Our Story

As a boy, George Weston starts apprenticing with a Toronto baker, learning all that he can. In 1882, he buys a bread delivery route from his boss and sets out on his own. Soon, the young entrepreneur buys the whole bakery. From baking in the pre-dawn hours to delivering fresh bread by horse and wagon, he does it all, driven by a passion for quality that continues at Weston Foods to this day.

George hires two bakers to help, and opens a new, mechanized Model Bakery in Toronto, which starts with an initial output of 20,000 loaves a week — more bread than any other bakery in Canada. George is at the forefront of baking innovation, and Canadians love his bread. His secret? Premium ingredients: Manitoba No. 1 hard wheat and Ontario fall wheat.

George’s oldest son, Garfield, who spent much time in the bakery as a child and teen, joins the company in 1919. He launches Weston’s English Quality Biscuits in 1922, bringing new technology back to Canada from the U.K. that he saw when on leave as a soldier in WW1. Two years later, when his father George Weston dies, Garfield becomes president, beginning a long, exciting period of investment and innovation.

With the Depression grinding on, Garfield manages to do something astonishing for the time: He establishes a minimum wage for company employees and does his best to hold onto his workforce. He says, “Without the proper (employees) and their loyalty, this organization cannot succeed.” It’s a spirit of investing in our people that continues today.

After WWII, the company continues to expand its core businesses. Among its U.S. acquisitions is the Southern Biscuit Company in Richmond, Va., which has 500 employees and sales representation in 42 states. With that purchase, Weston Foods also began producing Girl Scout Cookies® for the American market. In 1967, Interbake Foods is established by merging the company’s U.S.-based bakery purchases. Interbake Foods continues to grow and expand its portfolio over the years to include cookies, crackers and specialty items for retail and other customers.

_{® The GIRL SCOUT COOKIES name and mark is owned by Girl Scouts of the USA, used under license.}

Garfield Weston steps down and his son, W. Galen Weston, is appointed chairman and managing director. Soon, he is also made company president and, with an entrepreneurial spirit, continues the Weston Foods legacy of growth and innovation.

The company ventures into the U.S. bread and roll industry for the first time with the purchase of a large bakery business, Stroehmann Brothers of Williamsport, PA. Weston Foods reaches its 100th year anniversary in 1982 with thousands of employees across Canada and the U.S. The company has certainly come a long way from when George Weston delivered bread door-to-door in a horse-drawn wagon.

Throughout the 20^th century, Weston Foods expands into new bakery segments. By the early 1980s, it’s in the business of breads and buns, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, cones and wafers, and donuts. By 2000, Weston Foods has expanded its fresh and frozen bakery offerings in the U.S., including the introduction of a delicious selection of pies.

The Interbake Foods division acquires Norse Dairy Systems, which provides quality baked ingredients, packaging and filling systems for use in the manufacture of ice cream and frozen novelties. Ice cream lovers throughout North America rejoice!

Returning to our artisanal roots, Weston Foods acquires Toronto artisan bakery, ACE Bakery. Who doesn’t love a fresh baguette? A few years later, with the launch of our first ACE Bakery in Gaffney, S.C., Weston Foods makes it official: families on both sides of the border can enjoy the very best in artisanal baked goodness.

We have come a long way since 1876, but George Weston’s customer-first spirit of integrity and innovation is deeply a part of us. Today, our reach and potential are extensive. With more than 6,000 valued colleagues in approximately 40 locations across North America, we are driven to constantly improve our products and invest in our Weston Foods people. We serve with the ultimate purpose of Elevating Everyday Moments for our consumers, customers and valued members of our team.