MEET SARA LEE FROZEN BAKERY

Sara Lee Frozen Bakery is a leading manufacturer and distributor of premium frozen baked goods, serving retail, foodservice, and in-store bakery markets across North America. Operating in a highly dynamic commodity environment, the company depends on accurate market intelligence and timely procurement decisions to help manage risk and support business performance.

For the procurement and commodity risk management team, having fast access to reliable information is critical, especially in markets where conditions can shift quickly and margins for error are narrow.

THE CHALLENGE

Commodity markets move fast, and procurement decisions often need to be made with incomplete or fragmented information. For Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, managing exposure and evaluating purchasing opportunities requires continuous visibility into changing market conditions.

Jason McDonald, Director of Procurement & Commodity Risk Management at Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, explained that the challenge was not simply finding data; it was having confidence that the information was complete, timely, and actionable.

“Commodity markets move fast, and the margin for error in procurement decisions is narrow,” said McDonald. “Having a platform that gives me real-time market intelligence in one place means I am not piecing together information from multiple sources and hoping I have the full picture.”

The team needed a centralized solution that could streamline analysis, improve visibility into risk exposure, and support faster, more confident decision-making across daily operations.

‍ENTER BARCHART

Sara Lee Frozen Bakery turned to Barchart’s cmdtyView platform to support its procurement and commodity risk management operations.

Today, cmdtyView is embedded directly into the team’s day-to-day workflow, helping consolidate market intelligence, monitor trends, evaluate exposure, and support procurement decisions from a single platform. According to McDonald, the platform’s consistent presence in his daily routine speaks volumes about its value to the organization.

“cmdtyView is not a tool I visit occasionally,” McDonald said. “It is open every single day as part of how I manage commodity risk, and that consistency alone says everything about how embedded it has become in our operation.”

That day-to-day visibility has translated directly into greater confidence across the procurement process. Whether evaluating purchasing opportunities or presenting recommendations internally, the Sara Lee Frozen Bakery team relies on cmdtyView as a foundational decision-making resource.

“That visibility directly translates to confidence, and in this role, confidence in your data means confidence in your decisions,” McDonald said. “Whether I am evaluating exposure, timing a purchase, or presenting a recommendation internally, cmdtyView is the foundation I am working from.

The continued innovation within the cmdtyView ecosystem has further strengthened the platform’s long-term value. Tools like CARL, Barchart’s integrated AI assistant, help users accelerate research, surface insights faster, and navigate market analysis more efficiently in fast-moving conditions.

“What separates it from other tools I have used is that it keeps getting better,” McDonald said. “CARL is a good example of that. It accelerates how quickly I can surface insights and navigate analysis, which matters when markets are moving and time is a factor.”

As cmdtyView has become more deeply integrated into daily operations, the platform has evolved beyond a traditional software solution.

“When a platform becomes this integrated into how you operate every day, it starts to feel more like a strategic partner than a software subscription,” McDonald said. “That is not something I say about many tools.”

‍RESULTS

cmdtyView has helped Sara Lee Frozen Bakery create a more centralized and efficient approach to commodity risk management by bringing market intelligence, analysis, and decision support into a single daily workflow. With the platform integrated into day-to-day operations, the team has strengthened its ability to navigate commodity markets with greater speed, visibility, and confidence.

Key results include:

• Stronger visibility into fast-moving commodity markets
• Faster access to actionable market intelligence
• More efficient procurement and risk management workflows
• Greater confidence in evaluating exposure and timing purchasing decisions
• Accelerated analysis and insight discovery through CARL

Combined with continued innovation through tools like CARL, cmdtyView has evolved into a trusted operational resource that supports critical procurement and risk management decisions every day.

To learn more about Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, visit saraleefrozenbakery.com.