Bakery

Helping you craft sweet treats that push the “happiness” button 

Baked goods bring joy to taste buds—and sweeten your bottom line. 

In every aisle, Cargill research reveals a common emotion sparked by sweet baked goods: joy.1 Partner with us for the insight, ingredients and expertise you need to ignite that delight.

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All the ingredients for irresistibility 

Cargill Bakery

All the ingredients for irresistibility 

From flours to fats, sweeteners to chocolate, Cargill’s comprehensive ingredient portfolio is your recipe for sweet bakery success. 

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Value optimization

Black & white stuffed cookie

Our stuffed and dipped cookie uses smart ingredients to deliver cost-effective indulgence.

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Feel-good indulgence

Chocolate lava cake

Both decadent and sensible, our lava cake satisfies cravings and keeps goals on track.

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On-trend tastes

Salted caramel drizzle donut

Our unapologetically indulgent cake donut is topped to perfection with a caramel glaze accented by premium salt.

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Formulation innovation

Fresh bakery concepts from Cargill

At the Cargill Food Innovation Center, we are transforming insights into innovative prototypes for ingredient systems and solutions—turning creative ideas into real products that help brands stay ahead.

Market Trends

Room for indulgence,
not compromise

Amid widespread focus on well-being, bakery consumers are making room for indulgence – with high expectations for taste and quality.

Homemade experience

Homemade
experience

Taste over health

Taste over
health

Tradition + inspiration

Tradition +
inspiration

Motivation

“Treat myself”

Why nearly half of consumers buy sweet baked goods2

Attitudes

50%

Say they won't sacrifice taste for lower calories, fat, etc.3

Retail growth

+6.0 CAGR

Forecasted retail bakery sales through 2029 (avg.)4

Bakery applications & expertise

Industry-leading ingredients, formulation know-how & reliable supply, all in one place. 

Cakes

70%+ of cake consumers we surveyed said this attribute was most important to their purchase decision.5 Learn what it is & how to deliver.

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Cookies

Our research found that cookies are more than a treat; they're a daily staple. Learn what consumers are reaching for.

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Donuts

Beyond breakfast, over 60% of donut lovers reach for one during this meal occasion.6 See when – and how to make yours impossible to resist.

View infographic

Pancakes & Waffles

Meet rising demand for convenient, quality breakfast items by partnering with Cargill to create standout breakfast products consumers will love.

Breads

Put Cargill’s broad ingredient portfolio to work for your business with flours, starches, oils, shortenings and more to develop a wide range of breads.

Crackers

Cargill helps you create crackers with great taste and texture using a broad portfolio of flours, oils, shortenings, starches, texturizers and more.

Pizza Dough

In pizza, the crust is king. Cargill offers a broad ingredient portfolio to help you develop doughs consumers will crave.

Tortillas

Cargill's vast ingredient portfolio, from masa flours to whole grains and more, helps you develop tender tortillas in varieties that meet consumers’ needs.


Tap into a recipe for craveable bakery

Cocoa & Chocolate

Cargill’s broad portfolio of high-quality cocoas and chocolates can make your baked goods irresistible.

Dark Chocolate

Milk Chocolate

Cocoa Powder


Explore Cocoa & Chocolate

Flours & Grains

Choose from the widest range of premium, multi-use flours, whole grains, mixes & blends for optimal performance.7

Bakery Flour

Ancient Grains

Whole Wheat Flour


Explore Flour & Grains

Fats & Oils

Crumb, crust, texture, flavor. Elevate sensory delight with Cargill’s full selection of fats & oils. 

Oils & shortenings

High Stability Oils

RSPO-Certified Palm Oils

Sweeteners

Our industry-leading collection of sweeteners & sugar reduction ingredients support your goals for taste, function & labeling.

Sugar

Corn Sweeteners

High Intensity Sweeteners


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Texturizers

Cargill is one of the world’s most diversified texturizing suppliers, with options from traditional to label-friendly texturizers.

Lecithins

Hydrocolloids

Soluble Rice Flour


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Cupcake Icon

A big bite of bakery delight.

This is just a taste of what's in the mix: explore our full bakery portfolio.

View ingredient portfolio


More bakery resources & insights

Bakery consumer study

The recipe to drive bakery demand

New research from Cargill reveals the "why" behind the buy across 9 categories of baked goods & 5 retail departments – insights you can turn into actionable strategy.8

Get the report (PDF)

Bakery consumer study

More to explore from Cargill

FATitudes™ Consumer Research

Our proprietary FATitudes study explores consumer perceptions around different types of fats and oils in packaged foods. Learn how our actionable insights can shape your brand strategy.

Explore Fat & Oil trends

Label-friendly solutions

Consumers increasingly seek food and beverage products with “clean labels” – whether they are purchasing products at the grocery store, gas station or dining in restaurants. Cargill has label-friendly ingredient solutions.

Explore ingredient solutions

TrendTracker for Food & Beverage

Consumers’ relationship with food is evolving. Across the four macro trends and 10 food & beverage trends that Cargill tracks, consumer perceptions and behaviors indicate a more active relationship with food. Learn more about the top trends.

Explore TrendTracker


 

Your Partner for Better Bakery

Let's ignite the delight.

When expertise is baked in, joy comes out. So let's fire up the imagination and bake it delicious!

Contact an expert


 

Bakery Concept

Black & white stuffed cookie 

Our stuffed and dipped cookie uses smart ingredients to deliver cost-effective indulgence.

Black & white stuffed cookie

  • Multilayered sensory experience
    with soft chocolate cookie, creamy vanilla filling & confectionery "snap"
  • Cost-effective confectionery coatings
    are less subject to market volatility
  • High-quality ingredients
    including cocoa, dairy, vegetable fats & natural flavor

Why it wins with consumers

Sweet joy

 

60%

of consumers say cookies bring them joy2

Cost savings

 

65%

have changed eating habits due to higher prices3

SOURCES: 
1. Ardent Mills is an independent joint venture of Cargill.  2. Cargill proprietary research. "Sweet Delights: Sweet Baked Goods Demand Drivers." 2025.  3. Circana. National Eating Trends, 2025. 

Bakery Concept

Chocolate lava cake

Both decadent and sensible, our lava cake satisfies cravings and keeps goals on track.

Chocolate lava cake

  • Rich & dense
    cake reveals molten center
  • Semisweet chocolate
    brings deep cocoa flavor, balanced by cream, dark fruit, & caramel notes
  • Unique Alberger® salt crystals
    improve blending; can support sodium reduction

Why it wins with consumers

Guiltless bliss
 

Contains just 9g of sugar & 110 calories per serving

Visual appeal

 

A top-3 “most important feature” for cakes1

Chocolate reigns

 

Chocolate is the most popular flavor in cakes2

SOURCES:
1. Cargill proprietary research. "Sweet Delights: Sweet Baked Goods Demand Drivers." 2025.  2. Matrix Sciences Consumer Research. "What is the Most Popular Cake Flavor?" November 2025.

Bakery Concept

Salted caramel drizzle donut

Our unapologetically indulgent cake donut is topped to perfection with a caramel glaze accented by premium salt.

Salted caramel drizzle donut

  • Traditional cake donut
    with tender, melt-in-your mouth crumb structure
  • On-trend flavor profile
    combines caramel glaze and premium salt
  • RSPO-certified palm oil
    products can be traced back to RSPO certified mills and plantations

Why it wins with consumers

Popular choice

 

87% of consumers like or love donuts1

Fresh look
 

Visual appeal sparks “impulse buys” at in-store bakeries

All-day delight
 

36% have donuts for breakfast, 60% enjoy as snacks2

SOURCES:
1. Datassential, 2025, cited in Rich's USA "2025 Donut Trends and Insights." November 2025.  2. Cargill proprietary research. "Sweet Delights: Sweet Baked Goods Demand Drivers." 2025.


SOURCES: 1. Cargill proprietary research. Sweet Delights: Sweet Baked Goods Demand Drivers. 2025. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Retail Bakers of America. “State of the Industry: Retail Bakeries in the U.S.,” Sundale Research, April 2025. 5. Ibid, Cargill Sweet Delights research. 6. Ibid. 7. Brought to you by our partners at Ardent Mills. 8. Ibid, Cargill Sweet Delights research.

 

Some Cargill products are only approved for use in certain geographies, end uses, and/or at certain usage levels. It is the customer’s responsibility to determine, for a particular geography, that (i) the Cargill product, its use and usage levels, (ii) the customer’s product and its use, and (iii) any claims made about the customer’s product, all comply with applicable laws and regulations.