C.), all dedicated to making the company’s popular Biscoff biscuits. A greenfield Biscoff plant in Thailand recently became fully operational, and a significant capacity expansion of the North Carolina plant is underway.

Texas grocery giant H-E-B in June filed papers with Texas Dept. of Licensing and Regulation to build a $125 million bakery production facility, warehouse and distribution center in its hometown of San Antonio. The 356,354 sq. ft. facility will create 720 jobs for its projected 2028 opening and more than 1,200 full-time positions in the next decade.

Brazilian baker Bauducco in June opened a plant in Zephyrhills, Fla. — its largest U.S. manufacturing facility. The bakery doubles the manufacturing capacity the company previously had for the American market and brings it under one roof. Opening at 160,000 sq. ft., the campus is designed to scale beyond 1.2 million sq. ft. of production and distribution capacity as the company's U.S. footprint grows.

Bauducco’s wafer cookies and panettone holiday breads are growing in popularity in the U.S. But Stefano Mozzi, Bauducco’s international business unit CEO, said the Zephyrhills bakery also will serve parts of Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Louisville, Colo.-based Izzio Artisan Bakery opened its second bakery production facility in Thornton, Colo., allowing the company to bake more of its sourdough breads for growing demand nationally. With this new facility, Izzio now has more than 250,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space between the Thornton and Louisville plants. The Thornton facility is SQF Level 3-certified, nut-free, and Non-GMO Project Verified, and Izzio said it has the capability to produce pan breads, baguettes, boules, batards and more.

Better-for-you snacks contract manufacturer Tandem Foods late last year started up the first manufacturing line at its new Cypress, Calif., processing facility. The new line will be dedicated to the production of wafer bars, and it adds more than 150% capacity in the segment for the company.

Tandem Foods claims the new plant makes the company the largest wafer manufacturer in the U.S. The line features baking technology that reduces both gas consumption and emissions, capturing and reusing heat more effectively through the baking process. The capital project is the largest investment in the company’s 40-year history,

Canadian baker Vibrant Health Products Inc. is building a new bakery facility in Rossville, Tenn. Vibrant Health will invest $48.5 million over the next five years to renovate and build out a former Kellogg/Kellanova Eggo facility that closed in 2024 — the new baking operation will be the Abbotsford, B.C.-based company’s first in the U.S. It will create 394 jobs and will start out producing bread products for U.S. customers, with plans to add additional products as the project progresses.

Legacy Bakehouse, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of baked snacks, cookies and tortillas that dates back to 1917, this year expanded its Waukesha, Wis., facility, added a second bakery in Cudahy, Wis., and acquired Classic Cookie in Sevierville, Tenn.

Rise Baking Co. will relocate its Tucker, Ga., Innovation Center to Uptown Atlanta. The company said the move is an investment in how its teams work, collaborate and serve customers, as well as a reflection of its growth. The building will feature more than 30,000 sq. ft. of combined office and R&D space, more than was in Tucker.