SUMMARY
The $5 Mn round was a mix of equity and debt financing led by Fireside Ventures and an undisclosed NBFC
The difference between legacy bakeries and The Baker’s Dozen is that it uses a centralised manufacturing unit and adopts new-age food preservation methods
It presently offers 50 stock-keeping units (SKUs) across five categories – bread, cookies, tea-time cakes, crackers and baking mixes across 43 exclusive retail stores
The Baker’s Dozen has secured $5 Mn in its Pre-Series A round. The funding was a mix of equity and debt financing led by Fireside Ventures and an undisclosed NBFC.
The startup plans to use the funds in brand building, hiring talent and increasing capacity to build maximum output.
“We already have a presence in Dubai, the raised funds will be used to expand further in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market and also, foray into Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia,” cofounder Sneh Jain told Inc42.
India’s bakery industry, which is poised to grow to $12.39 Bn in 2026, is vastly fragmented. At present, it is largely owned by convenience stores and supermarkets while offering a marginal share to artisan bakeries.
The industry, which sees the highest consumption of bread and biscuits, doesn’t have influential players leading the overall bakery market or bringing anything new to customers’ tables.
Recognising these gaps, husband-wife duo Aditi Handa and Sneh Jain founded The Baker’s Dozen in late 2012 in an attempt to modernise the traditional Indian bakery segment.
Bringing Modern Baking Techniques To Indian Market
The Baker’s Dozen is presently offering 50 stock-keeping units (SKUs) across five categories–bread, cookies, tea-time cakes, crackers, and baking mixes to the Indian natives. It follows unconventional baking methods such as the European perishability technique called modified atmosphere packaging.
In essence, modified atmosphere packaging eliminates microbial growth in food that leads to fungus. Under this method, food is packed in a vacuum-like environment thereby, reducing oxygen content to a negligible amount.
“To scale the business, we had two options. In the first place, we can follow traditional Indian bakeries and set up factories across India such as one in Bengaluru to cover the Southern region whilst another in Delhi to cover the Northern region of the country. The second alternative was setting up a centralised manufacturing unit and adopting modern perishability technique,” Sneh shared.
After adopting the modified atmosphere packaging, Sneh stated that the shelf life of the bakery’s bread has increased from one day to over seven days whilst cakes and cookies’ shelf life has gone up to three months.
The Mumbai-based new-age bakery is currently managing over 43 exclusive retail outlets across India. It has also partnered with quick commerce players such as BigBasket and Instamart and got associated with trading partners including Big Bazaar and StarBazaar.
Craving Niche In The Competitive Baking Industry
In the bread segment, big players like Britannia and Harvest Gold are renowned brands that are serving Indian consumers for years now. However, artisan bakery brand The Baker’s Dozen does not see them as direct competitors.
“Big companies serving baked bread such as Britannia and Harvest Gold are distribution-focussed companies, whose main aim is to be present everywhere, right from a local Kirana store to supermarket store. So when it comes to buying bread from Harvest Gold or Britannia, it’s almost immaterial as the customer’s decision completely depends upon availability and a certain price model,” Sneh stated.
Understanding the market scenario, The Baker’s Dozen primarily targets a certain clientele, particularly consumers above 25 years of age who are conversant with sourdoughs, croissants and other baked foods.
“We are looking to increase our distribution muscle by 50% of what big players such as Britannia and Harvest Gold’s sales teams are but at a 2x-3x quality,” Sneh added.
It is planning to expand its footprint to 50 cities in India including Tier 1 & 2 cities. Additionally, it aims to achieve a 5x growth in the next 18-24 months and clock an annual revenue rate (ARR) between INR 120 Cr and INR 180 Cr by the end of FY24.
