Heineken NV, the biggest Dutch brewer, and baker Flowers Foods Inc. tapped the U.S. bond market for the first time as sales soared to a record $430 billion in the first three months of 2012.

Heineken sold $750 million of 10-year notes, boosted from earlier plans to sell $500 million, which yield 127 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Thomasville, Georgia-based Flowers Foods raised $400 million of 10-year bonds that pay a spread of 225 basis points, Bloomberg data show.

Offerings by companies from the neediest to the most creditworthy surpassed the previous record of $397 billion reached in the first quarter of 2011 as companies tap the debt market at the lowest-ever borrowing costs, Bloomberg data show. Yields on investment-grade bonds fell to 3.4 percent on March 2, the lowest dating back to 1986, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index.