Client Spotlight: Toufayan Bakeries

Pita bread and flatbread lovers have Harry Toufayan, the founder of Toufayan Bakeries, to thank for bringing these Middle Eastern favorites into mainstream popularity in the U.S. Harry knew he had a great product when he and his Armenian family emigrated from Egypt in 1926, and he worked tirelessly to tell the world about the delicious bread their family baked in a commercial kitchen below their two-bedroom apartment near the New York and New Jersey border. The story goes that Harry persuaded a local delicatessen to offer his pitas for sale to go along with the sliced meats that the store was selling to customers who were buying them for sandwiches they’d make at home. The rest is sandwich history, steeped in a lifetime of hard work by the entire family and led by Harry. Today Toufayan Bakeries is the largest specialty family-owned bakery in the country. The devotion continues with the company being run by the third generation of the family which includes Harry’s children Karen, who handles sales and marketing; Greg, who oversees the factories and day-to-day operations; and Kristine, who manages the company’s business affairs.

For being a trendsetter and an innovator in commercialization in baking and marketing, Harry Toufayan was recently inducted into the Baking Hall of Fame by the American Society of Baking at BakingTech 2021, a virtual conference held in February. Harry is still a big part of the company, imparting his wisdom and sharing his success by donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to deserving charitable organizations.

Central Florida is home to two of Toufayan’s three bakeries, in Orlando and Plant City, with the third in New Jersey. Chances are you have a Toufayan product in your pantry right now! They offer more than 100 varieties of baked goods, including pitas, naan bread, bagels, flatbreads, and a wide variety of organic and gluten-free products. They supply grocery stores and other retailers in all 50 states under their brand name and they put their expertise, 600 + employees, and impressive baking facilities to work to provide yummy, delicious baked goods for many private label brands too.

ShuffieldLowman's estate planning, corporate law, tax law and litigation teams are honored to work with Toufayan over the last twelve years.