Learn More About Bud's
The Process
Since 1995, Bud's Best has manufactured for a national baking company and won their "Co-packer of the Year Award" in 1998 for manufacturing excellence. In 2022, Bud’s Best won “Ingredient Supplier of the Year’ from a large confection company.
On our sandwiching line, we can produce eight thousand sandwich cookies per minute! We have three other lines that make wire-cut and rotary cookies, and we can make around 3,500 per minute on each of the three lines. The total capacity (output) is well over 1 million cookies per hour. We also have a small sugar wafer line.
Over the years our facility has grown to over 120,000 square feet.
The Start of Bud's Best
Prior to starting Bud's Best in 1991, Bud Cason owned and ran Greg's Cookies in Birmingham. He purchased the business in 1970. In 1983, he purchased Bishop Baking Company (a snack cake company) in Cleveland, TN. He sold the two companies in 1986. Bud had to sign a 5-year non-compete agreement after the sale.
Bud's Best Cookies began construction of the 89,000 sq. ft. building in 1991. Bud started a new concept with bite size cookies. He didn’t just make one variety, but an entire line of bite size cookies.
Recognition & Awards
Bud Cason was Small Business Man of the Year for Shelby County in 1998. Bud's Best Cookies was voted by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of the best small businesses in Birmingham for 1998 and 1999. At a special luncheon in May of 2002, Bud's Best Cookies was presented Business of the Year Award by the Leadership Alumni Association of Shelby County. Bud Cason was inducted into the Baking Hall of Fame in 2017.
Bud Cason has been in the cookie business for over 65 years. In April of 2012, at a special meeting of employees and management, Bud announced that he was promoting his son, Al, to company President. Bud remains CEO and Chairman of the Board.
Safe Quality Foods
Safe Quality Foods (SQF) is a food safety program that meets the requirements of Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The Program was formed to boost the confidence of consumers toward food manufacturers and provides independent certification that a supplier's food safety and quality management system complies with international and domestic food safety regulations. This enables suppliers to assure their customers that food has been produced, processed, prepared and handled according to the highest possible standards. Our plant is certified to SQF 2000 Level 3 which means that we not only meet the Food Safety requirements, but also the Food Quality requirements.
Bud's in the News
