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What does it take to create a successful artisanal bakery in India?

By Meghna Mathew
25 April, 2023

While India’s love for its down-the-road, around-the-corner bakeries is undeniable, baked goods by newer artisanal bakeries are gradually gaining favour among locals

Consumer loyalty seems particularly unmatched in most parts of India, particularly  when it comes to local bakeries (the slew of Iyengar bakeries dotting south India, for instance)—a culture that is truly thriving. Recently, however, there has been a noticeable addition of a different kind of bakery—the artisanal bakery. By definition, these are bakeries that produce handcrafted baked goods in small batches, largely using natural ingredients, without the addition of chemicals or preservatives. India’s fast-changing landscape of the kind of food it consumes has led these homegrown bakeries to introduce novel flavours and techniques—a far cry from our everyday white bread and sweet buns. 

So how do artisanal bakeries sustain themselves?

SAPA is dedicated to the artisan craft of sourdough breads and fine pastries. Image: SAPA

The typical bakery enthusiast may well source sandwich bread from their local baker, but might want to visit an artisanal bakery later for an indulgent delight. Image: SAPA

Prying open the market 

The Indian bakery market is projected to be valued at $21.2 billion in 2028 from its current $11.3 billion, and artisanal bakeries form a rather small portion of this chunk. In fact, the global artisanal bakery market is only projected to reach $6.8 billion by 2027. Even yet, their presence, recently in south India, is not only prominent but also widely loved. 

 Shriya and Varun Shetty set up BuCo (Buttercream Co.) in Mangaluru in 2017 and were faced with the inescapable comparison to local legacy bakery—the Iyengar Bakery—and customer education was paramount. Shriya says, “[A bakery like] Iyengar is a completely different marketspace compared to us. When you’re doing something so different that a market is not used to, with a similar product in the same sector, you need to educate the customer rather than developing a ‘you either buy it or you don’t’ attitude.” 

 SAPA Bakery in Mysuru was founded by Dina Weber, who had a rather straightforward idea in mind. “My vision was to have a place where I would come myself—a nice ambience, and where everything is made with fresh ingredients. I would envision going there on a Saturday with a book and looking forward to having a pastry, or taking some bread home.” Weber acknowledges that while Mysuru’s long standing bakeries are personal to the locals, SAPA has positioned itself as an artisanal bakery, organically. “It was always second nature to talk about the product, where it came from, whether it is my mum’s recipe or am I making something that I grew up with and now I’m sharing it.”

“We actually steer away from what the local bakeries do as they are great in their own right and do some amazing baked goods. We try to be unique with our products and most importantly, be consistent”
Ralph Prazeres

Padaria Prazeres in Goa is a Portuguese-influenced artisanal patisserie. Image: Padaria Prazeres

Complement, not compete

When such bakeries start out—and even more so when they establish themselves—it is not so much about competing with the locals but to offer them an expansion of tastes. The typical bakery enthusiast may well source sandwich bread from their local baker, but might want to visit an artisanal bakery later for an indulgent delight.

 Padaria Prazeres in Goa is a Portuguese-influenced artisanal patisserie. Founder and chef Ralph Prazeres says, “We actually steer away from what the local bakeries do as they are great in their own right and do some amazing baked goods. We try to be unique with all our products and most importantly, be consistent.” For example, their pastéis de nata—or Portuguese egg custard tarts—that fly off their shelves are a novel offering that are not available at local bakeries. 

 An effective approach at BuCo capitalises the nostalgic factor of desserts. “People seek comfort in their desserts. If we have five new products, three of those will be driven by nostalgia, and two will be chef-driven, or whatever we want to play with.” This also poses the challenge on breads like sourdough, where the crust is unnervingly tough for some customers. Experimental flavours like matcha also often coerce people to go back to their tried-and-tested favourites, but Shriya opines that maintaining a balance of the new and the comfortable works (and makes work fun!).

A curious local population and some scrumptious, trustworthy baked goods are clearly a match made in heaven. Image: Padaria Prazeres

Social media and brand communications are often a reflection of the bakery, and have to be factored into customers’ trust. Image: SAPA

A sense of trust and community

Trust builds when one’s expectations are delivered through good, clean food—and is a key component of building communities. This often comes from three valuable aspects including quality food, locally-sourced ingredients and, undoubtedly, social media.

 For SAPA, the guarantee of quality food that is true to themselves, nudges people to appreciate artisanal bakeries. “We try not to compromise on the natural part of it and also keep it true to our style and philosophy of simplicity along with good ingredients—the flavour and texture then, will be good.”

Locally-grown ingredients are important to BuCo too—they are the baseline of what they do there. “We don’t use any imported ingredients. About 90-95 per cent of our produce is seasonal and local. In today’s day and age, you need to be a sustainable brand.” Shriya emphasises that checking some boxes off these, if not all, creates impact.

Social media and brand communications are often a reflection of the bakery, and have to be factored into customers’ trust. For instance, Padaria Prazeres is fun and colourful, and so is their social media. Ralph says, “Our social media posts are easygoing, a bit messy and indulgent, just as I like our food to not be rigid.”

A curious local population and some scrumptious, trustworthy baked goods are clearly a match made in heaven. While artisanal bakeries do have a growing market in metropolises across India, their unprecedented taking to smaller towns and cities is a slightly surprising, yet welcome sight.

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