The smell of freshly baked loaves of bread wafts through as you open the doors to the store. Classic buttercream cakes, puffs, and biscuits on display have you salivating. You can’t help but smile and pick up a piece of nostalgia. Read all about the iconic Chennai landmark, Adyar Bakery!
The name ‘Adyar Bakery’ conjures up fond memories for generations of people in Chennai. It is practically a household name for countless families. Ramesh is a part of the fifth generation to take over the family business. He and his brother, Mukund, are joint Directors of the bakery chain today. He talks about the history behind the bakery. “It is an offshoot of McRennett Foods, which my great-great-grandfather established in 1903. The shop was christened by a British gentleman, hence the name. There was a branch in Adyar, and that property was purchased by my grandfather, P. Govinda Pillai, which was then passed down to my father, G. Ranganathan, post-Partition in the 1950s. He named it Adyar Bakery and officially opened it in 1952.”
The first branch‘s team consisted of Ramesh’s father, a few of his cousins whom he roped in, and some staff members to manage the store. They wanted to cater to the public’s daily needs, and started with loaves of bread. Eventually, they expanded their catalogue to biscuits, cakes, puffs, and more. Originally modestly set up as a small shop, it has grown to 11 branches across Chennai today. From the 1990s until the 2010s, it was steady growth, but owing to some snags in progress, they had to scale back. They didn’t let it stop them; however, they are back and ready to expand again.
Talking about the first branch, Ramesh explains that his father and his team were retailers in the early days, selling products from McRennett, until he started his own manufacturing. “He used to read a lot about cooking; it was a great passion of his to experiment with new recipes. He was a self-taught, self-made man,” he says proudly. “In those days, there was no formal training or communication with chefs, and the internet didn’t even exist. Everything was trial and error, and he was highly involved in the production process, on top of managing everything else.”
When asked about preserving the nostalgia of such a landmark, Ramesh smiles, “We use the same signature recipes even today, because that is one of our biggest strengths. People come back to us time and again, talking about the consistent taste and quality that we have sustained over the years. It gives us a sense of satisfaction that our original recipes are still such crowd pleasers. The recipes for our original products are standardised, but we develop recipes for new items regularly. Since we have a centralised kitchen, it is easier to monitor the quality and maintain the authenticity of the recipes that my father formulated decades ago.”
The baked goods are distributed to all the outlets twice a day to keep up with demand. Customers come from far and near to the bakery to get a taste of their childhoods, but like with any business, there are challenges.
The iconic Adyar Bakery storefront for Christmas
Talking about growth and obstacles, Ramesh explains, “We aim to cater to a wide variety of consumers, and we believe that will help us expand, provided we stay relevant and deliver the best quality goods. We want to focus on the younger generation and encourage more people to try Adyar Bakery. It’s not easy, though, with the number of new eateries cropping up all the time. The spirit of entrepreneurship is high in Tamil Nadu, and Chennai, especially, is a hub of experimentation in the food space. It is difficult for any business to hold the public’s attention for very long. There is no fixed template for success and retention, but we realised over time that consistency is key to building a loyal customer base.”
Repeat customers, Ramesh clarifies, are the backbone of Adyar Bakery. He talks about how there are a myriad of bakeries operating on different price points. An expensive bakery will not have to compromise on its profit margins, just on differentiating itself from the rest, but for a smaller venture like this, it’s different. He describes their bakery as a ‘high-volume, low-margin business’, which essentially means that they have to keep in mind the price point for price-sensitive customers that make up the majority of their sales. If the price moves out of their value proposition, he says, there is a very real possibility that they shift to another brand. That’s one of the biggest challenges they face, but they stand out due to some key factors.
Rich plum cake
Ramesh mentions that it wasn’t an easy path to carve their place as one of Chennai’s most beloved eateries. He says, “We take pride that 90% of our products are manufactured 365 days a year. We also formulate our recipes with suitable ingredients to ensure that regular consumption of our products doesn’t adversely affect our consumers. We have, from the beginning, worked as a customer-centric business; we always take into consideration their feedback and suggestions. That’s how we started making our products as pocket-friendly as possible for more people to enjoy them.”
Ramesh’s wife, Shakila, chimes in on the topic of staying relevant, “We try to balance our old staples and favourites like the Madeira cakes, breads, and cookies, as well as cater to the younger generations. We have new snacks now, apart from our signature puffs, like tarts or pull-apart buns. We’re always developing new desserts and snacks!”
She fondly recalls a customer interaction that cemented her belief in what they do. “A few months ago, I met a woman at an event, and we ended up travelling together. We chatted about our lives and what we did, and when I mentioned that my family was involved in Adyar Bakery, her eyes lit up!” She laughs. “She told me how, as kids, her mother used to bribe her and her brother with our pastries if they did well on their exams. She’s married now, living in Chennai, while her family is in Hyderabad. Every time she visits them, she takes all their old favourites like our buttercream cakes. It was an amazing feeling to hear how much of a connection people have to our little bakery. We’re fortunate enough to have the same bond over the decades, whether it’s with our customers or our staff.”
The bakery’s Madeira cakes still follow their signature decades-old recipe
Ramesh describes how imperative their staff is to their business. Adyar Bakery owes so much to its team, he says. “We are so happy and proud that most of our staff members have been with us for 20-30 years. I joined over 30 years ago, and people who were with me then are still with us today. All of them are kind, dedicated, and sincere. It’s our happy family, albeit small. We have just about 100 people now across all the branches and the kitchen. They are our biggest driving force,” he smiles.
Ramesh talks about how his parents’ and grandparents’ ethics and philosophies have trickled down through the generations. “We continue to do what we were taught back then. Our motto is ‘Keep it simple; do it right.’ We are truly blessed to have gotten an opportunity to be a part of this. It might seem just like any other business, but it really is a cornerstone of Chennai. When it comes to food, it is personal. When a customer eats one of our products at the store and smiles instantly, it’s worth a million bucks! No one can fake that kind of reaction. That’s how we know we’re doing something good,” he concludes.
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