1980: Vidyasagar Vij, who ran a distribution agency for food products, decided to manufacture custard powder, corn flour and baking powder under the Bakers brand
2012: Bakers Spices and Ingredients, run by Vidyasagar’s sons Yogesh, Naresh and Mukesh Vij, manufactures 83 products and has a daily output of 25 tonnes
The vanilla-scented air draws us to Bakers Spices and Ingredients in Edayarpalayam — custard powder is ready to be packed off to distributors. Elsewhere, tiny bottles travel on a conveyor belt to be filled with a pineapple flavouring agent. From custard powder, milk shakes and ice-cream mixes to kasuri methi, noodles masala and gobhi Manchurian, Bakers Foods makes them all in three factories. Corn flakes are made at the factory in Kottaipalayam. A staff of 54 handles the mechanised operations and the office.
“When we started, we offered custard powder and corn flour in one-kg packs. Till then, the market only had 25-kg industrial packs and home packs. We tapped the mid-segment of bakeries and hotels,” recalls Yogesh Vij, 48, the eldest of the three, who has been with the company since its inception.
Naresh Vij joined the group in his 20s and Mukesh Vij was a part of it from his school days. “One thing we all remember is how particular our father was about quality. We never went by competitors’ standards; we focussed on global benchmarks,” says Naresh, who is 46.
Soon, the family decided to expand the range with new products, variants and flavouring agents. To tap the huge market for spice mixes, they launched garam masala, based on their mother’s recipe. Mukesh, 39, came up with chaat masala (among their top-sellers at 50,000 packs a month) and other mixes. The masalas were a huge hit among their test group — samples are given to well-wishers who try the product. Says Yogesh: “If they don’t approve, it goes back to R and D.”
Mukesh, says they thrive on feedback, even if it is negative. “Many customers call with compliments. Others complain. We respect both. On receiving complaints, we invariably make a home visit to ascertain the problem. With mixes, instructions are important. For instance, there’s a difference in the cooking method for vegetarian and non-vegetarian jelly. Ignore that, and it just won’t set,” he says. “And, we give them free samples to try out so that the goodwill is maintained.”
Custard powder is their top selling product — it sells about 1,20,000 packs a month during the Ramzan season. Among their specialities are butter chicken masala and paneer butter masala.
Focus on quality
For years, the group has worked on quality control, starting with raw material sourcing. The oats imported from Europe, for instance, is stored in an air-conditioned room before it is repacked. The corn grits comes from Nizamabad and the kasuri methi from Rajasthan. “It is picked at the peak of winter and stored. It goes through a two-stage cleaning process before being packed,” says Yogesh.
The brothers, all directors in the company, also believe in steady growth. The brand is firmly rooted in the four Southern States. It does indirect exports to Fiji, Mauritius and Kuwait. “We are happy with our pace of growth,” says Naresh. An aha moment was when Yogesh’s son walked into a store in Manchester and found their custard powder on the shelves there. “The next generation might take the company to greater heights,” says Yogesh. Adds Naresh: “They’ll probably go pan-India in five years.” They are being trained for it too — Yogesh’s son and Naresh’s son study Food International Marketing and Food Processing Engineering, respectively. Future plans include getting into the food space. “A restaurant, probably,” says Yogesh.
The Vijs love the city that they call home. “We’ve never felt like outsiders here,” says Naresh. Mukesh says all their promotions start in the city — “Whatever we are, this is where it all began.”
Brother bonding
How is it being brothers and partners at work? “We fight every day, but can’t stay away from each other for five minutes,” says Naresh. Yogesh is the eldest but says Mukesh bullies both him and Naresh. “In a way, we are blessed. Office is like home. We work together almost all the time,” says Mukesh. “But, once we head to our respective homes, we forget work. After all, we are here for about 12 hours every day.” Sundays are devoted to family. Once out of office and their uniforms (common to all staff), the brothers lead relatively quiet lives. “We never discuss business. In fact, one of my friends did not know for 25 years that I was part of the Bakers family,” smiles Naresh, an avid cricketer who loves meeting up with buddies after work.
Yogesh loves pottering about in the kitchen. “Sometimes, my wife gives up on a dish half-way. I step in, mix and match flavours and make it work.” Mukesh loves cooking too — “I help my wife and use the chance to develop new recipes.”
What links the brothers other than their love for each other? Their sweet tooth. “Every single day, we definitely have a cup or more of custard. It defines us, our lives,” says Naresh.
