Café Valley Increases Starting Wage To $15 Per Hour

PHOENIX — Leading ready-to-eat bakery brand Café Valley® today announced it is making a significant investment in employee wages. The company is increasing starting pay to $15/hour and investing $7.2 million to raise the pay scale at its U.S. production plants. This commitment is part of the company’s broader strategy to minimize turnover while enhancing loyalty among employees to enable firmwide recruitment and retention.

“At Café Valley, we firmly believe in maximizing opportunity for our workforce,” said Brian Owens, chief executive officer of Café Valley. “Like many companies, we continue to face a challenging hiring environment as a result of the pandemic. We’re committed to our team members and will continue to provide competitive pay and advanced training programs to enrich the employee experience.”

As part of this investment, Café Valley is rolling out its fast-track career pathing program. The goal of the fast-track program is to cultivate ownership and opportunity from day one. The program allows entry level staff to follow a promotional path from production team member to supervisor in training – in some instances – within the course of a year. Throughout the year, staff members have the opportunity to earn several pay increases, which can increase hourly rates from $15/hour to as much as $20/hour.

“We’ve established new onboarding programs with intention and are dedicated to providing a culture of support and achievement,” said Donna Lane, vice president of human resources at Café Valley. “By linking the new pay increase with dynamic talent programming, we intend to create valuable, accessible career paths for current and prospective employees.”

Interested candidates should visit the Café Valley careers page on its website to apply for a position. Applicants take part in a formal screening before receiving an invitation to interview for a position. Upon receiving an offer, team members can benefit from competitive compensation packages, referral bonuses and vaccination incentives.

The wage increases for new and existing employees became effective on June 6, 2021. Café Valley also offers a $1,500 employee referral bonus and a loyalty increase every year for the first five years. The company is looking to hire 400 new team members between its Phoenix, Arizona, and Marion, Indiana, production facilities. For more information on careers, visit: www.cafevalley.com/careers.

About Café Valley Bakery 

Since 1987, Café Valley Bakery has been producing high-quality bakery products for in-store bakeries, club stores, food service and convenience stores throughout the world. Their products include croissants, muffins, Bundt cakes, ring cakes, loaf cakes, turnovers and café bites. With facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, and Marion, Indiana, Café Valley products are available to mass retailers throughout the United States. The company is committed to an extensive food safety program and has donated significant time, money and gifts to communities across the United States. Visit www.cafevalley.com to learn more.