Key Takeaways
- • Shore Capital Partners' Sweetmore Bakeries acquired Fantasy Baking, a California-based contract baker, marking Sweetmore's sixth platform acquisition and first West Coast manufacturing footprint since Shore formed the platform in September 2019.
- • Fantasy Baking, founded in 1979 and headquartered in Sylmar, California, operates four production lines with tunnel ovens and produces wire-cut, rotary-molded, and co-extruded cookies alongside protein bars, breakfast bars, and specialty products (organic, gluten-free, high-protein, kosher) for grocers, foodservice operators, and food brands.
- • The acquisition expands Sweetmore's product capabilities into cookies and nutrition bars—categories experiencing stronger growth trajectories than traditional baked goods, with U.S. protein bars projected to grow 5.6% annually to $8.2 billion by 2033, compared to 1.9% annual growth in cookies to $5.0 billion by 2031.
- • Monroe Capital served as joint lead arranger on the senior credit facility financing the transaction, the same role it held in Shore's May 2025 recapitalization of Sweetmore into a single-asset continuation vehicle, enabling investor liquidity while Shore retained ownership.
- • The deal reflects consolidation in the $21 billion U.S. supermarket in-store bakery sector, where demand is shifting toward frozen, thaw-and-serve, pre-portioned products and better-for-you categories, positioning Sweetmore as a multi-region national supplier competing against established players including Mondelēz-owned Give & Go Prepared Foods and recently recapitalized Rise Baking Company.
Summary
Sweetmore Bakeries, the Shore Capital Partners-backed bakery platform, has acquired Fantasy Baking, a California contract manufacturer with 47 years of operating history. The transaction marks Sweetmore's sixth add-on acquisition since Shore recapitalized Main Street Gourmet in September 2019 and the first to establish a manufacturing presence on the West Coast. Fantasy Baking, led by CEO Russ Case and headquartered in Sylmar, California, approximately 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, will integrate into Sweetmore's multi-platform structure while maintaining operational independence under existing leadership.
Fantasy Baking's core competency centers on contract manufacturing of cookies and nutrition bars using three distinct production methods: wire-cut (dough pushed through dies and sliced), rotary-molded (dough pressed into shaped cavities on rotating drums), and co-extruded (dough and fruit filling pushed together as filled rope and cut). The facility operates four production lines equipped with tunnel ovens and maintains SQF food safety certification required by major retail and foodservice customers. The company manufactures organic, high-protein, non-GMO, gluten-free, and kosher product variants, with R&D capabilities for formula development. Beyond cookies and bars, Fantasy produces dry blends and baked pieces for ice cream manufacturers and supplies products in multiple formats—assortment packs, gift trays, stand-up pouches, foodservice cases, and supermarket in-store bakery packages.
The acquisition directly addresses a strategic gap in Sweetmore's portfolio. Sweetmore currently manufactures biscotti, brownies, cinnamon rolls, cookies, Danish, dessert bars, Mexican pan dulce, muffins, granola, and icings and fillings, serving supermarket in-store bakeries and foodservice customers with approximately 500 employees. CEO David Veenstra noted that Fantasy adds "deeper category capabilities" and "a true West Coast manufacturing footprint," enabling Sweetmore to serve customers' varied product needs on a nationwide basis. Fantasy Baking CEO Russ Case emphasized the alignment, stating that joining Sweetmore provides "access to scale and resources that will enable Fantasy to serve a broader audience and expand its capabilities."
Market fundamentals support the strategic logic. U.S. cookie sales reached $4.4 billion in 2025 and face modest growth projections of 1.9% annually to $5.0 billion by 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence. Protein bars, however, demonstrate significantly stronger momentum, with Grand View Research valuing the U.S. market at $5.3 billion in 2025 and projecting 5.6% annual growth to $8.2 billion by 2033. The broader supermarket in-store bakery sector generated $21 billion in sales in the year through August 2025, up 2.6%, reflecting structural shifts toward frozen, thaw-and-serve, and pre-portioned products rather than in-store scratch baking. Monroe Capital provided senior credit facility financing as joint lead arranger, the same role it held in Sweetmore's May 2025 recapitalization into a single-asset continuation vehicle.
The transaction reflects continued consolidation in packaged bakery manufacturing, where private equity-backed platforms compete with established incumbents including Mondelēz International's Give & Go Prepared Foods, Platinum Equity and Butterfly Equity-owned Rise Baking Company (acquired September 2024), and family-owned concerns such as McKee Foods and Dawn Foods. Recent sector activity includes One Equity Partners' March 2025 CraftMark Bakery acquisition, Cotton Creek Capital's November 2025 Ne-Mo's Bakery acquisition, and Rise Baking's July 2026 acquisition of Jimmy's Gourmet Bakery. Shore's third food and beverage fund, which closed oversubscribed in July 2025 with more than $450 million in capital, demonstrates sustained investor appetite for platforms targeting the shifting consumer and retail demand toward convenience, nutrition, and specialty dietary profiles.
Fantasy Baking's core competency centers on contract manufacturing of cookies and nutrition bars using three distinct production methods: wire-cut (dough pushed through dies and sliced), rotary-molded (dough pressed into shaped cavities on rotating drums), and co-extruded (dough and fruit filling pushed together as filled rope and cut). The facility operates four production lines equipped with tunnel ovens and maintains SQF food safety certification required by major retail and foodservice customers. The company manufactures organic, high-protein, non-GMO, gluten-free, and kosher product variants, with R&D capabilities for formula development. Beyond cookies and bars, Fantasy produces dry blends and baked pieces for ice cream manufacturers and supplies products in multiple formats—assortment packs, gift trays, stand-up pouches, foodservice cases, and supermarket in-store bakery packages.
The acquisition directly addresses a strategic gap in Sweetmore's portfolio. Sweetmore currently manufactures biscotti, brownies, cinnamon rolls, cookies, Danish, dessert bars, Mexican pan dulce, muffins, granola, and icings and fillings, serving supermarket in-store bakeries and foodservice customers with approximately 500 employees. CEO David Veenstra noted that Fantasy adds "deeper category capabilities" and "a true West Coast manufacturing footprint," enabling Sweetmore to serve customers' varied product needs on a nationwide basis. Fantasy Baking CEO Russ Case emphasized the alignment, stating that joining Sweetmore provides "access to scale and resources that will enable Fantasy to serve a broader audience and expand its capabilities."
Market fundamentals support the strategic logic. U.S. cookie sales reached $4.4 billion in 2025 and face modest growth projections of 1.9% annually to $5.0 billion by 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence. Protein bars, however, demonstrate significantly stronger momentum, with Grand View Research valuing the U.S. market at $5.3 billion in 2025 and projecting 5.6% annual growth to $8.2 billion by 2033. The broader supermarket in-store bakery sector generated $21 billion in sales in the year through August 2025, up 2.6%, reflecting structural shifts toward frozen, thaw-and-serve, and pre-portioned products rather than in-store scratch baking. Monroe Capital provided senior credit facility financing as joint lead arranger, the same role it held in Sweetmore's May 2025 recapitalization into a single-asset continuation vehicle.
The transaction reflects continued consolidation in packaged bakery manufacturing, where private equity-backed platforms compete with established incumbents including Mondelēz International's Give & Go Prepared Foods, Platinum Equity and Butterfly Equity-owned Rise Baking Company (acquired September 2024), and family-owned concerns such as McKee Foods and Dawn Foods. Recent sector activity includes One Equity Partners' March 2025 CraftMark Bakery acquisition, Cotton Creek Capital's November 2025 Ne-Mo's Bakery acquisition, and Rise Baking's July 2026 acquisition of Jimmy's Gourmet Bakery. Shore's third food and beverage fund, which closed oversubscribed in July 2025 with more than $450 million in capital, demonstrates sustained investor appetite for platforms targeting the shifting consumer and retail demand toward convenience, nutrition, and specialty dietary profiles.
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