A Breadman's Life
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- Опубликовано: 31 авг 2019
- This video is a bit of a twist that probably most people don't think about. Most people buy bread but don't think about what it takes to get it to the shelf for you to buy. Anyone wondering about it, well her is some insight! Check it out and comment below!
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I'd say pretty good video giving newbies an idea of what the Bread life is all about. I had a P.F. bread route in Boca Raton Florida from 2014-2018. Then I bought a P.F. Cookie/Snacks route and then last year I bought a second P.F. cookie route. A bread route is a good place to start out in the IDP/ DSD route business. They typically are cheaper than cookie routes but cookie routes typically make a lot more money with less effort. The hardest part of a bread route is the short dates and doing projected ordering and not having to pay for stale/out of date product. Which is very tricky, sometimes unavoidable. I remember one quarter P.F. charged me $5000 for stale. That was when I knew it was time to pay the extra money and upgrade to a cookie route. In 2023 my gross profit was $220k putting cookies on the shelf.
Thanks for the video. I often think about doing a video but it's just more work. lol
From one Bread guy to another (12 years in the business) there is so much you’re leaving out, but we both know that would be getting into the weeds. Much respect sir. Well done!
What would you add?
Don’t do it lol
I own a Bimbo route usually averages around 11K a week in sales my old man’s route he has now does about 14K, but he had a great route decades ago back even before George Weston.
But for you wondering about getting in the business definitely the smart logical thing & almost a get rich scheme would be purchase multiple routes & pay people to run them & make profit. A guy up in Pennsylvania owns 10 routes & still grosses over a million a year AFTER he pays guys to run them & a vacation also. Also remember one of Dads old friends a Pepperidge Farm bread guy used to own Mission routes also (don’t know if he still does). But say if you even 4 Bimbo routes that average $1,800 a week after their payed off then you pay a guy $800-$850 a week then you’d be making $4,000 a week and you wouldn’t even have to be working. But you would have to find consistent people who wouldn’t bail, but there’s a lot of hard working people out there who would love to make $800 a week believe me. You’d also have to have them purchase a truck trailer or box truck for each route or you buy one for them
Not saying it can't be done. Just a lot of headaches. I know a few that own multiple routes and they are selling them now.
This is hard work. My friend did this for 26 years and retired before Covid. He worked all the time and made bank. He worked holidays except Christmas and Thanksgiving but worked evey Labor day and Memorial day weekend, etc. Never saw him take vacation but retired early at 62 and is very happy now.
Former Wonder Bread/Hostess driver. From 2003-2012. Never two days off in a row. Constant increase in workload and hours. Working in the worst of weather. I don’t miss it. Much respect buddy!!!
I get it. I was a route owner/operator from 2004-2017. Don't miss it at all. I think I just like to punish myself by running Pepperidge Farm routes here and there to keep me from buying any more routes!
Excellent video very insightful! Thx so much for sharing!!
Finally got to watch this.. Very interesting and a better understanding of what you were telling me.... Great job...
Ohhh this was GREAT 👍 !! Sure is a whole lot different SEEING what you have done all these years, especially having to get up in the wee hours of the AM in the dark!! No thank you, as you know. It really is a good visual to show people just what is involved, great job, son! You definitely earned your money! 👍😃
In simple words, you trade your life for money, I've been in the beer industry for 11 years now, and every bread guy I've talked to tells me the same, it's good money and hard to give up but it consumes your life
depends on the route or company . I’m a bread guy but don’t own it just work for the company so i put in 40 hrs sometimes even less . One of my co workers is so lazy he orders light every day and sometimes just leaves racks in the store and doesn’t put it out he works 30 hr weeks . we’re union too so it’s hard for them to actually fire him .
Hopefully if I get into this my days won't get thrown off
Thank you for this video.
My pleasure!
been doing this since I was a kid.. Parents owned pepp route.. when i was old enough I bought a flowers route.. now own a bimbo route. Bimbo has changed in our area, routes are combo routes now so I only have 2 stops... a lot easier on your body.. in florida.
I agree. BBU did change things around and you can make a good living with 2-3 stops. Flowers will never learn and will continue to abuse their ID’s. I will never run another route for them.
@@southernbubba1190 most of Flowers guys in our area are a bunch of assholes as well, Bimbo for the win!
Great job. Started in 2002, still going. 2nd company. Actually at a store right now stocking bread and watching!
I worked on bread delivery for 5 years in Russia St. Petersburg, I had a Gazelle car, the route was provided to us temporarily, we did not buy the route. The bread factory paid the company $450 per day of my work, and the company paid me $250. The route back and forth was 411 miles. The car was mine, the gasoline was mine, the repairs were mine.
Sounds like that wasn’t worth it for the pay and the miles travelled.
Bubba, thanks for the great video. I ran the ORIGINAL Wonder & Hostess routes (before Flowers) in the WHOLE Kansa city area for 27 years and the last 5 with Sara Lee (Bimbo). We were Teamsters and could retire after 30 years service. WOW, the "light at the end of the tunnel" finally happened !! No more 2:30 AM alarms, no more traffic jams, no more late 18 wheelers from the bakery in Omaha and truck break-downs while on the route. I've been retired for 18 years (2022) with a great retirement and medical insurance. I know , too well, about store mgrs and backdoor receivers. Keep the stores happy, the restaurants happy and the bosses happy. It's not a fun struggle for all those years, but do the job, treat them as you would be treated and it's a good living.
I agree. No more early mornings that I have to do. I only do it when I want to. Until my new career takes off, I am going to do what I know how to do. Not that I want to do it but have to do it. Better than working at Walmart!!
My dad was a bread man for 12 years before he passed away and I started doing research on bread companies, Flowers even owns Sunbeam which was a competitor of Wonder which they own also. I remember the days of helping my dad deliver bread in his Ideal bread truck.
Since I retired I have had two hip replacements and now I need major foot surgery. In 1985 and 89 I had knee operations. In 1997 I was hit by a forklift and had a major back injury. I love being retired with a great pension but it came with a very large price tag. Just thought I would give you a little tip.
I drive a bulk route for a beverage company. Best part: no merchandising, much easier on your body, just bump the dock, unload, check in, and leave. Money is decent, not great, but decent. Clock in at 3:00 am and clock out around 1:00 pm. I don't plan on leaving any time soon!
How much are u making
@@jordanbuchanan8523 900 per week after taxes
Thanks for the information. My husband was thinking about buying a route (as temporary employment) while he's on furlough due to Covid.
Nola Friedell ...There is no such thing as a temp gig with a bread route. Could take a month or 2 to get the route and it could many months to get rid of it. Depending on the company. My advice to your husband, find something else for temp work. Good luck to you both!
Dont do it. You watched the video right? Its not easy. I have been running a bread route for almost 4 years now. I have not been on vacation for almost 3 years now.
This is all absolutely Spot On.I ran a route for Hostess Cake for 32 years, and a merchandising route for Bimbo for 3 years. Plusses:Great Money and I am collecting a decent pension .Negatives: Split Days off,Early (2 AM )start,work in all kinds of weather,non supportive management.Don't get me started on receiving clerks.I was fortunate to have pretty good ones but there was always one that could really mess up your day.Having said all this I really enjoyed the work,I had a lot of great customers .Definitely not for everybody .Thanks for the informative video!
Now that we are SBT we rarely have to deal with receivers. It really bothers the rude ones that we get to walk in now without being checked in.
Yes,unfortunately we didn't have that,It would have made me more productive.
How do you get a pension owning your own route? I don’t think that exist
@@ARCHJUSTIN I was a Teamster.
If that makes them mad then they should get on their company about going PBS. It isn't like you were the one that made it happen.
Great video. I own a completely independent route distributorship (i sell lots of different brands) and this is spot on. It's a grind all day every day and it's not for everyone but I'd never wanna do anything else! I've never done bread personally but lots of salty snacks. The dates on bread just scare me... lol. But I give you bread guys credit because it's a very difficult hustle!!
P.s. you absolutely nailed it with the ordering. I used to do little Debbie and the dates on those were 1.5-2 weeks tops. Obviously a far cry from a 5 day bread date but still makes ordering challenging!
Which 1 do you have cause i'm new to this. It sounds good tho
@@g-rashig-rashi65 better made chips and brims!
I have my own flowers route in California. I know what it’s like to be asked questions about what I do. It’s a lot of work. Never stops.
And don’t forget that no matter what store you are in or what clothes you wear…”Hey….Do you work here?” People amaze me.
sorry to be offtopic but does any of you know a way to get back into an instagram account..?
I was stupid forgot the password. I appreciate any help you can offer me
@Matias Fisher Instablaster ;)
@Issac Roberto thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm.
Seems to take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
@Issac Roberto It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thank you so much, you saved my ass!
Hey bubba, maybe bring back this series. fun to compare. i run a utz route down here in florida. nets 85, only work 3-4 days a a week. good deal.
Tyler….What would you like to see on “Continuing the series?” I was actually thinking about creating videos to help people sell their routes. Going into detail of what they make and where they are located…..Thoughts?
How much does a route like that cost?
@@joshgrothues7871 anywhere from low 100ks to 300-400ks depending on what power house stores they have/sales.
Special type of person is right its a non stop grind .....
I am guessing Nathaniel that you are currently in the DSD world by your comment. Yes it is a non stop grind and the store managers/company managers do not make it any easier. A lot of store managers think they know your job better than you. That used to grind my gears more than anything. They think they know the whole story by what the computer says but that computer only knows half.
Flowers dosen't care about you at all they want to be your friend untill it comes to the money
A friend who works in management for flowers said they call it the 3 f's, faith, family, flowers. But it's all bs, because all they care about is flowers and nothing else.
This man speaks the truth. I ran a Bimbo route with my best friend who owned it. Did it for over a year. A couple things that I would add. First, and this depends on the route, unless you want an unattainable workload you will have to have help. Not all guys have a helper but all of them have a “pull up” person. This pull up person is the ONLY way you’re gonna get a day off and the only way you’re not gonna have to go back to your big stores at the end of your day to pull up yourself. My friend paid his pull up girl 200 a week. Some will do it for less, some will want more. They are paid in cash, as was I. I got paid 50 a day. So that’s 450 a week in cash right off the bat. Now not every driver will have help everyday, maybe only 2-3 days a week. But you want a rock solid pull up person, if not you’re gonna be getting phone calls from Walmart or Kroger and you’ll have to go do it yourself. This is why you see husband/wife, father/child teams. Because the money stays in house and family is dependable.
Second, there are NO guaranteed days off. Had another driver at the depot who missed his kid being born because the guy who was gonna do the route for him backed out last minute. Now, the company will ride your route for you but I think they charged like 700 a day or something ridiculous. My friend had the route for 9 years and didn’t go on vacation one single time. All he got was a three day weekend here and there when he had a trusty helper.
Third, as mentioned in the video, anything can happen on the route that will throw your day out of wack. Things like, truck trouble, store managers giving you a hard time, handheld getting run over by a garbage truck etc.
Some store employees are fine and friendly, some look at vendors with complete hatred and disdain and try to give you a hard time.
You are correct Tyler. I worked 7 days a week for years with my Flowers route. I was too broke in the beginning to pay for a pull up guy. I never had a helper to run my route unless I threw out my back. Then I had a few people that could help for the short term, but I got my vacations. I had to get those or I would have lost it. From what some of the guys at Flowers have told me, they are charging crazy high prices to run your route if you don't have someone to do it. Something like 18% of sales or $2500/week. Your choice. Crazy!
Good vedio, I rather do this than the cement work I'm doing with lots of work and little hourly rate
Stales are the biggest issue in working a bread route
Especially if you have a Flowers route! Just sayin’
Its the easiest job in the world, all you got to do is service all 12 stops by 5 am and every body is happy
Mike….you are absolutely correct! Oh but don’t forget…shelves completely full with plenty of backstock!
I also would Recommend to anyone considering buying a route construct a solid business plan .Don't just rely on company management,they often don't have your best interest in mind.Be aware that route volume can fluctuate during different times of year,make sure you have everything in writing so that there is no misunderstanding about anything!
What pay rate make if l have one route ?
Afrizal....It depends on the route. Each route is different.
I’m thinking of purchasing a bimbo route but first they have to train you, I was thinking about working as an employee for a couple months and then making a big purchase of being a route owner. A friend of my dad did that and he’s making 2 to 3K week
He definitely told me told me it’s A big commitment but a worthwhile one. I live in Oregon so the housing market very expensive.
One of the main reasons why I want to pursue this is to purchase a house- and later get into to real estate
Flowers bread is available in Portland right now
How long is training?
Am I watching off the Ranch 😂🤣👍 jk nice
Thank you for this video! I was thinking of purchasing one of these bread routes. Maybe I'll look into Pepperidge. I hope you are well and thanks again!
pepperidge farm is the way to go !
@@luisvargas3153 yeah if you wanna spend twice as much on route vs. Flowers or Bimbo Bakeries and average about half as much in weekly sales 😂 but hey you’ll be working less hours a week so that’s a plus also I hear less promotion. But 20% commission on a Pepperidge Farm route that only does 5-6K a week vs a Bimbo route that does 18% on anywhere from 10-12K a week in sales doesn’t nowhere add up to what you’ll be making. Plus Pepperidge Farm bread guys have to go in the stores then go back out to their truck & separate their load at EACH STORE while Bimbo & Flowers separate it all at the warehouse beginning of day so you just roll your product right in as soon as you get to each store so your not really saving much time when you add it all up!
@@dylancampbell7468 dont know any routes in my area that do that little unless they have been created from multiple routes i sell 13000 on average from one route and 10.5-11k with my other one. i dont think there are many routes that do that little and if you buy a route that does 5-6k thats on you but i cant relate to that. i have owned a arnold/thomas route, snyders and by far pepperidge is the best. You are independent and do not have to answer to anyone unlike bimbo. They micro manage you to death..
@@dylancampbell7468 just this week alone i did 18.5 and my other route did 15k i am not sure what half as much in weekly sales you are talking about when the arnold person did less than me. are you tal;king from experience or just things you hear? they seem to be innacurate.
flower vendor here. I’ve been helping my brother since i was 10 y/o with his route. It’s benefited me knowing how to to this at a early age and really gets my work ethic nice and calm since i’ve always done this.
What time do u start when are u off
My dad delivered for Ideal before it was bought by Flowers and I barely even had my drivers license and now I wonder how he was so efficient.
That's awesome!
It always depends on the route. Since I do not own a route anymore, when run one for someone, I get to the depot at 5:30 am. Getting home varies on the route. normally between 11am-2pm.
One word....Experience!
I’m a commercial truck driver and probably worked every single CDL job out there. And one thing I don’t do is judge anyone’s job. Nowadays everyone thinks a job is easy because they don’t have to do it.
You are absolutely right JD! Everyone thinks it is easy but they have never actually done it….People amaze me!
Bro imma trucker for 14 years, long hours and long miles is what we had to deal with because it's 90% driving. But you made it seem like it's hard to do and manage, when u have inexperienced unproductive people trying to run a route. I'm investing in a bread route, the cookie routes are more complicated to do but also easy. I've experienced delivering the merchandise to the owner for they're own distribution. It's the best kept secret from what I've heard.
Where u looking keef I'm tryna get in too shyt 6 figures but it's 17 accounts I'm thinking about selling my soul
@@htatesil4192 Shut the truck up
Run routes for 40 years 24 bread 12 uniforms/dust control 4 years coffee and I year as account sales consultant. All for company. In 2014 retired because saralee/bimbo said buy the route or goodbye. When flowers started selling their routes I saw the writing on the wall. Have all the problems but your bring pay is about the same. When our depot was faced with that all bought In within 6 months all sold back there route and left
That is mostly true in my experience.
Flowers bread man here.
Bought my route in 2017.
It appears that Flowers has become a lot more hands off (at least in NC) in regards to allowing you to operate independently, since the class action lawsuit was brought.
Based off of how the guy I bought my route said they used to try to manage him, and how they act now.
But I think a lot of that could also be dependent on your area sales director (I’ve had 3 in my time owning the route) and how “strong” the distributors in the ASD’s area, in regards to pushing back.
In my depot the general consensus is that we will support any displays they sell in, but we aren’t going to do any selling to store management for them, unless it is something we specifically wanted anyway (buns in the summer, rolls during the holidays, etc.)
If they try to add/push to our orders without prior permission we’re not afraid to load it off and leave it.
But they know that and reach out before requesting any pushes.
I generally try to work with them on those, because I do want to maintain a healthy relationship, but then can adjust my orders accordingly.
On average I probably have 15 minutes a week of business communications (In person, phone, text) with the ASD, and other than that and small talk I am left alone.
And have never been told what I had to do, or threatened with any kind of adverse action, including times I have declined “pushes” they were looking for.
The stale cap does affect routes differently, depending on the make-up and volume of the stops in the route.
Once you get your baseline orders properly established, and then make adjustments up or down depending on sales, it is reasonably easy to meet for the vast majority of the routes in our depot and none have consistent issues.
And they went to a week code on the color ties, which helps even more.
I’ve never gone over.
And for anyone considering buying a route, the make-up of the route is extremely important, not just the gross weekly sales.
How you get those sales is going to make a huge difference in your work week, and the number of hours required to run the route each week.
The less stops you have with more volume the easier it is and less time it takes.
My route is in an outer suburb of a good sized city. From what I’ve seen that is one of the sweet spots.
You have enough population to do good overall volume in an area that isn’t spread out over huge miles.
But it isn’t super saturated with retail where the individual stops are relatively low volume because of the amount of competitors.
My route has 2 high volume grocery stores, 5 good volume restaurants, and 8 smaller retail/restaurants.
Also all of my corporate retail stops are pay by scan which saves a huge amount of time.
When I bought my route the performa 52 week average was $10,700.
I now order/load in $16-$17k on an average week.
And the amount I am paid off of is usually $12k-13k. This is the amount after price allowances, stales, transfers, etc; and the amount the performa is based on (what you see on a route listed for sale).
I average just over 22% of that amount for my “commission” based on the mix of bread I sell on my route.
Obviously, how much the route nets after all expenses and how much you need to live is a huge factor.
IMO, many of the smaller volume routes probably aren’t worth it.
Because by the time you get down to net income, you could probably make as much working a company owned DSD route for another company where you are an employee, and not have to deal with negative aspects of owning a business.
When you start getting into some of the bigger routes you can start making very good money for the type of work we are doing and having a lot of independence (vs being an employee).
Especially if your route is structured so that it requires reasonable hours to work it.
I work on average 38 hours a week. That includes time from when I arrive at the depot until I am getting in my car to go home.
I do work hard/fast and efficiently. I try to keep my orders right where they need to be so that I am not running out, but also not having to do a bunch of excessive rotating of old bread and pulling stales.
Some of the guys don’t understand the importance of getting your orders right, a few minutes in the front side can save you hours a week in the back end when you are actually in the stores working those orders.
I also have a guys who pulls my 2 grocery stores on Wednesday and Sunday. $100/week ($25 per pull per day). But worth every penny to have 2 full days off a week.
@@shannoncrawford7212 So after you pay the guys that sub for you and all your expenses you take home 12 to 13k a week?
@@emailgmail4169 hello, I'm about to buy my own route and was reading all the comments and I understand it as the route makes $12k-$13k per week then he takes home 22% of that which is $2,860.
I hope that helps.
@@greghampton71 Preciate it. Yeah if that is the case he's making some good money.
My dad has been running a flowers route for 21 years now and this is very accurate my dad pays a guy to pull up Sunday's so he has a fay off it is very demanding
I merchandise for a PF guy. They give him a storage unit and deliver the bread to his storage he doesn’t even have to be there. Someone wheels it right in. But it’s still not worth it in my opinion.
Chris I am agreeing. As the years go on it gets harder and harder to do these early hours and miss out on life!
4:45AM?
You sleep in? I’d wake up as early as 12:15, and the latest was 3AM. I just retired in April after 35 years of the grind.
Right i get up 2:15 @ the Warehouse 3-4
i used to have a route like that with arnold but now i get to the warehouse at around 4.
@@elguepo2677 damn how far do you live from your warehouse if you get up at 2 and don’t get there till 4 lol I’m usually a get straight out of bed & get dressed out the door in 10 minutes type of guy myself tho
Should I buy my own route or deliver for a big company down in Florida
I owned a mission route. Worst part HANDS DOWN is dealing with the vendors. From the people that check you in to the store managers.
More explanation please
@@htatesil4192 Route Sales for Frito-Lay here, a lot of receivers and store managers seem to have a holier-than-thou attitude and treat you like dirt because they have power over you in their stores, especially now with the supply chain issues. Got cut product and have empty holes on the shelf? That's a phone call to a higher up even though it's not your fault.
@mad dog I'm looking to purchase a mission route. Can I connect with you for some insight?
@@hermanhale15 yea man, what’s ur #?
@@maddog9406 can i email you my #? whats the best email?
Whenever I started working for a Nature’s Harvest bread company with my dads friend Ayman, I learned many different things like for example, before I load the bread into the truck, I have to make sure that the basket is full and that the bread is in good condition and once we’ve confirmed these steps, we could load them into the back of the truck and then we go to certain stores and the order that the bread must be in is specific because the older bread stays up front while the newer bread is at the back and also, after the route is finished, we can then head home
Hey Omar I need your email to asking you few questions please 🙏 if you can bro
3 and half years with Arnold Bread Route. And I agree with you that if you own the bread route, you just have no personal life.
It really depends on the company. Pepperidge and BBU aren’t bad these days.
What about mission routes
@@southernbubba1190 I bought a cookie and snack route from Pepperidge. Do you think adding the bread route on is a good thing or just focus on the cookies and snacks ? Was going to have some one work it. I just don't want to be running all over the whole walmart like bimbo bakeries.
@@tylucien9015 Do it and make profit, BUT ONLY if you completely trust the person your paying to run the route right and stick with it. Because that could mess up your original route if they abandon theirs
What is this best type of vehicle to use I’ve seen truck/ trailer,step up vans, and cabovers with boxes on them.
I personally liked the step vans. That’s what I had for my 14 years in the business. I did use a pickup and trailer for a while when I had the engine replaced in my BT. It wasn’t bad to work out of it just wasn’t best for my depot. Like the Isuzu NPR for the power of the 6.0l V8 that’s in them and the lift gates. It is really a personal choice.
@@southernbubba1190 Oh ok, Thanks.
Thanks for the correction.😊I won't be an idiot if I get into this. I guess you have to be a special kind of person. There's probably a lot of jobs where you got to get up early. It's just how it goes. If the money and schedule is good and the job is not too stressful then go for it
Great video sir. I'm about to go on a ride along on Saturday for an Alpha baking route up here in the northern Illinois area. Do you know much about this company? They run Krispy Kreme, Gonella, Rosen's and Natural Oven products. Just don't want to get hooked up with a bad company. Thanks in advance for any advice you could offer. Joe
Joe Mendoza ...Thanks for the compliment on the video! No I do not know the company you are talking about so I can’t say if they are good or bad. Talk to other route guys and ask them about it. Don’t just ask the ones that have a route with that company, ask other vendors. They talk...trust me on that! You can find out a lot through other vendors. Good luck to you and if I can help in any other way, hit me up.
@@southernbubba1190 I appreciate the advice. What would you say are some of the things a new guy starting out in this business should look out for exactly?
Look for the area at which you are looking at buying vs your product. If you are in low income area with high priced/premium product....thats a recipe for a destruction. Low income typically do not buy premium quality products. Look for the number of accounts in the area....How many are you going to have to stock in the immediate area? Will the area support that many stores? How many miles are you driving a day on the route? What are the expenses to the route you are looking at?(truck payment if your assuming that persons truck, route payment they have is a good starting point of what you are going to pay, insurance pricing). Getting a rough idea of the expenses of the route and the earnings on the route vs what you need to make to pay your bills. Will you make enough? Is there going to be anything local expansion on that route in the future? There are a ton of things you can look at to make a better decision. I hope this helps! Contact me at 1southernBubba@gmail.com if you have any other questions. Thanks!
Thanks for the information. I'll put it to good use.
It sucks😂 my father was top franchisee in canada in 2014 working 80 hrs a week even with 2 part time employees
This is very informative for me as I am looking into buy a Flower route. I would really appreciate if you can answer my questions. Do you think buying a route from company directly is a good idea the ratio is 10.1:4 with weekly sales average of $10,491( also do I have to use a broker?). I was working in office job for all my life and I am 39 now. Now I am thinking to do something at my own but I don't have enough investment and this seems to be my only option. I was hoping to work for 2 and 3 year , build this route sell it for better price and use the money for buying another route( like cookie , or beverage route) . Do you think it can work practically ?. I am probably asking for a lot but would it be possible to talk to you over the phone
( you can be an independent consultant on bread routes... just a suggestion :) .. . But anyway this video is great for people who are thinking to get into bread route.
Shah....I would love to help you with your questions. With everything you are asking, yes it would be easier to talk to you over the phone. Just email me at 1southernBubba@gmail.com and we can get together and get these answered for you. Thanks!
@@southernbubba1190 Thank you :)
To make a profit of owning a bread route you need to be on it 10 years and flowers doesn't give credit for sales only on name brand no restaurant bread etc. Your weekly average is how they figure what they would buy your route back.
I ran a bread route for thirty-three years for oroweat. It was hell. Nobody knows all the work that went into it. I started out in 1977 and I had a ghetto route in Los Angeles(all mon and pops). Working in Southcentral L.A. was very stressful. All my friends and family had no idea what I was up against all those years.
@Unscripted Good question??
@Unscripted Say that to my face!!
@@dbcooper692 your right. Buddy worked a company route in the south bronx. Hated it until he bought his own route in a different area.
I ran a route for a few years in the ghetto part of San Diego, they use to call it the 4 corners of death. I had to deliver to the four mom and pop stores and I always had someone coming up to me asking for bread or telling me they watch my truck for a buck.
It would have been great to have a clock in your truck and one on the wall in your house to find out how long it takes you to do all that stuff
takes me about 8-9 hours but each day is different
Luis is right. Each route and each day are different. Most routes are 6-10 hours per day from what I have been hearing.
Is this route In the Concord/Kannapolis NC area?
What route are you referring to Jason?
How many days a week do u deliver? How do u deal with breakdowns? Or having to take your truck in for maintenance? Do you hire & train someone to do your route if u want time off? What about if u become sick or injured?
HEY, slivercat. You normally deliver monday,tuesday,thursday,friday,saturday. You can set up your route the way you want to be honest and you deal with breakdowns/anything that is cost related. When you want to take time off you can train someone or if you know someone already then get them to run it. If you become injured then its something youll have to figure out.... Pepperidge farm is good with helping and working with you.
Most guys deliver 5 days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. You deal with breakdowns the best way you can in the moment. They are different. You do your best to keep up with scheduled maintenance but breakdowns still happen. Usually, I would try to schedule my maintenance to where I took my truck in on Tuesday afternoon after the route and pick it up Wednesday so I wouldn't have to get a rental truck if possible. Most areas will have ex-bread guys that will run your route for you when you want to take off. That is what I do for the Pepperidge Farm guys in my area.
Country route you had to pull your on bread coming from the truck now the city routes we had loaders and dock but country route no loaders ramp your bread sometimes 32 dollies
I started my route this week we will see if I can hack it 😬
how do the empty bread trays get back to the manufacturer to be reused?
We as the bread guys take them back to the depot when we go back for another bread delivery. We drop off the empty trays there and the trays get sent back on the 18 wheeler after they have unloaded the bread delivery they sent.
My big question is, do you unburden liability for products when the store receives product or when they are sold? So if you go to a store and there are expired loaves of bread or bags of cookies, who loses money? Is the producer, distributor, or point of sale taking the hit?
The bread man takes the hit as he’s the one who orders it, bread man buys from bakery and sells to store.
John is right. The companies give you a certain stale percentage a week, usually based on your numbers. If you are at the top of the % or below, the company buys it back from you and you don't make any commission on that product. If you go over then you will have to pay above and beyond your lost commissions.
And responsible for returns if you over ordered or it's slow
Great video and with a good insight of the food distribution business. I am considering purchasing a Mission route. Would you happen to know more about this company? I have been doing some research and was leaning towards Flowers Bread Route in Northern California but when I came across how the drivers were treated at Flowers Bread versus Mission Route, Mission Route has a better reputation in helping their drivers grow and expand their route. Would you happen to say this is true in most cases? Also, is the process of picking your order up at Mission Tortilla easier than with Flowers Bread meaning at the beginning at the day and towards the end of the day? From what I know Flowers Bread has the drivers pick out their order from the warehouse. Does Mission Route usually simplify this for their drivers and have the order pulled and ready? Would greatly appreciate it if you can answer these questions for me and if I can reach out to you in some way for some opinion or advise. Thank you SouthernBubba!
Sir Drew....I do not know the details involved with Mission. I know quite a few guys here on the east coast that have a route with them and they have had nothing bad to say about them. Flowers vs most other companies is mostly a true statement. My route was with Flowers for all the years I was in the bread business. I personally would never own another one because I know how that company treats their ID's. When I was looking to return to bread I was going to buy a Pepperidge Farm bread route. I could deal with them. They let you run your business.
Again, I don't know how Mission gets their product. Flowers out here has shippers....They unload the 18 wheelers and separate the bread by route and put it at your door. I am not for sure if I answered your questions completely but if you have anymore questions or would like to talk, send me an email and we will get together on the phone and talk.
1southernbubba@gmail.com
@@southernbubba1190 Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Great feedback. I will definitely get in touch with you soon.
Hey sir Drew! Have you ended up buying the mission tortilla route? If so how the process was and any insight of the company operations? Thanks in advance, planing to get a route from them to.
With Mission you have the option of getting your own warehouse or going to the depot.
I have my own storage unit where the orders are dropped twice per week.
sounds like you are trying to find the easy way out. Loading your own truck has it's advantages when it comes to bakery routes that have many varieties. When someone else puts your load together you don't know where everything is.
I’m looking at a Pepperidge farm bread route that is selling for $260k (owner said he can go down on the price).
The average weekly gross is $7,011 and the commission is 20% so it’s $1400 a week. 4 stores. I would have to pay for the loan and a truck and insurance and fuel etc. I’m guessing at least $600 a week in expenses. Leaving me with about $646 a week. Think it’s worth it ?
I personally think that $260k is way too high. That is a selling ratio of about 37:1. In my area, the PF bread routes have gone for about 25:1. I would also find out if there is other stores that might be coming to that area. It would help in making the decision. For that weekly volume and price, I would personally NOT buy that route. I think it way overpriced with little reward. Just my opinion.
NO
Absolutely no Wtf
I been thinking to buy a flowers bread route here in Texas in supposed that route make $459,000 net sales a year for 32 accounts do you think is good deal
That works out to be roughly $8900 per week in sales. That kind of volume with 32 stops isn’t very good. That is a bunch of stops for such a small volume. My old Flowers route netted about $9000-9500/wk and that was on about 14 stops. I think you are going to be working yourself to death for not a lot of cash. I would get more info before I buy. What kind of price are they asking?
@@southernbubba1190 yeah you right bro a bunch stops.Asking price $65,141 I see you route make good money for 14 stops.thankyou for the advice...
I feel for you man, im a uniform/linen route driver for a company and i gdt up at 2 or 3am to get to work and loaded to do the job. I am interested in making a switch to this type of route work though, its different for sure but i hear that some of these bread route guys can make a killing
hey charlie, yes you can make a good living doing this. I own a couple of routes one does 12-14k a week and another one does 9-10. With both routes you make 20 percent of what you sell. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
@Luis Vargas what state are you in?
Very accurate representation of a day in the life of a breadman.
Thanks!
Great video and advice. Why would you not hire a driver for $800-$1000 per week?
In my experience, most people that routes owners hire to run their routes are unreliable and tend to lower the value. They don’t own it so they don’t care. Not saying all will do that but it has happened a lot.
@@southernbubba1190 Not to mention, one bad driver/salesman can tarnish your reputation with the stores in addition to losing you money.
@@southernbubba1190 that is the biggest negative to doing that also I hear if that person your paying abandons a route and gets thrown out of the store then that grocery store could prohibit you from delivering there permanently and even mess up a route you would be running that was fine by not allowing you in the same chain store but idk if that’s for certain.
Own a route currently. Does anyone know any sites or videos that can show me exactly how to read my settlement?!
Good luck with that! Took me quite a few years to figure that out. And I still wasn’t that good at it. Flowers makes it so complicated to read.
How much is great money, would could one expect to make from a route.
Well Gator that is a good question! I know when I had my route I was grossing about $105k/yr. I know people that gross $60k/yr and I know others that gross around $200k/yr. It all depends on the area in which a route is located, the size of the route and what products the people buy on the route. You don’t want a high producing route that sells nothing but store brand bread because you don’t make hardly anything on it. And if that area is selling store brand mainly, you are more than likely in a low-income area and they are not going to buy the more expensive breads. You want the areas that have the demographics that purchase that product so you can make more money with less units sold. Hope that helps.
Any opinions on the bon Appétit routes?
I don’t know really much about these routes. I know they can be very good and not a ton of stress. But I haven’t known anyone that has owed one in like 15 years. So unfortunately I am not the guy to ask about these routes. Sorry!
@@southernbubba1190 thank you love the honesty most of these routes are not directly linked too the company many have little paperwork from what I've seen.
How about mission foods tortilla route? do you think its better than flower bread route? When buying a route, should you get a box truck vs pick up truck and trailer? Im thinking about getting ford 250 with 20' trailer for the mission foods route.
Tam Tam....I have a friend that has a Missions route and he loves it. I don't really know anything about the structuring of that companies routes but you could talk to route guy in your area if you see one of them out. They will talk to you about it.
Pickup and trailer vs box truck--really depends on the route, warehouse, and your preference. I like box trucks for Flowers Foods routes because the warehouses are more "friendly" to those trucks. Most Mission guys I have seen like trailers. I would use a truck and trailer for most other routes. Parts for pickups are way cheaper than box trucks when breakdowns occur....and they will occur at the worst time! Insurance is usually cheaper too.
Where are you located?
Hecvaz 86 -I am in North Carolina
how much does a route run for over there ! I’m in Texas Dallas area and routes are pretty expensive over here
By the way I’m really happy that now you can sit back and enjoy from all your hard work ppls like you keep a lot of us motivated like they say success and money don’t come easy
Can two people run a pepperidge farm route i looked online and it said it was strictly owner operator
You can own the route and not operate it. I know a few people that hire someone to run the route for them. Or the owner has multiple routes and only runs one.
@@southernbubba1190 cool because it said it was owner operator, and thankyou for responding to such an old video
Do you hit all your stores every day?
When I owned my Flowers bread route, yes I delivered everyday except Wednesday and Sunday. Things have changed a bit since I sold my route. A lot of guys work their stores Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Fri. But it always depends on the route. Every route has a unique selling pattern and you have to figure yours out to see what is best for your bottom line and keep your customers happy.
I'm thinking of buying a bimbo route with 7 stores. 3 stores were only hit once a week and 4 were hit twice a week. I was thinking Monday through Friday hitting them maybe 3x and no Sat and Sun. The route is only 7800 a week. What are your thoughts?
Well, it sounds like like you have a good plan to start out 3x a week rather than what the previous guy is doing. I would try it for a while and see how it goes. Working it more with fresher product tends to increase sales over time. Customers get used to the freshness and they grow accustomed to it so they continue to buy your product. Don’t forget that you will need to work back stock over the weekend to keep product on the shelves. There is no such thing as a weekend free bread man. Someone will have to refill the shelves on Sat and Sun. Those are typically the busiest days of the week in a grocery store.
@@southernbubba1190 I'm just afraid of going into debt and not liking it as much. I did a subcontracted route for a couple months. Liked it. The stores are almost an hour away. 7 stores total. 7,800 a week avg. Does it make sense? My subcontract route was 11 stores every day 7 days a week. Over 500+ miles a week.
how big of a truck would you need for 6,500 a week in PF sales?
how many racks of bread would this be?
Frank....You could run that easily out of a 7'x16' trailer. With room to grow. I have run routes out of that size trailer that do over $12,000 a week.
If I had to guess....30 trays a day. Maybe 35.
Do you think a 7 x 16 enclosed would work for 13 stores and 13 skus 10k a week?
I think it will be plenty. I was using a 7x16 for almost a year with my old Flowers route about 11 years ago while my bread truck was down. I was running $18k out of it and about 25 stops per day. It was tight for me but it worked. That size trailer is probably the most common used in route sales. But if you have a larger route than they bump up to 8x20 or 8x24.
@@southernbubba1190 thank you so much for the reply! Is this a 50 hour a week job?
Honestly, I can’t really say if it is a 50hr/week route. It depends on the route. How far you are from your depot and then how far your depot is from your route. Have far between stops. How quickly the back door gets opened for you to work a stop. Depends on your ability to run the route. Of course in the beginning you are going to be way slower than after working it a year. My suggestion is to talk to the one selling the route and see if you can ride along. So you can see the whole process, start to finish. That way you know the time frame to work the route. The distance between stops, everything. It will also give you first hand knowledge if this is something that you want to do or not. A lot of times, when people ride along with the owner that is the ultimate deciding factor if they want to buy it or not. I have said this a long time….you have to be a special kind of idiot to be a bread man! In other words, you either get it or you don’t.
@@southernbubba1190 incredible how long did 25 stops take you? 7 days a week?
@@southernbubba1190 would a 7 x 14 be manageable?
I talked to a pepper ridge farms guy that owned the route,he was in his 40s and said he made after expenses 3k a week. He said only bad thing is that you get no vacations unless you want to hire someone and that your first 3 years you don’t see money because of the payments to pay off the route.
That's not completely true. Yes, if you want a vacation you need to hire someone to fill in for you. As far as the no money for 3 years...false! Unless you really suck at the job! Your route payment is typically set on a 10 year payment. Trucks can be 5-7. You won't see a lot of money in the first year. It will take 1 good year to get familiar with the route you are on. Figuring out what sells at what time of the year. How much do you need of what product during Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is a lot to figure out but it does get easier. It is a numbers game. You will start remembering from previous events if you were light or heavy on something. Trust me....It comes with time but unfortunately the grocery store managers don't care. You will catch a lot of hell until you get it down to a science. But as you learn you will make more money and it will just happen. Thats how it happened to me.
That's bcuz they sell their routes expensive like 250k to 300k and they only net about 70k 80k and if there's big interest pepper ridge are over priced and designed too keep u there
Hey dude I’ve had route for the past 4years with Pepperridgefarm as an independent distributor but they have such bad management that we have lawsuit coming against them have you dealt with this
I have dealt with a lawsuit but it wasn’t with PF.
Any suggestions for lawyers I’m in the southwest looking for national one
I don’t know if any that might fit your needs out there but I do know a guy in AZ that was looking for one. He did talk to one or two. I can reach out to him and get the name and number if you would like. Let me know.
@@southernbubba1190 yes please do if you get chance thank you brotha
Question im thinking about of buying a route is worth it?
Well it all depends on you if it is worth it. What exactly are you looking at with purchasing a route? In other words, why are you thinking about buying a route?
@@southernbubba1190 i been in retail for 20 yrs it always cross my mind to buy a route now I have the money to make purchase but ofcourse store is different from vendor. I'm just thinking is money worth it. Thank you for replying God bless you I know how it is being a vendor im a grocery manager for korger for 15 yrs I have great relations with my vendor they take of me and I do the same for them.
Well….if you want more freedom as in, delivering to your stores on your schedule(within receiving times of course), not having a boss to answer too everyday, then this might be for you. Granted, everything falls on you when it comes to the route so don’t forget about that. If you would like to talk about this more, drop me an email.
@@southernbubba1190 i appreciate you big time. I'm actually meeting with the seller and talk about numbers. Just want let you I appreciate all my vendors when I see to work for kroger. God bless
Do you need a DOT card to drive that truck?
I’m considering buying some Flowers routes with drivers already hired and in place. What is your opinion of routes as an investment? Have you ever tried hiring or training a driver? What would your concerns be?
Chad Trail I have considered it in the past and would never do it now! There isn’t as much profit after all expenses as you would hope. There is a ton of headaches owning multiple routes especially with Flowers. I had routes with them for almost 14 years. I wouldn’t take a route from them if they gave it to me know. They will find a way to lie, cheat, and most of all, steal from you. The independent distributor with them always pays the price and always has a target on their back. I would suggest to find another investment but do what you think is best for you!
He is not wrong they will try to scam you but it is a good time to be in business
how does this compare to pep farm cookie route?? in your opinion
John....The cookie routes do well but they are so expensive! Way more expensive than the bread routes. You won’t work no where as hard physically but they can be much bigger routes. I would buy a cookie route if I was willing to pay that kind of money for one! I actually looked at buying one abut 10 years ago.
@@southernbubba1190 im currently in the process of buying one in ny/nj for 50-1 insane money but i guess its better for my future, everyone says bread routes are just not worth it, would you say you recommend buying a pf cookie route if you had the money?
If I had the money to buy one of the cookie routes, I would do that. They are just to expensive for my blood. PF bread routes can be very good. I know some guys that own one and they make a very good living.
Why is it not worth it to hire someone to load and deliver? And or pay someone to do pull ups?
How can I get a job as a bread route owner?
Well….You need to find out what company you would like to buy a route with. You will need to apply to that company. If you are accepted, then they will run credit checks on you since you will be finance a large sum of money. You will also need to have a hefty down payment. Varies with each company. Then it is kind of a waiting game until all the paperwork is signed and you take ownership. That is a rough summary of course.
been a bread man for 5 years. i swear to god i have no life. im literally killing myslef. i havent had a day off in over 120 days
Absolutely....I know that feeling all too well! Worked 7 days a week for years. You definitely become a slave to the grind! What company are you working with?
An idea that will help take a nap when you get home then go work your backstock in the stores the night before your day off so you won’t have to worry about going in on your day off. Idk how busy your stores are tho like certain Walmarts may want you in there twice a day, but if you fill the bread behind you should be okay. Plus the stores are less busy before they close so it saves you time, my Kroger & Walmart I deliver too let me in after their closed to work my backstock but I hit Food Lions before they close when I do that method. But it definitely helps
Did you pay to get the business started?
What exactly do you mean?
could I email you some questions about the business?
Sure. Look forward to it.
@@southernbubba1190 great I just emailed you!
I’m seeing one for $110k with a cash flow of $79,056 with 13 accounts in my area, also with the truck included. Is it a good deal?
Gucci…I need more information to say if it is a deal or not. What’s is the routes net sales per week? Or gross per week and average stale pickup? Also, that cash flow of $79,056, is that gross or net?
@@southernbubba1190 the gross weekly sales averages $10,766 and profits an average of 17.9% ($99,996 yearly or $1,923 per week). but the owner expenses was about $20,940
how much these cost
Each route is unique. So each route is priced differently. Watch the Q & A video I did about the bread routes and I go more in depth there.
Bread man
Has no life
Im looking at a mission route.. asking $180k, nets 140k year, truck not included.. how low can I offer.. I was thinking 160k.. what do you think? Thanks
Mike....What is the gross sales per week? What is the total expenses for a week? (Truck insurance, fuel costs, operating expense that you pay to the company), what is your commission for the product overall? These are things you need to know to make a decision on purchasing a route. Also need to factor in what a truck payment is going to cost you on a weekly basis. I am not sure what the going rate on the selling ratio for Missions routes. Having a lot of this information I can give you a better idea of what you are asking. Let me know and I will help. Thanks Mike!
@@southernbubba1190 thanks for the reply.. weekly sales $15,000, commission 17.5%.. weekly gas I think would be cheaper because the route and depot is close by my house.. he states the insurance and maintenance a week is $50.. and I were to buy my own truck, I would say $400 to $500 a month.. thanks again southern bubba.. appreciate it... I watch your videos and learn a lot from it..
Okay. I am a idoit
Is the correct takeaway; your life is a nightmare and no one should consider investment in a bread route because it's not worth the sacrifices it requires? Try working in hospitality for a while. I used to work the same kind of hours and got home some nights around the time you get up for what broke down to like a $16 per hour job because salary is modernized slavery. Your distributor sucks, unless the operational procedures are corporate dysfunctions. #FindYourWhy
How much do you earn?
Building Roots I don’t with bread routes anymore. When I made this video, I was helping a guy out that had to have surgery. When I had my Flowers bread route, I made 6 figures for quite a few years.
@@southernbubba1190 six figures gross
Yea but you make like 5-6k profit a month
Not really. I know plenty of bread guys that don’t make that much. It all depends on the route and how in tune you are to the business. Out of your profit you have to pay your state and federal income taxes, fuel, repairs on your delivery vehicle. There is so much more involved than what most people understand.
@@southernbubba1190 I understand and I've been doing it for 6 years don't lie bruh, you get at bare minimum of 3500 a month in straight up profit if not more and 90% of the time it's more
Work as a bread man Sara Lee mest up my ankle had to work next day no help mest up ankle early morning work
hey was looking at getting in on the business with a snyders/cape cod distribution
im located in Boston,Massachusetts and see a route offer 40 mins away
for a price of 125,000. route make 670k a year/12.9k weekly netting me about 1,950 week at 15% commission.
expense estimate is about 12k a year/230 week and the contract currently serves 3 accounts. in your experienced opinion is this ideal buy?
thanks
I did some figures…at 12.9k in sales a week you will gross $1935/week not net. Minus out the $230 for expenses--$1705. Does the expenses include fuel, insurance, and any fees the Snyders charges? Out of the $1705 you will need to figure your taxes. On the safe side just plan on 20% for federal, state, and self employment taxes--$341. That leaves you with $1364/wk. Not a bad take home pay! And only 3 accounts. As for the purchase price of $125k….that is a ratio of 9.58:1. That is a very low ratio. If it were me and all the numbers checked out, I would probably jump on it. Just my opinion.
Sorry…had a mistake in there…..it is a 9.68:1 ratio not 9.58:1. Also, find a good CPA that has experience in route taxes. They will help to keep that tax bill down to a minimum. Talk to other route guys on who they use once you purchase the route.
expenses does include fuel, insurance, computer, helper, vehicle repairs as listed. not sure of any other company fees. Also is lower accounts always a good thing because i see other routes with 10+ accounts with similar work hours of 30 to 40 hours a week as the one im interested in
Any account is a good thing if you work it right. Granted a stop that does less than like $5 in your pocket isn’t worth it. I had quite a few of those over the years. You have to see what their gross sales are a week and what you would make on it the. You determine if it is worth your time to service.
I was looking at a route Pepperidge farm for 170k making 7k weekly..is it worth it?!
Building Roots $170k for $7k weekly sales....that seems like a lot to me! If you do a 20:1 ratio that is $140k. And 20:1 is pretty average for Pepperidge bread route. I wouldn’t pay that high. But it also depends on where the route is located. Is it in a city with middle class and up earners? Those people are the biggest purchasers of that quality of product. Is it in the country? Is the one selling it not “working” the stores properly....if he isn’t then there is room for improvement. You really need to know the area and demographics of where the route is located. Talk to other Pepperidge bread guys in the area and ask them about that route. Trust me....bread guys know other routes and they will tell you. Try that and let me know what you wind up doing. Would love to know! And I would like to know where is the route located?
Im a special kind of idiot so I applied for Bimbo only cause im desperate for money.
Kevin....I get it! I was too. Just make the best of it and try your best to work WITH the management of your stores. It will make everything much better. Go luck!
@@southernbubba1190 I only heard about it cause I have a friend in the business and my friends are encouraging me to do it.
@@nsme6942 Just remember, it is going to turn your life in a different direction. Just be prepared for it because it will happen. You have to do what you need to and I understand that. That’s why I got into it. I had too. Like I said, make the best of it. Use it to get you where you need to go and then get out! Just my opinion.
@@southernbubba1190 ok great! Thank you for the advice. Hopefully I will get it. Enjoyed your video also!
On the positive side, it's better than hoofing around hand trucks of coke, water and cases of tomatos.
That is completely true! It could be worse.
Its a scam a lie a crazy involvment
What is a scam, lie, and crazy involvement?
Do you think a woman could do this job ??
Yes I do. But it has to be a special kind of woman. Most women do not make in the bread business but a few do. I know 2 that did it for years and 1 is still there after 20 something years. Just remember that is a very psychically demanding so be prepared!
The audio is ridiculous in this video
Really!... You are the only one that has complained about it.
Hey bud u still around
Yep…I am still around!
I'm thinking about selling my soul to flowers bread 8 accounts sales 638,796 nets 96,135
@@southernbubba1190 u think that's a deal
8 accounts and netting over $96k….that’s not bad at all! If you want to “sell your soul”
@@southernbubba1190 I'm thinking about it