DF Stauffer Biscuit Co Inc

## Introduction / Overview: A West Coast Manufacturing Powerhouse for Iconic Snacks

While many "bakeries" in California cater directly to local consumers with fresh pastries and custom cakes, DF Stauffer Biscuit Co Inc in Santa Ana, CA, represents a very different, yet equally vital, part of the region's food industry. This is a massive, high-capacity industrial bakery and manufacturing plant, not a retail storefront. It serves as the primary West Coast production facility for the classic American brand, Stauffer's, a name synonymous with quality, value-priced cookies, crackers, and, most famously, Animal Crackers.

Founded in 1871, the Stauffer's brand has a deep history rooted in Pennsylvania, but its presence in Santa Ana solidifies its nationwide reach. This facility, sometimes referred to as Stauffer Laguna Cookie Co., is a critical component of the manufacturing network, particularly after the company consolidated its operations to higher-production facilities, focusing its manufacturing power in places like this West Coast plant. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the major international confectionery and pharmaceutical company, Meiji America Inc., marrying American baking tradition with international efficiency and scale.

The Santa Ana operation is a substantial facility, encompassing a vast area dedicated to ingredient storage, mixing, high-volume baking using multiple oven lines, and final packaging and distribution. Its primary function is to efficiently produce and distribute millions of pounds of beloved cookies and crackers to supermarkets, warehouse clubs, and other retail outlets across the Western United States. For California users, this plant is the local source for some of the most enduring snack staples found on grocery shelves.

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## Location and Accessibility

The DF Stauffer Biscuit Co Inc facility is strategically located in an industrial sector of Santa Ana, Orange County, a location ideal for its manufacturing and large-scale distribution operations. As a major logistics hub, the primary flow of traffic is commercial, involving semi-trucks for loading and unloading shipments of ingredients and finished products.

The address is 4041 W Garry Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92704, USA. This location is optimized for freeway access and industrial logistics rather than pedestrian or retail convenience.

For commercial visitors, such as truck drivers and business partners, accessibility features are clearly in place to handle industrial traffic, though a review notes potential logistical challenges:

• The facility accommodates large vehicles, with systems for easy backing and fast loading for transport operations.
• There is provision for a Wheelchair accessible entrance, which, in an industrial context, generally refers to compliance for administrative areas and official visitors.
• A Wheelchair accessible parking lot is also provided, ensuring compliance and access for employees and business visitors with mobility considerations.

Logistical note: Given the industrial nature, commercial traffic is the priority. Drivers often report procedures for staging, parking, and documentation being streamlined, such as walking to the receiving office and receiving a door assignment promptly. However, due to the volume and size of vehicles, some industrial traffic flow challenges, like limited space for staging or turning, may be experienced.

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## Services Offered

DF Stauffer Biscuit Co Inc's Santa Ana plant primarily offers manufacturing, packaging, and distribution services for its parent company and potential contract clients, rather than consumer retail services. Its services are B2B (Business-to-Business) focused, serving the vast consumer market through wholesale and retail distribution channels.

• Large-Scale Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing: The core service is the high-capacity, automated production of the entire Stauffer's brand product line, ensuring national availability of popular snacks.

• Production of Signature Stauffer's Products: The Santa Ana facility is a key center for baking a wide array of products, including:

  • The iconic Original Animal Crackers (available in various flavors like graham, chocolate, and cinnamon).
  • A variety of cookies, such as sandwich cookies, sugar wafers, ginger snaps, lemon snaps, and iced cookies.
  • Specialty crackers like Whales baked cheese crackers, Cheddarfetti snacks, and oyster crackers.
  • Seasonal favorites, such as the holiday shortbread and iced gingerbread cookies.

• Contract Baking and Co-Packing: The Santa Ana plant is specifically noted for being a primary location for contract baking—producing products for other companies under agreement—leveraging its extensive oven lines and massive production capacity.

• Western Distribution and Warehousing: The facility includes a large high-pile storage warehouse and distribution center (over 60,000 square feet). This service is essential for efficiently supplying major retailers and distribution centers throughout the Western U.S.

• Quality Control and Logistics: The operation includes dedicated spaces for quality control (QC) and manufacturing offices, ensuring that all products meet the stringent quality standards of a major food manufacturer before distribution.

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## Features / Highlights

The significance of the DF Stauffer Biscuit Co Inc plant in Santa Ana is marked by several key industrial and historical features.

• West Coast Production Hub: This facility represents Stauffer's first major manufacturing investment on the West Coast, ensuring that iconic products are baked and distributed with superior freshness and efficiency to the California and Western U.S. markets.

• Producer of American Classics: The facility is a central baker of Stauffer's Original Animal Crackers, a product made from a recipe that has been in use for well over a century (since 1871), making this plant a part of America's snacking heritage.

• High-Volume Industrial Scale: The building itself is a massive 202,000 square-foot food processing facility. This huge capacity, utilizing advanced equipment and multiple oven lines, allows the company to produce hundreds of tons of cookies and crackers daily, ensuring nationwide supply.

• Part of a Global Leader: As a subsidiary of Meiji America Inc., a division of the Japanese pharmaceutical and confectionery giant, the Santa Ana operation benefits from global best practices in manufacturing, quality, and supply chain management.

• Commitment to Supply Chain Efficiency: The logistical operations are structured for rapid, high-volume throughput. Reviews from commercial drivers highlight the facility’s efforts toward fast loading and organized procedures for receiving and dispatching goods, essential for maintaining the continuous flow of products to retail shelves.

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## Contact Information

For commercial inquiries, logistics coordination, or general corporate information regarding the Santa Ana manufacturing and distribution center, please use the following contact details. Note that this is not a customer retail location.

• Address: 4041 W Garry Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92704, USA

• Phone: (714) 546-6855

• Mobile Phone: +1 714-546-6855

• Corporate Website: STAUFFERS.COM (to learn more about the products and brand)

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## What is Worth Choosing: Supplying the West's Snack Needs

For the California consumer, choosing DF Stauffer Biscuit Co Inc is about recognizing the local contribution to a national favorite. The existence of this massive manufacturing plant in Santa Ana ensures a fast, efficient supply chain for the familiar Stauffer's products we see in California stores, meaning the snacks we enjoy are as fresh as possible upon arrival.

For business owners and logistics partners, choosing to work with this facility is a choice for stability and scale. The Santa Ana plant is one of the company’s key, higher-production centers, confirming its role as a stable and long-term partner for distribution and contract baking operations on the West Coast.

Ultimately, the value of the Santa Ana operation lies in its powerful manufacturing capability. It is a critical industrial pillar, efficiently producing large volumes of both historic and modern snacks—from Animal Crackers to Whales—using modern technology and vast logistical space. Its location and operational scale make it an indispensable resource, driving the availability and quality of a wide variety of beloved, value-priced cookies and crackers for the entire California region and beyond.