When Mumbai’s Theobroma finally began opening stores in Delhi in 2017, the sighs of relief from travellers between the two cities was palpable as they’d no longer be forced to carry boxes of the bakery’s famous goodies to the Capital, which, so far, had been bereft of their Millionaire Brownies. It is this cult following that has propelled the chain to open 52 outlets in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Noida and Gurugram, and is probably the reason that its founders’ new book (Baking a Dream: The Theobroma Story, Harper Collins, Rs 202 on Kindle) has been topping Amazon bestseller charts in multiple categories, from ‘Entrepreneurship’ to ‘Most Gifted.’ We interviewed Tina Messman Wykes and Kainaz Messman Harchandrai, sisters, entrepreneurs, baking wizards, and now best-selling authors, about how the cookie crumbles. Excerpts:
From the time the first Theobroma opened in Mumbai to its expansion to Delhi-NCR, there was quite a gap. What led you to finally take the plunge?
For many years we concentrated on Mumbai only. There was much demand for our products, and our large and populous city provided endless opportunities for growth. Over the years, we began couriering our products all over India. Delhi was, by far, our biggest market. It became the natural place for us to open first as we expanded out of our home city, and we were overwhelmed by the response we got. We launched without any publicity or PR and we had long queues of guests wanting to try our products.
Is the Delhi-NCR market different in any way to the Mumbai region?
Our menu is essentially the same across all cities. The taste preferences of our guests in Delhi NCR are more traditional, though this is changing fast. In Delhi NCR, our guests are not fond of our ‘sweet and sour’ (Gujarati – Parsi influenced) products, and we have slightly adapted some recipes to their (spicier) preference. The volumes differ though. Our Pineapple Cake is far more popular in Delhi NCR than in Mumbai-Pune. Chocolate products are universally popular across the country.
What led you to writing the book now, since we imagine people must have been clamouring for something like it for quite a while?
When we were asked to write our story and share our experience, it was new and different and interesting. We enjoyed the process of collating our thoughts, remembering the good times and acknowledging the many people who have contributed so significantly to our company and have been a part of our beautiful journey.
Is the book more for Theobroma fans or would it be useful for someone starting a food-based business?
Our book is an easy read, it is not intended to be teaching about business. We hope that everyone will find our story inspiring, honest and enjoyable. We hope it is read by people who know our brand and by others that previously did not. It is a good read for students of hospitality or anyone contemplating setting out on their own entrepreneurial journey.