6-digit U.S. detail
311811
Retail Bakeries
Description
The U.S. retail bakery sector encompasses businesses focused on the direct sale of baked goods, with a primary emphasis on fresh bread and related products prepared on-site from raw flour rather than pre-made dough. These establishments operate as essential touchpoints for consumers seeking ready-to-eat foods that balance quality, freshness, and convenience. Typical business activities involve sourcing high-quality ingredients, executing complex baking processes, and managing the on-premises preparation required to distinguish fresh loaves from store-bought alternatives. Operators range from independent family-owned cafes to large corporate chains, each utilizing varying degrees of automation while maintaining the core requirement of on-site manufacturing. The scope of this industry is vast, extending across urban centers, suburban neighborhoods, and rural towns, serving diverse market segments from daily commuters to local food service providers. Unlike other food manufacturing categories, the retail aspect is paramount, as these businesses do not sell to wholesale distributors. Instead, their revenue model relies entirely on direct consumer transactions within their physical locations. Consequently, the product mix often includes baguettes, sourdough, rolls, and specialty pastries that appeal to health-conscious and quality-oriented customers. The industry thrives on the ability to provide immediate freshness, a key value proposition against frozen or processed competitors. While some establishments may offer limited catering or foodservice delivery, the defining characteristic remains the open-door retail environment where shoppers make direct purchases of freshly baked items created that very morning or afternoon. This direct-to-consumer approach drives operational efficiency and customer loyalty within the broader food sector.
Hierarchy
| Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Manufacturing 2-digit sector | The Sector as a Whole The Manufacturing sector comprises establishments engaged in the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products. The assembling of component parts of manufactured products is considered manufacturing, except in cases where the activity is appropriately classified in Sector 23, Construction. Establishments in the Manufacturing sector are often described as plants, factories, or mills and characteristically use power-driven machines and material handling equipment. However, establishments that transform materials or substances into new products by hand or in the worker's home and those engaged in selling to the general public products made on the same premises from which they are sold, such as bakeries, candy stores, and custom tailors, may also be included in this sector. Manufacturing establishments may process materials or may contract with other establishments to process their materials for them. Both types of establishments are included in manufacturing. Selected industries in the Manufacturing sector are comprised solely of establishments that process materials for other establishments on a contract or fee basis. Beyond these dedicated contract manufacturing industries, establishments that process materials for other establishments are generally classified in the Manufacturing industry of the processed materials. The materials, substances, or components transformed by manufacturing establishments are raw materials that are products of agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, or quarrying as well as products of other manufacturing establishments. The materials used may be purchased directly from producers, obtained through customary trade channels, or secured without recourse to the market by transferring the product from one establishment to another, under the same ownership. The new product of a manufacturing establishment may be finished in the sense that it is ready for utilization or consumption, or it may be semi-finished to become an input for an establishment engaged in further manufacturing. For example, the product of the alumina refinery is the input used in the primary production of aluminum; primary aluminum is the input to an aluminum wire drawing plant; and aluminum wire is the input for a fabricated wire product manufacturing establishment. The subsectors in the Manufacturing sector generally reflect distinct production processes related to material inputs, production equipment, and employee skills. In the machinery area, where assembling is a key activity, parts and accessories for manufactured products are classified in the industry of the finished manufactured item when they are made for separate sale. For example, an attachment for a piece of metalworking machinery would be classified with metalworking machinery. However, component inputs from other manufacturing establishments are classified based on the production function of the component manufacturer. For example, electronic components are classified in Subsector 334, Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing, and stampings are classified in Subsector 332, Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing. Manufacturing establishments often perform one or more activities that are classified outside the Manufacturing sector of NAICS. For instance, almost all manufacturing has some captive research and development or administrative operations, such as accounting, payroll, or management. These captive services are treated the same as captive manufacturing activities. When the services are provided by separate establishments, they are classified in the NAICS sector where such services are primary, not in manufacturing. The boundaries of manufacturing and the other sectors of the classification system can be somewhat blurry. The establishments in the Manufacturing sector are engaged in the transformation of materials into new products. Their output is a new product. However, the definition of what constitutes a new product can be somewhat subjective. As clarification, the following activities are considered manufacturing in NAICS: <table width=100%><tr><td width=10%> </td><td><dl><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Milk bottling and pasteurizing;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Water bottling and processing;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Fresh fish packaging (oyster<br/> shucking, fish filleting);</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Apparel jobbing (assigning<br/> materials to contract<br/> factories or shops for<br/> fabrication or other contract<br/> operations) as well as<br/> contracting on materials<br/> owned by others;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Printing and related activities;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Ready-mix concrete production;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Leather converting;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Grinding lenses to<br/> prescription;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Wood preserving;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Lapidary work for the trade;</dt></dl></td><td width=10%> </td><td><dl><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Electroplating, plating, metal<br/> heat treating, and<br/> polishing for the trade;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Fabricating signs and<br/> advertising displays;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Rebuilding or remanufacturing<br/> machinery (i.e., automotive<br/> parts);</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Making manufactured homes<br/> (i.e., mobile homes) or<br/> prefabricated buildings,<br/> whether or not assembling/<br/> erecting at the customers'<br/> site;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Ship repair and renovation;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Machine shops; and</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Tire retreading.</dt></dl></td><td width=10%> </td></tr></table> Conversely, there are activities that are sometimes considered manufacturing, but which for NAICS are classified in another sector (i.e., not classified as manufacturing). They include: 1. Logging, classified in Sector 11, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting, is considered a harvesting operation; 2. Beneficiating ores and other minerals, classified in Sector 21, Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction, is considered part of the activity of mining; 3. Constructing structures, assembling prefabricated buildings, and fabricating at the construction site by contractors are classified in Sector 23, Construction; 4. Breaking bulk and reselling in smaller lots, including packaging, repackaging, or bottling products, such as liquors or chemicals; assembling and selling computers on a custom basis; sorting and reselling scrap; mixing and selling paints to customer order; and cutting metals to customer order for resale are classified in Sector 42, Wholesale Trade, or Sector 44-45, Retail Trade; and 5. Publishing and the combined activity of publishing and printing, classified in Sector 51, Information, transform information into a product for which the value to the consumer lies in the information content, not in the format in which it is distributed (i.e., the book or software compact disc). |
| 311 | Food Manufacturing 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Food Manufacturing subsector transform livestock and agricultural products into products for intermediate or final consumption. The industry groups are distinguished by the raw materials (generally of animal or vegetable origin) processed into food products. The food products manufactured in these establishments are typically sold to wholesalers or retailers for distribution to consumers, but establishments primarily engaged in retailing bakery and candy products made on the premises not for immediate consumption are included. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing beverages are classified in Subsector 312, Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing. |
| 3118 | Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in one of the following: (1) manufacturing fresh and frozen bread and other bakery products; (2) retailing bread and other bakery products not for immediate consumption made on the premises from flour, not from prepared dough; (3) manufacturing cookies, crackers, and dry pasta; (4) manufacturing prepared flour mixes or dough from flour ground elsewhere; or (5) manufacturing tortillas. |
| 31181 | Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing 5-digit NAICS industry | This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing fresh and frozen bread and other bakery products. |
| 311811 | Retail Bakeries 6-digit U.S. detail | The U.S. retail bakery sector encompasses businesses focused on the direct sale of baked goods, with a primary emphasis on fresh bread and related products prepared on-site from raw flour rather than pre-made dough. These establishments operate as essential touchpoints for consumers seeking ready-to-eat foods that balance quality, freshness, and convenience. Typical business activities involve sourcing high-quality ingredients, executing complex baking processes, and managing the on-premises preparation required to distinguish fresh loaves from store-bought alternatives. Operators range from independent family-owned cafes to large corporate chains, each utilizing varying degrees of automation while maintaining the core requirement of on-site manufacturing. The scope of this industry is vast, extending across urban centers, suburban neighborhoods, and rural towns, serving diverse market segments from daily commuters to local food service providers. Unlike other food manufacturing categories, the retail aspect is paramount, as these businesses do not sell to wholesale distributors. Instead, their revenue model relies entirely on direct consumer transactions within their physical locations. Consequently, the product mix often includes baguettes, sourdough, rolls, and specialty pastries that appeal to health-conscious and quality-oriented customers. The industry thrives on the ability to provide immediate freshness, a key value proposition against frozen or processed competitors. While some establishments may offer limited catering or foodservice delivery, the defining characteristic remains the open-door retail environment where shoppers make direct purchases of freshly baked items created that very morning or afternoon. This direct-to-consumer approach drives operational efficiency and customer loyalty within the broader food sector. |
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Classification References
- 01Retailing bakery products not for immediate consumption made elsewhere--are classified in U.S. Industry 445291, Baked Goods Retailers;
- 02Preparing and selling bakery products (e.g., cookies, pretzels) for immediate consumption--are classified in U.S. Industry 722515, Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars;
- 03Manufacturing fresh or frozen breads and other fresh bakery (except cookies and crackers) products--are classified in U.S. Industry 311812, Commercial Bakeries; and
- 04Manufacturing cookies and crackers--are classified in U.S. Industry 311821, Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing.
Index Items
Bakeries with baking from flour on the premises, retailing not for immediate consumption
How Item Can Help
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