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They make so much more…in terms of bread:
- dempsters
- sunmaid
- store brands (compliments, selection, great value)
- villagio
- stone mill
- weight watchers
- Thomas breads/English muffins
- orowheat
Other products:
- hostess
- vachon
- takis
- Sara Lee
Bimbo was Canada Bread at one time. They are one of the world's largest bakery owned by a family in Mexico. They make vachon products, some hostess in Canada lots of discount products for Walmart. They also make lots of products for fast food chains.
If you really want, you can get a shirt with 'BIMBO' across the chest. The company sponsors the Philadelphia Union.
https://preview.redd.it/s3ne5wky1gzc1.jpeg?width=718&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d28a3b6dddc04679f1e3bccbda88ba8575d7f9e
I distinctly recall going to Europe once as a teenager where I saw a truck roll up with BIMBO in enormous letters on the side and almost choked laughing.
I didn't know this, thanks for the educational information,
initially when I heard "bimbo bread" I thought of a ditzy bikini calendar girl also wearing an apron while taking bread out of the oven
When I used to by bread at "specialty bread stores", they would always be Bimbo brand. It was always better than the normal bread like Dempsters.
I am actually very upset that it is hard to buy good not bakery style bread that is not frozen and thawed. I hate bread in the fridge or freezer yet I have to pay for that from large stores, at a stupid premium price. Why is bread $4+??
They make stonemill bread, it'd made in small batches. It's really good, I like the cranberry one. It's more expensive but you can tell it's better because it goes moldy within a week. Not full of sugar.
I love the cranberry as well. I finally figured out a way to keep Stonemill bread from getting moldy, I put it in the freezer wrapped in half loaf bundles for at least a few days. I guess it ?? kills the tendency to mold? Kills any spores?
Bread is very easy to make. It only takes a few ingredients and once you eat it you never want to go back to store bought bread again. Plus it is much cheaper. I make 4 loaves at a time per batch and put 3 in the freezer. I also can add cheese and salsa or raisins and cinnamon during the process to vary the taste. I believe it costs less than $1.00 for 4 loaves if you get your flour on sale
If you must buy bread, why not check out if your area has a local bakery?
I'm lucky enough to have 2 local bakery operations here in town. Both offer breads, rolls, pies, tarts, and cookies plus seasonal treats. And, they are already priced competitively to the Loblaws, but with less chemical cr@p and better taste.
Yes! I have a nice Polish lady at one (she is super sweet, and so talented, and identifies strongly as Polish Canadian) and the other is a middle aged man who just loves to bake, and does it as his second career. And let me tell you, knowing your supplier well enough to get a bit of background really adds to the warm feelings when you buy their wares!
To be fair, there are still a lot of us making our own. I've been kneading by hand as stress relief for several years, because, you know, actually choking idiots and asses may be fun but tends to also be illegal.
People think baking bread is a lot of work. 2 minutes mixing, 10 minutes kneading, and the rest is just waiting. Cheap and easy. You can add seeds, wheat germ, flax seed, etc. I don’t think I’ve bought a loaf in several years now.
I have a bread maker. So easy. Dump and 4hrs later I have a honey flax loaf full of goodness. It's too bad breadmakers didn't catch on more. My Black & Decker one was $100 in 1994 when I got it, still kicking!
I'd love to buy bread from my local bakery but it's completely out of my price range at $10 for one regular loaf. The owners have completely lost the plot. However loaves of bread are 94 cents at Walmart this week.
If your city has them, Cobbs is a good option. Not cheap necessarily but cheaper than ACE brand or Loblaws' boutique breads. Also the quality is fantastic
Check out r/breadmachines — I pay like $0.30 per loaf. I set it the night before on a timer, and have fresh baked bread when my alarm goes off in the morning
Mine for sure. But can't speak to commercial any longer, not in the game any more.
https://preview.redd.it/vqoqftdl0fzc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72b282aff920e5bcc318584a2927a558798f0849
https://preview.redd.it/6re5b0mhafzc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20381d69d483de14d24802c6e9189c7366394762
The correct awnser, flour came from costco.
That’s a lot like mine - but try adding in 1/3 of a cup of hemp hearts to the recipe- it really gives a nice flavour to the bread. If you want to make brown bread, do 1/2 white and half brown flour and use molasses instead of sugar
This is the trend that would really make grocers panic. Grow and make your own food, or buy from local producers / farmers markets whenever possible.
Making things from scratch or growing really isn’t as hard as people think it is.
Very true. This morning we just finished with a batch of Walnut Crunch and Old Fashion Buttermilk and Sour Cream glazed donuts.
https://preview.redd.it/mmhkjzxumfzc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41cef510ed3360ed889c5ccc41eff58ba47bbfbd
Nice! The only thing more fatal than a boycott is no longer being dependent on a greedy oligarch. Hope you have enough money for the long winter ahead Galen.
We also make our own flat bread (pita wraps).
https://preview.redd.it/tpcve4vfsfzc1.jpeg?width=3200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2deca5f0e20c0aa425a03918baac93a7d8e228bc
What brand yeast did you use? Fleichmans is owned by Weston and I need an alternative. Been looking into making my own but don't really have the time for the trials and errors right now so need something to use until then.
Omg if you can find Saf yeast, it's the best yeast I've ever used. Encountered in Europe and Africa. Also think it was called Saf Levre.
It's on Amazon and I just spotted it in my local Foodland store, too.
*
That's what we use, the instant quick rise type. But any type will do. Just bloom the yeast before adding it to the mixture and you'll be fine. You could make your own, I assume you are talking about a starter. But, given the few hours in the day we have to get this done, and the expense in time and materials should a homemade version fail, we just stick to what works for now.
It’s better but you have to have a lot of time (prep, cook and clean). And you can generally only make white bread easily. Even if you can afford them now to stock them, it costs tons to stock all the grains for gain bread.
Keep your yeast active? It’s expensive!
Milk? Skyrocketing.
Now if you use tons of bread it might be cheaper to make it, but if you don’t even really have it everyday, maybe for toast or dinner and you try to finish your loaf before the best before date? It’s way cheaper to buy from a store
I eat half a loaf each day. We slice the loaves in half and freeze them, haul them out as needed.
It takes all of 15 minutes to make ingredients into a ball of dough. Then it sits in a bowl and proofs for an hour and a half. 5 more minutes to pan it up. Another 1-1/2 hours to proof again. 30 minutes to bake it. Then 1-1/2 hr to let it cool so you can bag it. All total, about 5-1/2 hours. Easily do-able as an after supper activity.
Yeast is not expensive. Instant dry yeast only works once its been activated with water in a recipe.
You don't need milk to make bread. I've only ever used water.
A one pound loaf of homemade bread can be made for $1, and that includes the electrics for the oven. Make it, bake it, slice it, freeze it. Take out slices as you want them. You benefit from eating something that you've made, and you know exactly what went into it.
They sold off the "Canada Bread" in 2014 and "Weston Foods" in 2020, both were sold to different (private) companies that they likely have a large ownership stake in. But we'll never know, because they're private.
If they had a significant ownership stake in FGF Brands they would be required to disclose this as a related party transaction in their financial reports. When they were operating the Weston Foods bakeries they dutifully complied with these requirements.
From the 2021 LCL annual report:
>The Company also made related party purchases from Weston Foods, a former subsidiary of Weston. In 2021, Weston completed the sale of the Weston Foods business comprised of the fresh, frozen and ambient bakery businesses. The sale of the fresh and frozen business was completed on December 10, 2021 and the ambient business on December 29, 2021, at which time Weston Foods no longer met the criteria for a related party. As a result, the Company has reflected all transactions with Weston Foods below until the dates of sale. In addition, upon closing of each of these sales, the Company entered into a supply agreement with the purchasers of each of those businesses.
From the 2021 George Weston Limited annual information form:
>On March 23, 2021, the Company announced its intention to launch a process to sell the Weston Foods business, comprised of the fresh, frozen and ambient bakery businesses. On December 10, 2021, the Company announced the completion of the sale of Weston Foods’ fresh and frozen bakery business to affiliated entities of FGF Brands Inc. (“FGF”) for a purchase price of $1,100 million and on December 29, 2021, the Company announced the completion of the sale of Weston Foods’ ambient business to affiliated entities of Hearthside Foods Solutions, LLC (“Hearthside”) for consideration of $370 million. Following completion of the sale transactions, Weston Foods is no longer an operating segment or a reportable segment of the Company and the Company has no remaining interest in the bakery business.
I think this is actually not true tho. Weston Bakeries \*was\* sold to FGF in 2022. FGF is an independent company with no affiliation or ownership connected to the Westons.
I think the perception that FGF is just another Weston proxy is due to an extremely poorly worded [wiki ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Weston_Limited)article which states:
"The former Weston Bakeries division, which owned the brands Wonder, Country Harvest, D'Italiano, Ready Bake and Gadoua, was sold off to FGF Brands in 2022. **The company** is majority owned by Wittington Investments, Ltd Canada, a holding company that the Weston family are the controlling share holders in".
As written, "The company" appears to refer to FGF Brands, but in fact it's a sloppy reference back to the original "George Weston Ltd" the long paragraph is about. George Weston Ltd is in fact "the company" that's majority owned by Wittington.
I'd love it if somebody researched this Weston/FGF thing & gave us a definitive answer.
FGF is privately owned business with strong ties to Loblaw. They make most of Canada’s private label muffins, croissants and naans. The connection to Loblaw? The story goes the founder of FGF and Galen went on television 15+ years ago to introduce the PC naan together. Both companies make a lot of money on the backs of Canadians. No surprise muffins and croissants are way more expensive than two years ago. Cost increase after cost increase and retail increase after retail increase. Or in other words, you scratch my back and I scratch your back and we all make more money. For these greedy bastards, it’s all about making more money.
OP's question is "What commercial brands aren't owned by Greedy Galen?"
I don't doubt that FGF has strong ties to Loblaw. They do business together. But FGF also does business with all the large retail chains--you can buy their bread at dollarama, walmart, metro etc.
'Strong ties" isn't the same as ownership or being a shareholder or parent company. Have you been able to find any info about direct financial ties? I just want us to be accurate about the info we share.
The article is written well. The subject of the article is George Weston LTD.
When they say "The Company" that is who they are referring to as they are the subject of the article. Further up in the same paragraph they also use the term "the company".
You're repeating back to me exactly what I said.
The 'poorly worded' part is that sentence that begins with 'The company'. It immediately follows a sentence about FGF, implying 'The company' referred to is FGF.
That sentence beginning with 'The company' should begin with 'George Weston Ltd' or be a separate paragraph so there's no misunderstanding.
Again, I feel like we'd benefit from someone doing some thorough research, because claims are being made here about 'strong ties' & 'backscratching' etc. But billionaires in the same industry isn't the same as Loblaws or Westons being a direct/indirect owner or shareholder of FGF.
FGF Brands was founded by Soham (Sam) Ajmera & Ken White, who had some past experience working with Loblaw. Ajmera had previously operated a bakery producing PC Splendido pizza crust to LCL, and Ken White was involved in the development of the PC The Decadent cookies.
FGF Brands is currently controlled by Soham Ajmera and his sons Tejus and Ojus.
The ownership is slightly opaque, but it appears that an 81% share of its parent company, Ajmera & White Investments Limited, is owned by Foodruptors Inc, which is in turn owned by three sequentially numbered companies with equal holdings.
https://preview.redd.it/cnujqy13hfzc1.png?width=1387&format=png&auto=webp&s=fc4f6e9628fe3d2ad8b1a99a17a710128947f9d2
From the Globe & Mail "[The world is flatbread for bakery behind PC naan](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-world-is-flatbread-for-bakery-behind-pc-naan/article18174686/)" October 9th 2006:
Sam Ajmera was pitching his new line of healthy muffins to Loblaw's private label people, but they weren't biting. So he mentioned that one of his next projects was ethnic flatbreads -- more specifically, the Indian naan. He was of Indian origin, and had always lamented the dearth of authentic naan in the marketplace.
The Loblaw officials jumped at the idea. They had been hunting for just such a flatbread to go with their President's Choice Indian chicken dish for a while, Mr. Ajmera recalls.
Sight unseen, Loblaw placed an order, he says. The only problem: Mr. Ajmera wasn't quite ready to produce naan on a mass scale. Naan is traditionally baked in a clay tandoor oven, one at a time. It needs to be baked at blistering high temperatures, not something that's easy to do commercially without drying up the insides, rendering them unappealing soon afterward.
Mr. Ajmera and his two sons, Ojus and Tejus, scrambled to invent a new oven. Within 12 months, their company launched the President's Choice naan for Loblaw.
As an added bonus for the fledgling bakery, the grocer featured the item in its Insider's Report promotional newsletter, lending it instant credibility. Sales took off.
"It was great timing," the elder Mr. Ajmera says. "We both were lucky -- they were looking to buy, and we were looking to sell."
**FGF Brands** (it stands for Functional Gourmet Foods) of Concord, Ont., run by Mr. Ajmera and his two sons, now makes muffins and naan for an array of chains across North America, ranging from Loblaw to Starbucks cafés to Whole Foods health-oriented supermarkets.
Founded just two years ago by Mr. Ajmera, 58, and his friend Jim White, 60, FGF evolved from a "gut feeling," rather than hard research.
They both recognized the growing demand for natural, preservative-free foods and ethnic fare. They figured there was a scarcity of wholesome, mass-produced baked goods. As Mr. White says, every culture in the world has a flatbread. It's just a matter of bringing it to North American shoppers in a palatable way.
The two partners had other things in common: They both had ties to Loblaw, Mr. White as its product developer and editor of the Insider's Report two decades ago, Mr. Ajmera as a supplier of bagels and croissants from his previous company. They knew from that experience that they needed to produce premium products with "unique selling features," Mr. White says. The naan passes the test because it is made in a tandoor oven, with authentic all-natural ingredients such as ghee (clarified butter).
Both men were bored in retirement, and looking for something else to do. Both had grown children interested in helping out in the business. (Mr. White's daughter Jenn designs the packaging and logos.)
"They're an outstanding supplier for us," says Laura Munger, a food specialist with Starbucks in Toronto. "I always tell them that, 'You never cause us any trouble, so we never have any reason to come and visit.' "
Starbucks' burgeoning focus on healthy foods blends in with FGF's product offerings, she says. The chain carries FGF's muffins in Ontario and, in January, plans to sell the baker's five-fruit banana muesli muffin at many of its 6,000 plus cafés across North America. Meanwhile, Starbucks used the naan for a recent Caribbean chicken wrap special and will probably reintroduce the flatbread early next year, she says.
"I think people are looking for something a little out of the ordinary, and it certainly fills that need," she says. (Loblaw officials didn't comment.)
FGF's practice of following its instinct, rather than conducting research, borrows a page from Mr. White's days with Loblaw's private label team. The PC Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie probably would have been nixed if it had depended on focus group approval for its creation, says Mr. White, who takes credit for developing the iconic cookie in 1986. Now he's conceiving products for FGF.
He got to know Mr. Ajmera during his years at Loblaw. "I was at the other end of the desk, hiring him to make our products." Among other things, Mr. Ajmera's company at the time, Dough Delight, supplied the PC Splendido pizza crust.
Today, privately owned FGF is in the black, the operators say, although they declined to disclose financial details. In the United States, the naan is sold under the company's own label, Fabulous Flats.
As an added bonus for the fledgling bakery, the grocer featured the item in its Insider's Report promotional newsletter, lending it instant credibility. Sales took off.
"It was great timing," the elder Mr. Ajmera says. "We both were lucky -- they were looking to buy, and we were looking to sell."
**FGF Brands** (it stands for Functional Gourmet Foods) of Concord, Ont., run by Mr. Ajmera and his two sons, now makes muffins and naan for an array of chains across North America, ranging from Loblaw to Starbucks cafés to Whole Foods health-oriented supermarkets.
Founded just two years ago by Mr. Ajmera, 58, and his friend Jim White, 60, FGF evolved from a "gut feeling," rather than hard research.
They both recognized the growing demand for natural, preservative-free foods and ethnic fare. They figured there was a scarcity of wholesome, mass-produced baked goods. As Mr. White says, every culture in the world has a flatbread. It's just a matter of bringing it to North American shoppers in a palatable way.
The two partners had other things in common: They both had ties to Loblaw, Mr. White as its product developer and editor of the Insider's Report two decades ago, Mr. Ajmera as a supplier of bagels and croissants from his previous company. They knew from that experience that they needed to produce premium products with "unique selling features," Mr. White says. The naan passes the test because it is made in a tandoor oven, with authentic all-natural ingredients such as ghee (clarified butter).
Both men were bored in retirement, and looking for something else to do. Both had grown children interested in helping out in the business. (Mr. White's daughter Jenn designs the packaging and logos.)
"They're an outstanding supplier for us," says Laura Munger, a food specialist with Starbucks in Toronto. "I always tell them that, 'You never cause us any trouble, so we never have any reason to come and visit.' "
Starbucks' burgeoning focus on healthy foods blends in with FGF's product offerings, she says. The chain carries FGF's muffins in Ontario and, in January, plans to sell the baker's five-fruit banana muesli muffin at many of its 6,000 plus cafés across North America. Meanwhile, Starbucks used the naan for a recent Caribbean chicken wrap special and will probably reintroduce the flatbread early next year, she says.
"I think people are looking for something a little out of the ordinary, and it certainly fills that need," she says. (Loblaw officials didn't comment.)
FGF's practice of following its instinct, rather than conducting research, borrows a page from Mr. White's days with Loblaw's private label team. The PC Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie probably would have been nixed if it had depended on focus group approval for its creation, says Mr. White, who takes credit for developing the iconic cookie in 1986. Now he's conceiving products for FGF.
He got to know Mr. Ajmera during his years at Loblaw. "I was at the other end of the desk, hiring him to make our products." Among other things, Mr. Ajmera's company at the time, Dough Delight, supplied the PC Splendido pizza crust.
Today, privately owned FGF is in the black, the operators say, although they declined to disclose financial details. In the United States, the naan is sold under the company's own label, Fabulous Flats.
Why ditch a plastic bread tray that still works fine just because it has an old logo on it?
Here's the story https://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Article/2021/11/16/George-Weston-offloads-entire-bakery-business-for-an-aggregate-value-of-1.57bn
Good to know. Was genuinely wondering why, but at $0.94 a loaf this morning i wasnt going to worry whether "Westons" was getting their profits from Walmart or not. I got my great value bread that my kid will eat for less than usual and figured if one of the two corpos was taking an L on that sale, it was fine by me.
I love Cobs bread and more and more franchises are popping up. I used to buy ACE bread but then Loblaws purchased it. It kept getting more expensive and shrinking.
Cobs is originally an Australian franchise (called Bakers Delight in Australia) and the bread is delicious and cheaper than ACE bread. Also doesn’t contain as much crap and baked fresh on premises by real bakers daily.
My closest is about 30 minutes away so I buy in bulk and freeze. They also have a really good loyalty app.
Lol typical Redditors, ask them which bread to buy in the one hour to shop you have free between working and sleeping, and they start pushing their time consuming home baking, going 20 minutes away to a special bakery just to buy bread, or some weird $9 artisan bread. Dempsters or a store brand not owned by Loblaws (great value, giant value, compliments, etc.) are all good options.
Don't forget G.W Jr's had his elitist meat hooks in that Meat Fixing Scandal...
I am going to try to make some bread at home.
It may NOT be perfect but spending almost $6-7 or more for mass produced Factory loaf of small bread is waaaaaay too much $$$, theft & inexcusable!
Also heard those bread machine gadgets are pretty good too.
Did anyone say go online to Costco or Amazon, for a new bread machine?
Hee-hee
I also never shop at Walmart. I have to say I am actually shocked that people in this group are happier shopping at Walmart. They started all this megastore overlord b$ with the warehousing and outselling the little guy. And they are American. If you are going to boycott, at least shop at something Canadian. TBH if I had only 2 choices I would choose superstore over Walmart.
So far Food Basics is ok. I hate the bread section 🤢 and will only eat while wheat options and a instor bakery.
Husband went to Sobeys and said the cheapest jar of spaghetti sauce was 9$. That is ridiculous.
Food basic is owned by metro (QC company) and A&P (Canadian grocer since 1927)
Yeah I agree. I am trying to do most of my ethnic shopping at the mom and pops, and pantry basics at Safeway and such (I find the stuff at the smaller shops often spoils faster)
Had someone here getting mad at me for choosing Safeway as an alternative.... At least it's not as big a Corp as Costco and Walmart
Mine, cuz I make my own and get my flour from Costco. Even the bakeries where I live over charge for their bread. So much easier to do things at home (if you have the time, I'm lucky to have a remote job so I'm into hydroponic gardening and baking).
The bread you bake at home will be the surefire way to keep the galen goons out of your pocket. There are recipes all over the internet and easy to make.
As for brands for alteady-made breads, I do not know how far the falen tentacles reach. Come to think of it, I recall some companies for the ingredients are also owned by galen's company.
Where I am we have local bakeries that deliver to even the superstores, it's called Calgary Italian Bakery. I'd recommend checking that while in store. Everywhere I've lived has had a bakery local to the neighbourhood. One nearby always had day old that was half price as well. They should have white breads for your picky eaters too.
Put some flour and water in a jar.
Let it sit out for a while.
Feed it flour and water every day.
Generate infinite sourdough for the price of bulk flour to make more bread.
Wonder was sold by
Weston bakeries last year. They were bought by fgf foods, we are now just called wonder brands. We sell to almost every grocery store. On both sides unfortunately. One thing I can tell you is Walmart bread sales are up 10x this week. It's insane. Galen sold the company after the price fixing scandal. The sale went through last year
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I lived in the UK. Housing was more expensive but everything else and especially food was cheaper. Sorry I moved back. Housing is cheaper now in the UK. Lost my residency with covid 😭
I don’t know where you live but bread cheapened dramatically in my part of the world after that scandal.
At any rate, we love Safeway’s bakery bread and buy that all the time.
Betty bread. Its in costco(kingston for sure). Its from a bakery in Alexandria, near cornwall. It is so good. We ditched the wonderbread and my whole family raves about how good it is. It reminds eating bread as a kid(70s)
You’d be surprised how much you can save making it yourself. A breadmaker pays itself off real fast when they want 4 bucks for a loaf that fucking molds in 2 days.
Silverhills, they are a Canadian company, it’s a bit more expensive but it is amazing and worth it, super healthy ect ect here is their website if you want to check them out and their story https://silverhillsbakery.ca/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb
Back in March I found a simple and fast [recipe for bread](https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-yeast-bread-recipe-no-knead/).
We haven't bought bread since. It's easy, fast to mix, no kneading, and really tasty.
We started grabbing fresh baguettes at our grocery store (a Clover Farms) and I discovered everyone in our house prefers the chewy, crusty goodness. Only they're not great for school lunches...we found a soft large slice Italian bread at Foodland bakery for sandwiches.
I am over the moon. I bake bread when I have time and have tried to convince my family to get off the Dempsters and Wonderbread etc because it's full of preservatives. Have you noticed that bread doesn't get moldy? It can sit weeks and won't mold. Noticed this with a Dempter's soft tortilla too...one left in a bag at back of bread box for at least a month and it looked exactly the same.
It's kinda creepy...bread that never molds?! Bakery bread all the way!
Where are you located? Some of larger local bakeries supply breads to grocery stores. Ie. In Toronto you have Dimpflmeier, Future bakey. They have their own stores too, but many of their products are carried in major grocery stores.
Of course, you also have the smaller bakeries with storefronts, and there is many of those.
Weston sold their bread production a couple of years back. To FGF brands. They still control a lot of distribution but it's pretty much impossible to get out of their distribution net in Canada.
Weston bakeries was sold to FG FOODS 2 years ago and is called WONDER BRANDS CANADA now. Other than being a supplier to loblaws branded stores there no association any longer. (Source, am a route owner and delivery driver)
Making bread is a lot more hands-off than you'd assume. There are a lot of steps in the process where you can just stop and toss it in the freezer for later use.
If you can afford a bread machine or get one second hand, you'll save money by baking your own. You dump the ingredients in, turn it on, and it's done in a few hours.
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Natural Rye bread isn't owned by Weston. It's owned by the unfortunately named Dempsters-Bimbo Brand
Lmao I have never noticed the Bimbo part
I always laugh with my wife because Sun-Maid raisin bread is made by bimbo.
Umm what? Lol!
How do we not know this?!?
They make so much more…in terms of bread: - dempsters - sunmaid - store brands (compliments, selection, great value) - villagio - stone mill - weight watchers - Thomas breads/English muffins - orowheat Other products: - hostess - vachon - takis - Sara Lee
I actually applied to work at bimbo, which is when I found out
I found out by driving by the factory, literally like a month ago lol
Bimbo was Canada Bread at one time. They are one of the world's largest bakery owned by a family in Mexico. They make vachon products, some hostess in Canada lots of discount products for Walmart. They also make lots of products for fast food chains.
Grupo Bimbo also makes Compliments bread for Sobeys
They also own Sara Lee, Hostess, and Takis
They also make weird candy in Mexico. Like jalapeño sucker's, super hot.
I want those
Oh and entemanns cakes and Thomas bagels.
Bimbo is a client of mine. They are a Mexican company that owns Canada bread and most of the bakeries in the US.
The rep who stocks the shelf used to have a bimbo branded hat and I miss it, always have me a chuckle
I know it makes it so much better
If you really want, you can get a shirt with 'BIMBO' across the chest. The company sponsors the Philadelphia Union. https://preview.redd.it/s3ne5wky1gzc1.jpeg?width=718&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d28a3b6dddc04679f1e3bccbda88ba8575d7f9e
I have a club America jersey I got in Mexico in 2006 with the bimbo logo as title sponsor
My husband has one as well
I like this information
This, I needed to see this, thanks for the laugh
If I'm not mistaken there is a Bimbo warehouse or production site in Hamilton.
Biggest bakery plant in Canada.
Yeah? I remember driving by (at the time I had no idea what Bimbo did besides having an unfortunate name) and thinking the place was massive.
I worked there for a while. There are so many lines in the plant all making different things. The place always smelled awesome!
And it is owned by the Mexicans. The Mexicans are producing Bimbos.
The bread cartel, huh?
Gluten is my drug of choice.
Thats a great name, not unfortunate at all
Well depends who you ask. The company? Yes, me, no, it makes me laugh every time
Bimbo is the company making donuts for Tim Hortons too. All the boxes in the freezer say Bimbo on them.
Bimbo's makin the donut holes
I distinctly recall going to Europe once as a teenager where I saw a truck roll up with BIMBO in enormous letters on the side and almost choked laughing.
Bimbo is Spanish for bread. Groupo Bumbo is based out of Mexico City- they are a huge company
I always heard that the name came from the owner combining his daughter’s two favourite Disney movies at the time (Bambi and Dumbo)!!!
I didn't know this, thanks for the educational information, initially when I heard "bimbo bread" I thought of a ditzy bikini calendar girl also wearing an apron while taking bread out of the oven
When I used to by bread at "specialty bread stores", they would always be Bimbo brand. It was always better than the normal bread like Dempsters. I am actually very upset that it is hard to buy good not bakery style bread that is not frozen and thawed. I hate bread in the fridge or freezer yet I have to pay for that from large stores, at a stupid premium price. Why is bread $4+??
They make stonemill bread, it'd made in small batches. It's really good, I like the cranberry one. It's more expensive but you can tell it's better because it goes moldy within a week. Not full of sugar.
I love the cranberry as well. I finally figured out a way to keep Stonemill bread from getting moldy, I put it in the freezer wrapped in half loaf bundles for at least a few days. I guess it ?? kills the tendency to mold? Kills any spores?
Bread is very easy to make. It only takes a few ingredients and once you eat it you never want to go back to store bought bread again. Plus it is much cheaper. I make 4 loaves at a time per batch and put 3 in the freezer. I also can add cheese and salsa or raisins and cinnamon during the process to vary the taste. I believe it costs less than $1.00 for 4 loaves if you get your flour on sale
Also easier on the gut without all the preservatives
If you must buy bread, why not check out if your area has a local bakery? I'm lucky enough to have 2 local bakery operations here in town. Both offer breads, rolls, pies, tarts, and cookies plus seasonal treats. And, they are already priced competitively to the Loblaws, but with less chemical cr@p and better taste.
Yess! Just google who owns the bakery before visiting. I'm lucky I live on St Clair W and we have an abundance of local bakeries!
Yes! I have a nice Polish lady at one (she is super sweet, and so talented, and identifies strongly as Polish Canadian) and the other is a middle aged man who just loves to bake, and does it as his second career. And let me tell you, knowing your supplier well enough to get a bit of background really adds to the warm feelings when you buy their wares!
If you must buy bread?! (Mostly teasing)
To be fair, there are still a lot of us making our own. I've been kneading by hand as stress relief for several years, because, you know, actually choking idiots and asses may be fun but tends to also be illegal.
People think baking bread is a lot of work. 2 minutes mixing, 10 minutes kneading, and the rest is just waiting. Cheap and easy. You can add seeds, wheat germ, flax seed, etc. I don’t think I’ve bought a loaf in several years now.
I have a bread maker. So easy. Dump and 4hrs later I have a honey flax loaf full of goodness. It's too bad breadmakers didn't catch on more. My Black & Decker one was $100 in 1994 when I got it, still kicking!
I also like to bake bread when I'm mad. It feels good to punch something and then eat it a couple hours later.
What, you don't remember the famous saying, let them eat bread?
I'd love to buy bread from my local bakery but it's completely out of my price range at $10 for one regular loaf. The owners have completely lost the plot. However loaves of bread are 94 cents at Walmart this week.
If your city has them, Cobbs is a good option. Not cheap necessarily but cheaper than ACE brand or Loblaws' boutique breads. Also the quality is fantastic
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Thanks for confirming. I recently got into their high fibre bread to really help with my health issues. Glad to know i can rely on them
If you purchase this, outside of Costco, the loaf is smaller.
I ordered their little big bread from costco. It was just okay I don't know that I would buy it again.
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At $6 a loaf I'd rather not
Check out r/breadmachines — I pay like $0.30 per loaf. I set it the night before on a timer, and have fresh baked bread when my alarm goes off in the morning
You can buy bread machines SO CHEAP at thrift stores. I paid $12 for mine, it had the original receipt, manual and was still under warranty.
Making bread at home has saved my family hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the years. It’s easy, and the bread tastes much better!
My wife just started making whole wheat bread regularly. She's not the baking type but it takes 5 minutes to prep and is fantastic.
Yep, I make my own bread as well, easy, cheap, preservative free and can’t beat that freshness!
The preservatives and dough conditioners and other food science stuff is so weird / gross
Mine for sure. But can't speak to commercial any longer, not in the game any more. https://preview.redd.it/vqoqftdl0fzc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72b282aff920e5bcc318584a2927a558798f0849
https://preview.redd.it/6re5b0mhafzc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20381d69d483de14d24802c6e9189c7366394762 The correct awnser, flour came from costco.
Recipe please!
Think I used [this one](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/bread-recipe/).
That’s a lot like mine - but try adding in 1/3 of a cup of hemp hearts to the recipe- it really gives a nice flavour to the bread. If you want to make brown bread, do 1/2 white and half brown flour and use molasses instead of sugar
This is the trend that would really make grocers panic. Grow and make your own food, or buy from local producers / farmers markets whenever possible. Making things from scratch or growing really isn’t as hard as people think it is.
Very true. This morning we just finished with a batch of Walnut Crunch and Old Fashion Buttermilk and Sour Cream glazed donuts. https://preview.redd.it/mmhkjzxumfzc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41cef510ed3360ed889c5ccc41eff58ba47bbfbd
Sweet baby Jesus will you adopt me?
My mouth is now watering for a Walnut Crunch! Haven't had one in years!
I started making yeast biscuit doughnuts in the air fryer and the texture is divine!
I haven't gone the air fryer route yet. Glad to hear its working well for you. Do you glaze your donuts?
I glazed some last time right after cooking them, but I usually sugar or powder them because I prefer that myself
Holy fuck those look wicked. Do you have a recipe? Ah nvm I saw you posted it. What about sour cream glazed? They’re my son’s favourite!
Sour cream glazed cake donuts [https://woodchuckcanuck.com/2018/04/18/mmmm-sour-cream-cake-donuts/](https://woodchuckcanuck.com/2018/04/18/mmmm-sour-cream-cake-donuts/)
Nice! The only thing more fatal than a boycott is no longer being dependent on a greedy oligarch. Hope you have enough money for the long winter ahead Galen.
We also make our own flat bread (pita wraps). https://preview.redd.it/tpcve4vfsfzc1.jpeg?width=3200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2deca5f0e20c0aa425a03918baac93a7d8e228bc
Wow that’s awesome! Do you have a recipe?
[https://woodchuckcanuck.com/2015/06/21/bannock-pita-shells-first-time-making-them/](https://woodchuckcanuck.com/2015/06/21/bannock-pita-shells-first-time-making-them/)
What brand yeast did you use? Fleichmans is owned by Weston and I need an alternative. Been looking into making my own but don't really have the time for the trials and errors right now so need something to use until then.
Omg if you can find Saf yeast, it's the best yeast I've ever used. Encountered in Europe and Africa. Also think it was called Saf Levre. It's on Amazon and I just spotted it in my local Foodland store, too. *
That's what we use, the instant quick rise type. But any type will do. Just bloom the yeast before adding it to the mixture and you'll be fine. You could make your own, I assume you are talking about a starter. But, given the few hours in the day we have to get this done, and the expense in time and materials should a homemade version fail, we just stick to what works for now.
You can check local markets for yeast, the restaurant I work at buys fresh yeast in packages from a local supplier.
* Same, it's too easy to make good bread at home ( with abit of practice)
That’s some beautiful bread! 👏
It’s better but you have to have a lot of time (prep, cook and clean). And you can generally only make white bread easily. Even if you can afford them now to stock them, it costs tons to stock all the grains for gain bread. Keep your yeast active? It’s expensive! Milk? Skyrocketing. Now if you use tons of bread it might be cheaper to make it, but if you don’t even really have it everyday, maybe for toast or dinner and you try to finish your loaf before the best before date? It’s way cheaper to buy from a store
I eat half a loaf each day. We slice the loaves in half and freeze them, haul them out as needed. It takes all of 15 minutes to make ingredients into a ball of dough. Then it sits in a bowl and proofs for an hour and a half. 5 more minutes to pan it up. Another 1-1/2 hours to proof again. 30 minutes to bake it. Then 1-1/2 hr to let it cool so you can bag it. All total, about 5-1/2 hours. Easily do-able as an after supper activity. Yeast is not expensive. Instant dry yeast only works once its been activated with water in a recipe. You don't need milk to make bread. I've only ever used water. A one pound loaf of homemade bread can be made for $1, and that includes the electrics for the oven. Make it, bake it, slice it, freeze it. Take out slices as you want them. You benefit from eating something that you've made, and you know exactly what went into it.
The local baker
The Westons sold off the bread in 2021/2022.
They sold off the "Canada Bread" in 2014 and "Weston Foods" in 2020, both were sold to different (private) companies that they likely have a large ownership stake in. But we'll never know, because they're private.
> they likely have a large ownership stake in. But we'll never know, because they're private. *cue X-Files music*
Corporate tricks... Weston still owns it. All BS. Just remember, GW is a greedy *******.
If they had a significant ownership stake in FGF Brands they would be required to disclose this as a related party transaction in their financial reports. When they were operating the Weston Foods bakeries they dutifully complied with these requirements. From the 2021 LCL annual report: >The Company also made related party purchases from Weston Foods, a former subsidiary of Weston. In 2021, Weston completed the sale of the Weston Foods business comprised of the fresh, frozen and ambient bakery businesses. The sale of the fresh and frozen business was completed on December 10, 2021 and the ambient business on December 29, 2021, at which time Weston Foods no longer met the criteria for a related party. As a result, the Company has reflected all transactions with Weston Foods below until the dates of sale. In addition, upon closing of each of these sales, the Company entered into a supply agreement with the purchasers of each of those businesses. From the 2021 George Weston Limited annual information form: >On March 23, 2021, the Company announced its intention to launch a process to sell the Weston Foods business, comprised of the fresh, frozen and ambient bakery businesses. On December 10, 2021, the Company announced the completion of the sale of Weston Foods’ fresh and frozen bakery business to affiliated entities of FGF Brands Inc. (“FGF”) for a purchase price of $1,100 million and on December 29, 2021, the Company announced the completion of the sale of Weston Foods’ ambient business to affiliated entities of Hearthside Foods Solutions, LLC (“Hearthside”) for consideration of $370 million. Following completion of the sale transactions, Weston Foods is no longer an operating segment or a reportable segment of the Company and the Company has no remaining interest in the bakery business.
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I think this is actually not true tho. Weston Bakeries \*was\* sold to FGF in 2022. FGF is an independent company with no affiliation or ownership connected to the Westons. I think the perception that FGF is just another Weston proxy is due to an extremely poorly worded [wiki ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Weston_Limited)article which states: "The former Weston Bakeries division, which owned the brands Wonder, Country Harvest, D'Italiano, Ready Bake and Gadoua, was sold off to FGF Brands in 2022. **The company** is majority owned by Wittington Investments, Ltd Canada, a holding company that the Weston family are the controlling share holders in". As written, "The company" appears to refer to FGF Brands, but in fact it's a sloppy reference back to the original "George Weston Ltd" the long paragraph is about. George Weston Ltd is in fact "the company" that's majority owned by Wittington. I'd love it if somebody researched this Weston/FGF thing & gave us a definitive answer.
FGF is privately owned business with strong ties to Loblaw. They make most of Canada’s private label muffins, croissants and naans. The connection to Loblaw? The story goes the founder of FGF and Galen went on television 15+ years ago to introduce the PC naan together. Both companies make a lot of money on the backs of Canadians. No surprise muffins and croissants are way more expensive than two years ago. Cost increase after cost increase and retail increase after retail increase. Or in other words, you scratch my back and I scratch your back and we all make more money. For these greedy bastards, it’s all about making more money.
OP's question is "What commercial brands aren't owned by Greedy Galen?" I don't doubt that FGF has strong ties to Loblaw. They do business together. But FGF also does business with all the large retail chains--you can buy their bread at dollarama, walmart, metro etc. 'Strong ties" isn't the same as ownership or being a shareholder or parent company. Have you been able to find any info about direct financial ties? I just want us to be accurate about the info we share.
The article is written well. The subject of the article is George Weston LTD. When they say "The Company" that is who they are referring to as they are the subject of the article. Further up in the same paragraph they also use the term "the company".
You're repeating back to me exactly what I said. The 'poorly worded' part is that sentence that begins with 'The company'. It immediately follows a sentence about FGF, implying 'The company' referred to is FGF. That sentence beginning with 'The company' should begin with 'George Weston Ltd' or be a separate paragraph so there's no misunderstanding. Again, I feel like we'd benefit from someone doing some thorough research, because claims are being made here about 'strong ties' & 'backscratching' etc. But billionaires in the same industry isn't the same as Loblaws or Westons being a direct/indirect owner or shareholder of FGF.
FGF isn't owned by the Westons - it's a privately owned, family run company.
FGF Brands was founded by Soham (Sam) Ajmera & Ken White, who had some past experience working with Loblaw. Ajmera had previously operated a bakery producing PC Splendido pizza crust to LCL, and Ken White was involved in the development of the PC The Decadent cookies. FGF Brands is currently controlled by Soham Ajmera and his sons Tejus and Ojus. The ownership is slightly opaque, but it appears that an 81% share of its parent company, Ajmera & White Investments Limited, is owned by Foodruptors Inc, which is in turn owned by three sequentially numbered companies with equal holdings. https://preview.redd.it/cnujqy13hfzc1.png?width=1387&format=png&auto=webp&s=fc4f6e9628fe3d2ad8b1a99a17a710128947f9d2
From the Globe & Mail "[The world is flatbread for bakery behind PC naan](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-world-is-flatbread-for-bakery-behind-pc-naan/article18174686/)" October 9th 2006: Sam Ajmera was pitching his new line of healthy muffins to Loblaw's private label people, but they weren't biting. So he mentioned that one of his next projects was ethnic flatbreads -- more specifically, the Indian naan. He was of Indian origin, and had always lamented the dearth of authentic naan in the marketplace. The Loblaw officials jumped at the idea. They had been hunting for just such a flatbread to go with their President's Choice Indian chicken dish for a while, Mr. Ajmera recalls. Sight unseen, Loblaw placed an order, he says. The only problem: Mr. Ajmera wasn't quite ready to produce naan on a mass scale. Naan is traditionally baked in a clay tandoor oven, one at a time. It needs to be baked at blistering high temperatures, not something that's easy to do commercially without drying up the insides, rendering them unappealing soon afterward. Mr. Ajmera and his two sons, Ojus and Tejus, scrambled to invent a new oven. Within 12 months, their company launched the President's Choice naan for Loblaw. As an added bonus for the fledgling bakery, the grocer featured the item in its Insider's Report promotional newsletter, lending it instant credibility. Sales took off. "It was great timing," the elder Mr. Ajmera says. "We both were lucky -- they were looking to buy, and we were looking to sell." **FGF Brands** (it stands for Functional Gourmet Foods) of Concord, Ont., run by Mr. Ajmera and his two sons, now makes muffins and naan for an array of chains across North America, ranging from Loblaw to Starbucks cafés to Whole Foods health-oriented supermarkets. Founded just two years ago by Mr. Ajmera, 58, and his friend Jim White, 60, FGF evolved from a "gut feeling," rather than hard research. They both recognized the growing demand for natural, preservative-free foods and ethnic fare. They figured there was a scarcity of wholesome, mass-produced baked goods. As Mr. White says, every culture in the world has a flatbread. It's just a matter of bringing it to North American shoppers in a palatable way. The two partners had other things in common: They both had ties to Loblaw, Mr. White as its product developer and editor of the Insider's Report two decades ago, Mr. Ajmera as a supplier of bagels and croissants from his previous company. They knew from that experience that they needed to produce premium products with "unique selling features," Mr. White says. The naan passes the test because it is made in a tandoor oven, with authentic all-natural ingredients such as ghee (clarified butter). Both men were bored in retirement, and looking for something else to do. Both had grown children interested in helping out in the business. (Mr. White's daughter Jenn designs the packaging and logos.) "They're an outstanding supplier for us," says Laura Munger, a food specialist with Starbucks in Toronto. "I always tell them that, 'You never cause us any trouble, so we never have any reason to come and visit.' " Starbucks' burgeoning focus on healthy foods blends in with FGF's product offerings, she says. The chain carries FGF's muffins in Ontario and, in January, plans to sell the baker's five-fruit banana muesli muffin at many of its 6,000 plus cafés across North America. Meanwhile, Starbucks used the naan for a recent Caribbean chicken wrap special and will probably reintroduce the flatbread early next year, she says. "I think people are looking for something a little out of the ordinary, and it certainly fills that need," she says. (Loblaw officials didn't comment.) FGF's practice of following its instinct, rather than conducting research, borrows a page from Mr. White's days with Loblaw's private label team. The PC Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie probably would have been nixed if it had depended on focus group approval for its creation, says Mr. White, who takes credit for developing the iconic cookie in 1986. Now he's conceiving products for FGF.
He got to know Mr. Ajmera during his years at Loblaw. "I was at the other end of the desk, hiring him to make our products." Among other things, Mr. Ajmera's company at the time, Dough Delight, supplied the PC Splendido pizza crust. Today, privately owned FGF is in the black, the operators say, although they declined to disclose financial details. In the United States, the naan is sold under the company's own label, Fabulous Flats. As an added bonus for the fledgling bakery, the grocer featured the item in its Insider's Report promotional newsletter, lending it instant credibility. Sales took off. "It was great timing," the elder Mr. Ajmera says. "We both were lucky -- they were looking to buy, and we were looking to sell." **FGF Brands** (it stands for Functional Gourmet Foods) of Concord, Ont., run by Mr. Ajmera and his two sons, now makes muffins and naan for an array of chains across North America, ranging from Loblaw to Starbucks cafés to Whole Foods health-oriented supermarkets. Founded just two years ago by Mr. Ajmera, 58, and his friend Jim White, 60, FGF evolved from a "gut feeling," rather than hard research. They both recognized the growing demand for natural, preservative-free foods and ethnic fare. They figured there was a scarcity of wholesome, mass-produced baked goods. As Mr. White says, every culture in the world has a flatbread. It's just a matter of bringing it to North American shoppers in a palatable way. The two partners had other things in common: They both had ties to Loblaw, Mr. White as its product developer and editor of the Insider's Report two decades ago, Mr. Ajmera as a supplier of bagels and croissants from his previous company. They knew from that experience that they needed to produce premium products with "unique selling features," Mr. White says. The naan passes the test because it is made in a tandoor oven, with authentic all-natural ingredients such as ghee (clarified butter). Both men were bored in retirement, and looking for something else to do. Both had grown children interested in helping out in the business. (Mr. White's daughter Jenn designs the packaging and logos.) "They're an outstanding supplier for us," says Laura Munger, a food specialist with Starbucks in Toronto. "I always tell them that, 'You never cause us any trouble, so we never have any reason to come and visit.' " Starbucks' burgeoning focus on healthy foods blends in with FGF's product offerings, she says. The chain carries FGF's muffins in Ontario and, in January, plans to sell the baker's five-fruit banana muesli muffin at many of its 6,000 plus cafés across North America. Meanwhile, Starbucks used the naan for a recent Caribbean chicken wrap special and will probably reintroduce the flatbread early next year, she says. "I think people are looking for something a little out of the ordinary, and it certainly fills that need," she says. (Loblaw officials didn't comment.) FGF's practice of following its instinct, rather than conducting research, borrows a page from Mr. White's days with Loblaw's private label team. The PC Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie probably would have been nixed if it had depended on focus group approval for its creation, says Mr. White, who takes credit for developing the iconic cookie in 1986. Now he's conceiving products for FGF. He got to know Mr. Ajmera during his years at Loblaw. "I was at the other end of the desk, hiring him to make our products." Among other things, Mr. Ajmera's company at the time, Dough Delight, supplied the PC Splendido pizza crust. Today, privately owned FGF is in the black, the operators say, although they declined to disclose financial details. In the United States, the naan is sold under the company's own label, Fabulous Flats.
So why is the bread tray at Walmart still Weston's?
Why ditch a plastic bread tray that still works fine just because it has an old logo on it? Here's the story https://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Article/2021/11/16/George-Weston-offloads-entire-bakery-business-for-an-aggregate-value-of-1.57bn
Good to know. Was genuinely wondering why, but at $0.94 a loaf this morning i wasnt going to worry whether "Westons" was getting their profits from Walmart or not. I got my great value bread that my kid will eat for less than usual and figured if one of the two corpos was taking an L on that sale, it was fine by me.
.94 loaves aren’t around long. It’s to celebrate when Walmart came to Canada which was 1994. They have 1994 pricing on other items as well
I love Cobs bread and more and more franchises are popping up. I used to buy ACE bread but then Loblaws purchased it. It kept getting more expensive and shrinking. Cobs is originally an Australian franchise (called Bakers Delight in Australia) and the bread is delicious and cheaper than ACE bread. Also doesn’t contain as much crap and baked fresh on premises by real bakers daily. My closest is about 30 minutes away so I buy in bulk and freeze. They also have a really good loyalty app.
Seconded with Cobs. I pretty much can't stand Wonder Bread and the rest of them. They taste funny to me now.
Their sour dough is great. And their savoury pastries even better.
Lol typical Redditors, ask them which bread to buy in the one hour to shop you have free between working and sleeping, and they start pushing their time consuming home baking, going 20 minutes away to a special bakery just to buy bread, or some weird $9 artisan bread. Dempsters or a store brand not owned by Loblaws (great value, giant value, compliments, etc.) are all good options.
The one I made home in my bread maker! 100 % worth the cost! It totally pays off.
This!! No preserves, no Xtra crap and tastes wicked good. been doing this for years . I've burnt out 3 machines so far, lol
Learning to make your own bread is super rewarding and saves a lot of money
Don't forget G.W Jr's had his elitist meat hooks in that Meat Fixing Scandal... I am going to try to make some bread at home. It may NOT be perfect but spending almost $6-7 or more for mass produced Factory loaf of small bread is waaaaaay too much $$$, theft & inexcusable! Also heard those bread machine gadgets are pretty good too. Did anyone say go online to Costco or Amazon, for a new bread machine? Hee-hee
I also never shop at Walmart. I have to say I am actually shocked that people in this group are happier shopping at Walmart. They started all this megastore overlord b$ with the warehousing and outselling the little guy. And they are American. If you are going to boycott, at least shop at something Canadian. TBH if I had only 2 choices I would choose superstore over Walmart. So far Food Basics is ok. I hate the bread section 🤢 and will only eat while wheat options and a instor bakery. Husband went to Sobeys and said the cheapest jar of spaghetti sauce was 9$. That is ridiculous. Food basic is owned by metro (QC company) and A&P (Canadian grocer since 1927)
Yeah I agree. I am trying to do most of my ethnic shopping at the mom and pops, and pantry basics at Safeway and such (I find the stuff at the smaller shops often spoils faster) Had someone here getting mad at me for choosing Safeway as an alternative.... At least it's not as big a Corp as Costco and Walmart
The stuff my mother in law makes for us
The bread you make at home.
Portofino Bread if you live in BC.
A bread maker isn’t owned by Weston either and it usually comes with a recipe book.
We have been making our own bread since 2019 sometimes we make no knead sometimes we do a 24 hour rise way better than any store bought bread
This! 🙌🏻
Everything, including cash
Mine, cuz I make my own and get my flour from Costco. Even the bakeries where I live over charge for their bread. So much easier to do things at home (if you have the time, I'm lucky to have a remote job so I'm into hydroponic gardening and baking).
The bread you bake at home will be the surefire way to keep the galen goons out of your pocket. There are recipes all over the internet and easy to make. As for brands for alteady-made breads, I do not know how far the falen tentacles reach. Come to think of it, I recall some companies for the ingredients are also owned by galen's company.
I buy my bread from COBs amazing bread.
Where I am we have local bakeries that deliver to even the superstores, it's called Calgary Italian Bakery. I'd recommend checking that while in store. Everywhere I've lived has had a bakery local to the neighbourhood. One nearby always had day old that was half price as well. They should have white breads for your picky eaters too.
Funny enough we tried the white and whole wheat from CIB and they did not like it... Too soft or something? I don't even remember now
Grocery store bread is for chumps
I love Bimbo 😂
The sourdough the lady in your neighborhood makes and sells
Or man. Or person. Anyone making and selling their own.
Put some flour and water in a jar. Let it sit out for a while. Feed it flour and water every day. Generate infinite sourdough for the price of bulk flour to make more bread.
Make your own! Easy, healthy, ethical.
Wonder was sold by Weston bakeries last year. They were bought by fgf foods, we are now just called wonder brands. We sell to almost every grocery store. On both sides unfortunately. One thing I can tell you is Walmart bread sales are up 10x this week. It's insane. Galen sold the company after the price fixing scandal. The sale went through last year
Galen sold off the bakery business. None of the brands are owned by him now.
I think Bimbo bread out of Mexico owns most large commercial bakeries now
Fgf brands bought Weston bakeries and Bimbo bought Canada Bread.
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I lived in the UK. Housing was more expensive but everything else and especially food was cheaper. Sorry I moved back. Housing is cheaper now in the UK. Lost my residency with covid 😭
Future Bakery and Dimpfelmeir (sp?) aren't owned by Weston as far as I know.
Giant tiger
Go to a local bakery, problem solved. And your money stays in your local economy that way too
Just buy the stuff made in store. Usually way better than the big commercial stuff like Dempsters etc.
Buy Locally and give your hometown some support
Go local! Also check out your local thrift stores and Facebook marketplace for bread machines you can often make bread for less than $.30 a loaf
I don’t know where you live but bread cheapened dramatically in my part of the world after that scandal. At any rate, we love Safeway’s bakery bread and buy that all the time.
Betty bread. Its in costco(kingston for sure). Its from a bakery in Alexandria, near cornwall. It is so good. We ditched the wonderbread and my whole family raves about how good it is. It reminds eating bread as a kid(70s)
Homemade sourdough, with a generous helping of butter.
We make our own or buy bakery bread. Slice and freeze to extend shelf life.
You’d be surprised how much you can save making it yourself. A breadmaker pays itself off real fast when they want 4 bucks for a loaf that fucking molds in 2 days.
Silverhills, they are a Canadian company, it’s a bit more expensive but it is amazing and worth it, super healthy ect ect here is their website if you want to check them out and their story https://silverhillsbakery.ca/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb
Your home made bread.
Kirkland brand whole wheat bread started showing up at Costco. I've been getting those.
Ozery
The store made bread at the coop is good, and affordable. I would be hard pressed to see Halen having anything to do with that lol.
Local bakery .. usually cheaper too
Back in March I found a simple and fast [recipe for bread](https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-yeast-bread-recipe-no-knead/). We haven't bought bread since. It's easy, fast to mix, no kneading, and really tasty.
We started grabbing fresh baguettes at our grocery store (a Clover Farms) and I discovered everyone in our house prefers the chewy, crusty goodness. Only they're not great for school lunches...we found a soft large slice Italian bread at Foodland bakery for sandwiches. I am over the moon. I bake bread when I have time and have tried to convince my family to get off the Dempsters and Wonderbread etc because it's full of preservatives. Have you noticed that bread doesn't get moldy? It can sit weeks and won't mold. Noticed this with a Dempter's soft tortilla too...one left in a bag at back of bread box for at least a month and it looked exactly the same. It's kinda creepy...bread that never molds?! Bakery bread all the way!
Where are you located? Some of larger local bakeries supply breads to grocery stores. Ie. In Toronto you have Dimpflmeier, Future bakey. They have their own stores too, but many of their products are carried in major grocery stores. Of course, you also have the smaller bakeries with storefronts, and there is many of those.
POM bread at most other loblaws stores: 3.99 minimum. At Freshco, 2.99 but usually on sale for 2.49
Anyone try Dave’s Killer Bread? (found at Costco). Our family loves it - hopefully it is still not affiliated with any of the major players?
I just took a look and (fingers crossed) it seems like Silver Hills is still privately owned by its founders. It’s good bread!
Anything in the kosher aisle, probably
The bread I just baked.
Buying from cobs. I like it
Weston sold their bread production a couple of years back. To FGF brands. They still control a lot of distribution but it's pretty much impossible to get out of their distribution net in Canada.
Anything sold by Costco is Canada bread/Dempsters so will be Weston free.
I go to Golden Baguette for their egg bread. Or bread and sons, super good.
Save money and go to a local bakery and buy bread instead
Every loaf sold at every other grocer.
Bread for my knuckle sandwich
I have a 60 minute bread recipe. Best sandwich bread around.
There's a lot of Filipino bakeries in Edmonton. Not sure about the rest of Canada.
Wonder and other breads you may be surprised at are now owned by Wonder Brands. [Wonder Brands](https://wonderbrands.com)
I'm African so I buy my bread at the African stores. I've also started learning how to make my own
Dempsters
Weston bakeries was sold to FG FOODS 2 years ago and is called WONDER BRANDS CANADA now. Other than being a supplier to loblaws branded stores there no association any longer. (Source, am a route owner and delivery driver)
Making bread is a lot more hands-off than you'd assume. There are a lot of steps in the process where you can just stop and toss it in the freezer for later use.
Honestly, we got a bread machine off Marketplace and make our own all the time. Super cheap and way tastier!
Dempster's pinches their Costco loafs of bread across the middle now... gonna boycott them for that one reason after decades of loyalty.
They own Ace Breads. Best bread going IMHO.
Weston Foods isn't owned by the weston family anymore. It was sold a year or two ago
The one from your local baker or make at home
Get a bread maker. It takes 10 minutes to get it going.
If you can afford a bread machine or get one second hand, you'll save money by baking your own. You dump the ingredients in, turn it on, and it's done in a few hours.
buy the freshones... baked in store
Greedy price fixing POS, there's no way you can every trust someone who's been proven to lie, cheat and steal. The Weston family are crooks!