How Atome Bakery’s Freezer Upgrade Transformed Their Business

Atome Bakery Inc. is a Vancouver-based business specializing in clean-label, ready-to-bake sourdough bread and pastries. Their products are delivered frozen to customers across Canada, helping families in both rural and suburban communities enjoy bakery-quality bread made without additives or preservatives. 

As demand grew rapidly, Atome Bakery soon found themselves outgrowing their freezer space. The limited frozen storage created bottlenecks in production, packing, and fulfillment making it difficult to keep up with customer orders. 

With support from the Food Safety Program, Atome Bakery was able to invest in a major freezer upgrade at their new facility. This expansion more than doubled their frozen storage capacity, immediately transforming their operations. "Thanks to the support of [the program], we were able to significantly upgrade our frozen storage capacity at Atome Bakery's new facility. This investment has had an immediate and transformative impact on our operations and growth trajectory," co-founder, Alice Couderc explains. 

Reflecting on the project's broader impact, Couderc adds that the investment has encouraged the team to plan ahead. "One key lesson has been the importance of anticipating infrastructure needs alongside demand forecasting," she explains. "This freezer upgrade not only resolved immediate limitations, it also unlocked strategic opportunities for scale, including the ability to support wholesale growth and expand into new markets." 

That forward-thinking mindset has already paid off. "Since launching our subscription service in July 2023, we've delivered over 20,000 boxes to homes across Western Canada, with expansion into Eastern Canada this Fall," explains Couderc. "We've also introduced new product lines, like vegan viennoiseries and fresh pasta, that continue to push forward our mission of making real, clean-label bread and pastries accessible to more households." 

Looking ahead, Couderc notes that the upgrade has positioned the bakery for strategic growth. Atome Bakery can now scale operations, expand wholesale partnerships and reach more households across North America with healthier bread options. "We are deeply grateful to IAF and its partners for helping us invest in infrastructure that supports our long-term mission: making healthier, bakery-quality bread accessible to more homes across North America." 

Funding for the Food Safety Program is provided by provided by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.