Who Makes McDonald's Signature McGriddle Cakes?

For those mornings where you don't want to try the recipe hack to make your own McGriddle, there's nothing quite like running to your local McDonald's to grab one. But where does the chain get the buns for its tasty breakfast sandwiches from? It seems that several commercial bakeries craft the buns and send them out to Mickey D's worldwide. Official sources specifically credit Aspire Bakeries with making its griddle cakes, as well as its hamburger buns, and other breadstuffs. C.H. Guenther & Son also supplies McGriddles, buns, biscuits, cookies, and other wheaten products to the chain's European outlets.

C.H. Guenther & Son began baking buns for McDonalds in 2005, after buying three other bakeries in Europe which also bake bread for the franchise. Its business with the company expanded even more in 2019, when it acquired Mid South Baking Company, another supplier of the Golden Arches. The global sprawl of its baking concerns has resulted in them running factories all over Europe, Canada, and America which supply baked goods to a variety of locales. And when it comes to Aspire Bakeries' reach, you might be surprised to learn what other kinds of baked goods it produces.

If you're at all familiar with Otis Spunkmeyer's line of individual, pre-wrapped muffins and cookies, then you've tried Aspire Bakeries' work. Otis Spunkmeyer is the brand that's behind Burger King's chocolate chip cookies. Once an independently-run bakery, the Spunkmeyer brand was acquired by Aspire in 2006, when it was operating under the name Aryzta North America. The company was subsequently sold to private equity, which rebranded the bakery to Aspire in 2021. 

The company also sells bread through the label La Brea Bakery to various grocery stores, including Whole Foods. It also runs Oakrun Farm Bakery, which specializes in crumpets and English muffins, and operates La Francaise Bakery, which sells breakfast pastries like croissants and danishes. And it has Pennant, too, which distributes puff pastry dough to commercial kitchens.

Aspire is just one piece of the puzzle that makes McDonald's breakfast menu so great. While it might not make its baked goods on-site, thanks to those McGriddles, it's still a very tasty place to head for breakfast.