We anticipate 2x-3x boost in sales this festive season: Aditi Handa, The Baker’s Dozen

The Indian bakery market has seen tremendous growth over the past few years, driven by rising consumer demand for convenient, high-quality baked goods. As awareness of healthy eating habits has increased, there is a growing preference for products made with natural ingredients, free from artificial additives and preservatives. This shift towards conscious consumption has led many bakery brands to prioritize transparency and high-quality standards to stand out in the competitive landscape. The festive season further amplifies this demand, with consumers looking for unique and premium bakery offerings to celebrate special occasions.

Amid this evolving industry, The Baker’s Dozen has made headlines with its first celebrity collaboration, partnering with actress Soha Ali Khan for their ‘The Truth We Knead’ campaign. The choice of Soha as the brand's ambassador aligns seamlessly with the company’s commitment to authenticity, quality, and wellness, as she is known for her balanced lifestyle and dedication to conscious eating. The campaign aims to educate consumers on the importance of choosing wholesome, high-quality ingredients in bakery products, reinforcing The Baker’s Dozen’s mission to promote transparency and real ingredients in the food industry.

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Aditi Handa, Founder and Head Chef of The Baker’s Dozen, shares insights into the brand’s journey, the creative thought process behind the campaign, and future growth plans. She also speaks about the reasons behind choosing Soha Ali Khan, the expected impact of the campaign on brand awareness, and how The Baker’s Dozen is preparing for a significant sales surge during the festive season. Handa also elaborates on the brand’s long-term strategy to maintain momentum and expand its footprint in the Indian bakery market while continuing to focus on delivering high-quality, health-conscious products to customers.

This is The Baker’s Dozen’s first celebrity partnership. Why did you choose Soha Ali Khan, and how does her persona align with the brand's values?

After a decade in the business, our brand has grown tremendously over the years, achieving success and carving out a unique space in the market. After years of building the brand and connecting with our customers, we knew the time was right to introduce a celebrity face representing everything we stand for. At the start of this year, we found ourselves at a crossroads: Who would be the first celebrity face of our campaign? What followed was an extensive search to find someone who truly aligned with our brand’s values—and we found the perfect match in Soha. Sneh and I built The Baker’s Dozen with love, passion, and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. What makes The Baker’s Dozen special is the integrity we bring to every loaf and every initiative, always staying true to who we are and the values we hold close.

When we learned more about Soha, we realized how aligned she is with these same principles. Soha embodies a genuine commitment to a balanced, healthy lifestyle and stays true to herself and her beliefs—just like us. That connection made the choice easy.

How do you see Soha Ali Khan’s influence impacting the brand’s reach and consumer awareness in the bakery sector?

Soha Ali Khan has long been recognized for her influence within the media industry and her commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Known for her dedication to fitness, wellness, and conscious eating, Soha has consistently made mindful choices regarding food. This makes her the perfect partner for The Baker’s Dozen’s The Truth We Knead campaign, which aims to educate consumers about the importance of understanding the ingredients that go into the food they eat.  At The Baker’s Dozen, we believe in crafting products using only real, high-quality ingredients without any artificial additives or preservatives. Our commitment to making ‘no-nasties’ products is central to our ethos, and Soha’s involvement authentically amplifies this message. Together with Soha, we are confident that The Truth We Knead campaign will spark meaningful conversations around transparency in the food industry and amongst our consumers, reinforcing The Baker’s Dozen’s promise to deliver wholesome, honest products to our customers.

Could you elaborate on the core message behind "The Truth We Knead" campaign and what makes it different from other bakery-related campaigns?

The core message of The Truth We Knead campaign is to empower consumers to make informed, health-conscious decisions when choosing bread or any bakery product. In an era where ingredients matter more than ever, understanding what goes into our food—like avoiding maida and palm oil—can significantly impact overall health and well-being. Unlike typical bakery campaigns that focus on promoting a specific product or launching a new range, we chose a different path by collaborating with Soha Ali Khan.

By partnering with her, we aim to amplify our message on a national scale, educating consumers across the country about the importance of choosing real ingredients for better health. Together, we hope to inspire individuals to be more mindful about their food choices, staying true to The Baker’s Dozen’s commitment to transparency, quality, and wellness.

Could you tell us about the creative process behind it and the agency that executed this campaign?
We partnered with EiPi Media for this campaign, and unsurprisingly, they did a fantastic job. The festive season has always been the most critical time for us from a sales perspective, and while conceptualizing our campaign, we were certain we wanted to go live during this period. In discussions with EiPi and our PR team, The Other Circle, we aligned on the goal of showcasing all our best-selling products. Each product’s image and video were uniquely crafted to convey the key message behind the product, while also highlighting its key ingredients and its unique benefits for the customer.

How do you plan to sustain the momentum generated by the campaign in the long run, beyond this initial phase?

This being our first product video with Soha, our campaign is strategically designed to align with the festive season, with Christmas being one of the key occasions. As a brand, this marks our first celebrity association, and moving forward, we plan to collaborate with equally talented individuals who resonate with our brand ethos.

You’re expecting a significant sales surge during the festive season. How has The Baker's Dozen prepared for this demand, and what exclusive products or kits are you offering to consumers?

The festive period holds immense significance for us at The Baker’s Dozen, as it represents a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness. We anticipate a remarkable boost in sales, expecting an increase of 2x to 3x our usual figures, driven by the heightened demand for our most popular products, especially cakes and cookies. To ensure we meet this surge in demand, we’ve meticulously planned our production and supply chain to guarantee that our customers receive fresh, high-quality products throughout the season.

In celebration of the festivities, we are also thrilled to introduce our exclusive Festive Gifting Kit Collection, with thoughtfully curated options priced between Rs. 299 and Rs. 499. These kits feature a delightful assortment of our signature cookies, muffins, and toasts, making them the perfect gift for friends, family, or colleagues. Each kit is not only unique in its offering but also comes in beautifully designed, festive packaging that’s bound to impress.

The Baker's Dozen achieved a revenue milestone of ₹70 crores last year, with plans to reach ₹100 crores. What have been the key drivers of this financial growth?

We’ve been fortunate to sustain in this industry for over a decade, becoming one of India’s largest bakery brands with a pan-India presence. The past year has been a rollercoaster for us, with significant developments across the brand. From contributing to CSR initiatives such as being plastic-neutral and offsetting carbon footprint to raising funds, we’ve made impactful strides. Our brand has consistently ranked among the best sellers on BlinkIt, Swiggy, and other leading quick-commerce and e-commerce platforms. The key drivers to this growth this has been 2 fold: our availability of breads across the metros has significantly increased and the razor-sharp focus of the team on the cake category has helped us gain market share. We’ve also invested in marketing and various channels to build and strengthen our brand awareness.

As a brand that promotes transparency and high-quality ingredients, how does The Baker's Dozen plan to differentiate itself further in the competitive Indian bakery market?

Absolutely, we aim to set ourselves apart from the competition. As a baker and a mom, I feel a strong responsibility to educate my customers about the right products and the importance of consuming the right ingredients. Many brands today don’t meet industry standards or aren’t transparent with their customers, but at TBD, we believe it’s crucial to keep our customers informed. Our "The Truth We Knead" campaign reflects this core brand value, where we’ve taken steps to educate customers about label reading, ingredients, and choosing healthier products. Our whole wheat products are made with 100% and Zero Maida, we don’t use palm oil or trans fat in any of our products, and our cakes are made with natural ingredients like bananas and carrots. One of the most significant factors is that all our breads, even the daily ones like pav, sandwich breads, etc are made with sourdough. This makes them super easy to digest, helps regulate sugar spikes, and is very yummy. Additionally, one of the ways we stand out in this crowded market is by being one of the few brands committed to giving back to the earth through initiatives like plastic neutrality and carbon offsetting.

Looking ahead, what’s next for The Baker's Dozen in terms of new product offerings or market expansions?

We are currently present in over 3,000 stores across India, including offline and online on major e-commerce and quick commerce platforms. In the coming years, we plan to expand our footprint into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, while further strengthening our brand presence in Tier 1 cities. We also aim to increase our reach in retail stores such as DMart and Reliance. For product expansion, we’re focusing on ready-to-consume items and smaller packs. Given the festive season, we have our festive gift kit that can be a perfect option for the gifting season while also emphasizing on topical products such as the Christmas range. We are committed to continuous R&D and will keep adding exciting new products to our portfolio.

Also Read: From artisanal to inclusivity – The Baker’s Dozen’s simple recipe for success