Collin Street Bakery pivots to digital sales amid holiday crunch
Collin Street Bakery, a 130-year-old company based in Corsicana, Texas, has built an international empire out of fruitcake, a holiday staple. The bakery, which Thomas McNutt, Executive Vice President, calls the “intergalactic fruitcake headquarters of planet Earth,” ships to over 100 countries and all 50 states. Celebrating its 130th Christmas in 2026, the bakery bakes roughly a million pounds of fruitcake every fall.
The company’s success is not just due to its vintage tins and family recipes, but also its ability to adapt to the digital age. McNutt recently discussed the challenges of intense seasonality, omnichannel growth, and modernizing a heritage brand.
Legacy and Growth
Collin Street Bakery’s legacy began with an immigrant European baker who teamed up with a local investor and started baking. The company’s famous mail-order model was sparked by the Ringling Brothers Circus, which took the cakes on the road and began writing letters back to Corsicana requesting more.
In 1946, McNutt’s ancestors acquired the business and turned the mail-order system into a global operation. Today, the company brings in roughly 80% of its annual revenue in the last 90 days of the calendar year.
Read Also: TofuGo offers savory protein snack option
The company has a year-round team of 150 employees. During peak season, the workforce expands by 200 to 300 seasonal workers. The call center also jumps from 3 customer service representatives to roughly 70 during this time.
Innovation and Expansion
To battle seasonality, Collin Street Bakery has introduced clean-label innovation, such as the Pecan Bar, an energy bar made with pecans, fruit, and honey. The company has also launched a summer-friendly peach pecan cake and expanded its corporate gifting bundles.
The company has expanded across four primary sales channels, including third-party marketplaces via Amazon Prime and brick-and-mortar cafes across Texas. However, operating across these channels created margin and operational friction, leading the leadership team to adopt disciplined simplification.
In 2026, the bakery slashed 71 underperforming SKUs, resulting in continued revenue growth with far less operational complexity. By balancing century-old baking traditions with modern snack innovation and digital agility, Collin Street Bakery is showing mid-market brands how to survive generational shifts without losing their soul.
