Basis of Presentation - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
Jan. 02, 2016 Segment
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]
General Information	General. Flowers Foods, Inc. (the “company”) is one of the largest producers and marketers of bakery products in the United States. The company consists of two business segments: direct-store-delivery (“DSD Segment”) and warehouse delivery (“Warehouse Segment”). The DSD Segment focuses on the production and marketing of bakery products throughout the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Southwest, California and select markets in Nevada, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. The Warehouse Segment produces snack cakes, breads and rolls that are shipped both fresh and frozen to national retail, foodservice, vending, and co-pack customers through their warehouse channels.
Number of business segments	2

Additional information about the entity or its reportable segments that may contribute to an understanding of the enterprise.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6374474&loc=d3e8352-108598

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