Grupo Bimbo - History

History

Grupo Bimbo was established in Mexico in 1945 by Lorenzo Servitje, Jose T. Mata, Jaime Sendra, and Jaime Jorba. Today it is the most important baking company in brand and trademark positioning, sales, and production volume around the world. The company became the world's largest bread manufacturing company in 2011 reporting $10.7 billion in sales, a steep increase from the $4.67 billion in sales in 2004. In Mexico and Latin America, the company is the market share leader, selling over 10,000 products under more than 103 household brands including: Bimbo, Marinela, Nutrella, Sara Lee, Fargo, Lactal, Bimbo España, Silueta, Ortíz, Martínez and Eagle.

Grupo Bimbo products are sold in 19 countries worldwide including: Mexico, Brasil, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, United States, China, Spain and Portugal on 4 continents: North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. It operates 153 plants (43 in Mexico and 110 abroad), 2 trading agencies and 8 joint ventures.

Grupo Bimbo has the most extensive distribution network in Mexico and one of the largest in the American Continent, with over 51,000 routes. It includes more than 2.1 millions of sales points located in 19 countries.

Since 1980, Grupo Bimbo has been traded in the Mexican Stock Exchange. It comprises six organizations and a corporate department that operates companies in the baking industry and in general, in the food industry. The company also makes the majority of the machinery used in its factories through its industrial development branch, as well as a large part of the plastic packaging they use on their products.

The brand is highly trusted for quality and taste. It has one of the most extensive distribution networks in Latin America, often making its products available even in the most remote places. Grupo Bimbo participates in multiple social work projects related to environmental protection, education, nutrition and community improvement.

In 1964, Grupo Bimbo introduced sliced bread in Spain. In 1978, the Mexican group sold all its shares and the Spanish firm operates independently The Portuguese and Spanish Bimbo were acquired by Sara Lee in 2001 Many still refer to the bread as "pan bimbo". In 2011 Group Bimbo acquired Bimbo Spain and Portugal from Sara Lee and renamed it Bimbo Iberia.

The corporate image, a small white teddy bear, was inspired by a Christmas card sent by the grandson of the company's founder to his grandmother during the early 1950s. The teddy bear in the picture was thought to be ideal as Bimbo's corporate image, and was, literally, stripped of its clothes and given a white apron and a chef's hat. To represent Grupo Bimbo, which also encompasses non-food related companies, a new more traditional and mainstream logo was developed. However, the white teddy bear remains the image the general public most relates to Bimbo as a brand.

Along with ConAgra, Flowers Foods, and Little Debbie-baker McKee Foods, Grupo Bimbo has expressed an interest in acquiring brands (namely, Twinkies) from the Hostess Company (it is considered the leading prospective buyer). Hostess has applied for final liquidation and bankruptcy following a baker's union strike. Such a move would help to extend the longevity of such noted brands.