The online endeavor began with three companions with Rs 2 lakh and develops into a Rs 135 crore turnover business

Envision liberal pastry treats like tiramisu cake, banoffee pie, chocolate truffle cake in a container, or flavorful cupcakes. On the off chance that your mouth is as of now watering, you should simply arrange your number one western treat on the web, as Bakingo offers these and significantly more. Begun in 2016 by three school companions, Himanshu Chawla, Suman Patra, and Shrey Sehgal, hailing from working-class families, Bakingo is a web-based pastry shop dealing with a cloud kitchen model with a presence in 11 urban communities.

Imagine indulgent dessert delicacies like tiramisu cake, banoffee pie, chocolate truffle cake in a jar, or delicious cupcakes. Started in 2016 by three college friends, Himanshu Chawla, Suman Patra, and Shrey Sehgal, hailing from middle-class families, Bakingo is an online bakery working on a cloud kitchen model with a presence in 11 cities.

The trio’s first venture Flower Aura, an online flower, cake, and personalized gifting company started in 2010 is a success as well. The combined turnover of these two companies is Rs 135 crore today, though they started with just Rs 2 lakh in 2010. The trio took up jobs in different companies but came together to launch Flower Aura. “Flower Aura had very humble beginnings from a basement in Gurugram,” says Suman.

Himanshu and Shrey launched Flower Aura as a brand under FA Gifts Private Limited in February 2010. Shrey was pursuing his MBA at that time, but Himanshu was involved in the business full-time. “Our beginning was fascinating,” says Shrey, remembering the early days of the business when there were fewer eCommerce portals around. In the first year of their business, hardly a few weeks after their launch, they were swamped with orders on 14 February, Valentine’s Day. Their delivery person could not handle the orders and Himanshu and Shrey had to pitch in.

“That day I and Himanshu hand-delivered at least 50% of the orders across Delhi NCR,” says Shrey, who hails from a middle-class family in Panipat, a city known for textiles and carpets. The business started doing well from the beginning, and they closed the first year with a turnover of Rs 10 lakh. Flower Aura has grown manifold today with a turnover of Rs 60 crore (in 2021-22) and a workforce of 150.

As the business evolved, the trio sensed the big opportunity in cakes and felt it could be developed into a separate venture. In 2016, Bakingo was launched as a separate brand under a newly registered company, Bake Wish Pvt Ltd. But we don’t have major food brands in India like Pizza Hut or McDonald’s, says Himanshu. 

“Bakery business in India has traditionally been a more localized experience, almost like a boutique, that might serve the best product, yet fails to scale up with outlets at multiple locations.” Bakingo decided to fill the gap where customers could get the same brand of fresh cakes with the same taste from multiple locations across the country.

As Suman says, “We had done extensive R&D to give the same taste across all our 50 cloud kitchens in 11 cities.” Himanshu adds: “Bakingo was started with the idea of delivering premium quality cakes anywhere in India after receiving online orders. “Compared to local bakeries that offer about 5-10 varieties of cake at a time, Bakingo offers 500 types at any given time.

Western desserts do not need to be accustomed to the Indian taste palette, as people prefer the authentic taste,” says Shrey. “Black forest and chocolate truffle are the best-selling cakes. We have 10 types of chocolate truffle cake, with different designs.” “Nowadays, when it comes to cakes, experience is more important,” observes Suman. “Our cupcakes, Brownies, and jar cakes are very popular and make about 25% of the overall sales.

“That is why tiramisu cake, banoffee pie, and Turkish desserts are getting more popular. Bakingo achieved a turnover of Rs 75 crore in 2021-22 and has a workforce of 500 people. Bakingo launched its first retail outlet in July 2022 in Kalkaji, Delhi. As for their roles in the company, Suman looks after marketing, while Shrey and Himanshu look after operations, expansion, R&D, and aggregators.

written by: