NAICS 311821

Overview

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the federal standard for classifying business establishments to support the collection, analysis, and publication of U.S. economic statistics. Developed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget with Canada and Mexico, NAICS replaced SIC in 1997. The current NAICS vintage is 2022, and Census programs transition on a defined schedule. ¹

NAICS 311821 covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing cookies, crackers, and related products such as ice-cream cones. Cross-references distinguish this manufacturing activity from retail bakeries, snack bars, specialty food retailing, and pretzel manufacturing (except soft). Federal agencies use this industry definition to align statistics and, when appropriate, to inform procurement categorization. ²

What this NAICS covers

• Manufacturing of cookies for distribution to wholesale, retail, or institutional channels. ²
• Manufacturing of crackers, including saltines and similar baked crackers. ²
• Production of related baked goods such as ice-cream cones and similar wafer products. ²
• Industrial baking, shaping, drying, and packaging of shelf-stable cookie and cracker products. ²
• Operations organized around cookie/cracker production lines rather than retail service. ²
• Establishments classified by production processes, not sales method or brand ownership. ²

Related NAICS and PSC codes

Type	Code	Descriptor
NAICS	311812	Commercial Bakeries
NAICS	311919	Other Snack Food Manufacturing
NAICS	311824	Dry Pasta, Dough, and Flour Mixes Manufacturing from Purchased Flour
PSC	8920	Bakery and Cereal Products

Scope and cross‑industry boundaries

• Retail bakeries making products on premises for later consumption are classified under NAICS 311811; on-premises immediate consumption is classified under NAICS 722213. ²
• Specialty food stores retailing baked goods made elsewhere fall under NAICS 445291, not manufacturing. ²
• Pretzels (except soft) are classified in NAICS 311919; soft pretzels are classified in NAICS 311812. ²
• Flour mixes, dough mixes, and dry pasta manufacturing are outside 311821 and classified in NAICS 311824. ²

Small business size standard (SBA)

For NAICS 311821, SBA’s small business size standard is 1,250 employees (effective March 17, 2023). ³

Frequently asked questions

• What activities define NAICS 311821?
  Establishments are primarily engaged in manufacturing cookies, crackers, and related products such as ice-cream cones. This is a production-oriented classification; retail bakery operations or snack bars are excluded and classified elsewhere (e.g., NAICS 311811, 722213). ²

• How does 311821 differ from 311919 (Other Snack Food Manufacturing)?
  NAICS 311821 covers cookies/crackers; NAICS 311919 covers snacks such as potato chips, corn chips, pork rinds, popped popcorn, and pretzels (except soft). Soft pretzels are treated as bakery products in NAICS 311812. ²

• What PSC code typically aligns with cookies and crackers in federal procurements?
  The Product Service Code most directly associated with bakery goods is PSC 8920 “Bakery and Cereal Products,” which encompasses flour- and cereal-based bakery items used in subsistence supply. ⁴

• What is the SBA small business size threshold for NAICS 311821?
  SBA sets the size standard for NAICS 311821 at 1,250 employees. The current table of size standards took effect March 17, 2023, and applies across manufacturing industries with employee-based thresholds. ³

Useful resources

• G2X — NAICS 311821
• U.S. Census Bureau — NAICS 311821 definition and cross-references (2022). ²
• SBA — Table of Small Business Size Standards (effective March 17, 2023). ³
• GSA Acquisition.gov — Product and Service Code (PSC) Manual (Group 89: Subsistence, including PSC 8920). ⁴

References

1. U.S. Census Bureau — The Census Bureau’s Implementation of the 2022 NAICS. https://www.census.gov/library/reference/code-lists/naics/2022/implementation-timeline.html
2. U.S. Census Bureau — NAICS 311821 (2022) definition and cross-references. https://www.census.gov/naics/?input=311821&year=2022
3. U.S. Small Business Administration — Table of Small Business Size Standards (effective March 17, 2023). https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/Table%20of%20Size%20Standards_Effective%20March%2017%2C%202023%20%282%29.pdf
4. GSA Acquisition.gov — PSC Manual, April 2025 (Group 89: Subsistence; PSC 8920 Bakery and Cereal Products). https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/manual/PSC%20Manual%20April%202025.pdf