Thomasville, GA—Flowers Foods, Inc. has bought Dave's Killer Bread for $275 million in cash. The brand is expected to continue its operations in Oregon.

Nature Bake, founded by the Dahl family in 1955, was renamed Dave's Killer Bread after its best-selling brand, which now has 17 types of organic whole-grain bakery products. The brand was launched in 2005 and has shown significant growh of 32% since 2012; its anticipated FY 2016 sales are $160-170 million.

Flower Foods is the maker of many well-known conventional brands like Wonder Bread and Tastykake as well as some natural/organic brands like Barowsky's Organics and others. Said Allen L. Shiver, Flowers' president and chief executive officer in an official statement, "This is a well-positioned, fast growing company with excellent brand equity and an on-trend organic portfolio that appeals to today's consumers. The Dahl family and Goode Partners have built a great brand with a commitment to quality and community, two attributes that Flowers values tremendously. We are especially pleased to welcome the Dave's Killer Bread team members who will bring expertise and experience to our company."

Part of the mission at Dave's Killer Bread is to offer second chances; one-third of its employees have a criminal background.

Posted on WholeFoods Magazine Online, 8/13/15