How an Englishman inspired an Iyengar to bake bread: Bangalore Bakery's Srinivas explains 117-year legacy

Success Quotient is a weekly feature that appears every Friday on Firstpost, which looks at the pains and joys en route to success for a head honcho - whether a CEO, MD or an entrepreneur. The column looks at the ideas that helped launch a company, its highs and lows. The first and only Iyengar Bangalore Bakery (B.B) was started by H S Thirumalachar in 1898 in Bangalore. It continues to operate till date. Its success has spawned numerous similar named bakeries in some cities in India today.  The Bangalore Bakery is run by its fourth generation entrepreneur, H T Srinivas. The turnover is not much to write home about. But, to have pioneered an idea which has become a brand that is a money spinner for many is worth chronicling. Talking with Firstpost, Srinivas reveals the struggles to remain in business, the numerous spin-off the brand name has generated and how he manages his sole bakery in Bangalore . Excerpts from the interview: Tell us when and how the first Bangalore Bakery was founded. Why was it named BB? My great-grandfather, H S Thirumalachar started B.B. Bakery more than a century ago. That was way back in 1898. He first opened a sweet shop on Chikpet Main Road, Bangalore, with his brother. When I was a child, my grandmother  used to tell us that an Englishman from the iconic West End Hotel was a regular at my great grandfather’s shop. He taught my grandfather how to bake bread during the 1890s and that’s how our family got into the baking business. Since my great-grandfather and his brother started it, the name of the new venture was B.B. Bakery – Bangalore Brothers Bakery. During my father’s time, the name was changed to Bangalore Brahmins Bakery. We are Vaishnava Iyengars from Hulikal, one of the ashtagrama villages in Hassan district of Karnataka and hence the word Brahmin in the name. [caption id=“attachment_2402034” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  (Left to right) HT Srinivas, owner, Bangalore Bakery; the first BB Bakery; the current bakery;[/caption] What were the specialties offered then? What are the popular items now? Our bakery is popular for its tiny buns. We have changed the shape a bit but not compromised on its size or taste. Up until the time my father was in charge, the buns at our bakery would be two inches in diameter. Now they are an inch bigger. But they weigh the same, i.e. 45 gms. Old-timers still visit the bakery for the buns. Another specialty is palya bun or the stuffed bun. The stuffing is made with potatoes or vegetables on alternate days. The khara cookies and dil pasand are two items on our hit list. People travel from far off places for them. Were you keen on joining the bakery? I have never been interested in doing anything else for a living. My father was my idol. I remember looking forward to classes getting over so that I could run to the bakery. When I first began working here, I was just a 15 year-old, fresh out of school. I have heard stories of how father would run the show single-handed: Bring the raw materials on a cart that he pulled on the streets and then get down to baking himself.  I have always dreamt of working here. After my father passed away in March 2002, I have been running the bakery on my own. Can you bake like your father? Yes. Else, how can I criticize my staff when they don’t do it right?  I also bake when I am in the mood for it. If you ask me, I would like to bake everything at the bakery myself. That would be very gratifying. But my wife doesn’t let me do it. I love the buns we make and also the plum cakes. These are my all-time favourites. My daily routine is to have bun and wash it down with tea. It is lovely! How many items are sold here daily? On an average we make 30-35 items every day. Some items are made on alternate days, some twice a week, etc. Our range of products is vast like different kinds of bun, bread, a variety of cakes, rusks, rolls, cookies, biscuits, chocolate and lemon sticks. Our Christmas specials are rum-soaked plum cakes and sponge cakes. We started making cakes with eggs in the 60s when we realized that it made cakes soft and spongy in texture. Our rum-soaked plum cakes contain very little rum as the dry fruits are soaked in rum for a fortnight and then drained before it is added to the batter. There is no rum as such in the cake. There are so many Bangalore Bakeries now.  We do not have any  branches.  After my great- grandfather started the first bakery, a lot of other people from the community migrated from the ashtagrama villages and followed his path. For instance, the Surya Bakery opposite Kapali theatre, the now-closed MB Bakery in Malleswaram, besides the many Iyengar bakeries that opened in Jaya Nagar, Rajaji Nagar and other places across Bangalore city. Lately, I registered our trademark because I found there were too many fake B.B.’s coming up everywhere. I operate from a rented place and will have to relocate soon. I am caught up in these issues. Targeting the bakeries that run on our brand name and taking legal action to ascertain our originality is a task for which I  have no time and energy. How profitable is the business? With the maddening rise in prices of raw materials, it is not very profitable. Whatever we earn is ploughed back into the business so that it can sustain itself for the next day  to buy raw materials, pay  wages for labourers, etc. However, we do make a profit, but it is wafer-thin. In the 70s, the profit margins were healthier. How do you think the government’s stated policy of Make in India will benefit you and the industry? To do that, the government must help people like us to spread our wings, open branches and make this a sustainable business. There was a time during my growing-up years and even a few years ago when people considered bakeries as meeting places. School students, collegians, working professionals and housewives stood outside our store, munching on our specialties and had conversations. The prices were and still are very affordable at our bakery. A bun, which is the lowest priced item, costs just Rs 5. The highest priced are the cookies and biscuits at Rs 250 a kilogram. But that ‘cosy picture’ of meeting up and talking outside an Indian bakery has vanished. The bakeries were located at residential areas earlier. However, these have now turned into commercial zones. That has taken off a large chunk of the customers. The youth today prefer to frequent foreign-based franchisees. If Make in India can help people like us branch out, I think our children will start eating freshly baked hygienic food which is far healthier than what you get at these foreign franchisees. You mention that your work is a dream that you have nurtured for long. Do you get time to indulge in hobbies? I don’t feel the need for any. My day begins at 5 am. I open the bakery before 7.30 am and close shop by 9 pm. There is not much that I do besides work. Once I reach home, I spend some time with my family and watch some comedy shows on television.