Private-equity-backed Rise Baking Company is closing two New French Bakery production sites in Minnesota after the business was sold.
The transaction included the bakery’s facilities in Kasota and Minneapolis and was completed in September 2026.
In a WARN filing, Rise Baking Company said the deal would lead to a “full reduction” in force at both locations, affecting “all employees”.
The closures are expected to be “permanent”, impacting 166 workers. Employee separations are scheduled to begin on or after 29 December.
The company said the final number of job losses could change if employees are given the option to transfer to other Rise Baking facilities and remain with the business. Some staff could also be retained “temporarily” beyond that date in non-production roles to support the transition and handover of the sites.
According to US reports, Canada-based FGF Brands acquired New French Bakery from Rise Baking Company in September.
Last week’s WARN filing stated: “Rise Baking Company entered into an agreement to sell the operations at the Kasota and 2609 facilities located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the sale closed on September 18, 2026. As a result of the sale, the operations at both locations will have a full reduction in force affecting all employees.”
The latest closures follow a separate manufacturing network restructuring plan announced by Rise Baking Company in March. The company said it would expand its Pleasant View facility in Utah while shutting a plant in Washington state to “optimise” its production network.
The Utah expansion is expected to be completed this year and will generate approximately 170 jobs.
Rise Baking Company supplies retail and foodservice customers across the US and Canada. Its product portfolio spans cookies, pies, cakes, snack bars and muffins, serving a range of bakery and prepared food markets.
The company’s brands include Brill, South Coast Baking, the Best Maid Cookie Company, Henry & Henry, Bakestone Brothers and Karp’s.
Rise Baking Company’s ownership changed in 2024 when Platinum Equity and Butterfly Equity jointly purchased the business from Olympus Partners in an equal partnership. Olympus had supported the bakery manufacturer since 2018.
