Flowers Foods Announces Transition In Manufacturing Leadership

THOMASVILLE, Ga., Jan. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO), the second-largest producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States, today announced two executive transitions in the company's manufacturing leadership, effective immediately:

• Michael A. Beaty, formerly executive vice president of supply chain, will retire in spring of 2015. Until then, he will serve as executive vice president and oversee special projects for the company. 
• Robert L. Benton, Jr., formerly senior vice president of manufacturing and operations support, has been named senior vice president and chief manufacturing officer.

"During his 47-year career with Flowers Foods, Mike has been instrumental in creating a network of bakeries that—while maintaining high standards of baking and quality—are some of the most efficient in the country," commented Allen L. Shiver, Flowers Foods' president and chief executive officer. "Now, he passes the baton to Robert, who has more than 30 years of experience in bakery manufacturing and construction."

Beaty began his career at Flowers in 1968 and worked in manufacturing at a number of bakeries before joining the manufacturing team at corporate headquarters in Thomasville. He was named senior vice president of bakery operations in 1994, senior vice president of supply chain in 2002, and executive vice president of supply chain in 2008.

As senior vice president and chief manufacturing officer, Benton oversees all production facilities and associated capital expenditures, leading the company's manufacturing and engineering teams. Benton is responsible for major capital projects, including new bakery start-ups and expansions, which are an area of focus for Flowers Foods. He also oversees regulatory/quality assurance and safety/environmental affairs.

Benton joined Flowers in 1980 and has held a number of local, regional, and corporate manufacturing roles for the company. In 2011, Benton was promoted to senior vice president of manufacturing and operations support. He has also served in leadership roles with a number of industry groups, including the American Institute of Baking, Baking Equipment Manufacturers and Allied, and the American Society of Baking, where he served as chairman from 2008-2009.

About Flowers Foods

Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of fresh packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2013 sales of $3.75 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own, Wonder, and Tastykake. Learn more atwww.flowersfoods.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to current expectations regarding future transactions by our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Executive Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel in our common stock and are often identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," "is likely to," "is expected to" or "will continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.  All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements contained in this release and that may affect the company's prospects in general include, but are not limited to, (a) competitive conditions in the baked foods industry, including promotional and price competition, (b) changes in consumer demand for our products, including changes in consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and whole grain trends, and the movement toward more inexpensive store-branded products, (c) the success of productivity improvements and new product introductions, (d) a significant reduction in business with any of our major customers including a reduction from adverse developments in any of our customer's business, (e) fluctuations in commodity pricing, (f) energy and raw material costs and availability and hedging and counterparty risk, (g) our ability to fully integrate recent acquisitions into our business, (h) our ability to achieve cash flow from capital expenditures and acquisitions and the availability of new acquisitions that build shareholder value; (i) consolidation within the baking industry and related industries; and (j) the failure of our information technology systems to perform adequately, including any interruptions, intrusions or security breaches of such systems.  The foregoing list of important factors does not include all such factors, nor necessarily present them in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other disclosures made by the company, including the risk factors included in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and disclosures made in other filings with the SEC and company press releases, for other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the company.  We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date made and are inherently uncertain. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update such statements, except as required by law.