“Six am; that’s how early the first customer turned up today. We open at 10 am. On opening day (November 7), there was a line that extended all the way to 100 ft Road,” laughs Zonu Reddy, partner, Spago Foods, who, along with her husband, Nischay Jayeshankar, has brought the iconic New York-based Magnolia Bakery to India. Located on the smorgasbord that is 12th Main Indiranagar, the bakery is fittingly or ironically (depending on how you look at it) right under a gym.
Glass front, signature flower tile flooring, a frosting station, and of course, those Insta-worthy desserts: squares of Snickers icebox bars, perfectly round vanilla cheesecakes, chocolate cupcakes swathed in airy buttercream frosting from lemony yellow and peach to light green and turquoise (the swirl is trademarked in the US), ice creams, and the creamy banana pudding, welcome a steady stream of visitors.
Talking about the response so far, Zonu says: “We had thought we would have to tell customers about what we are famous for; but people are well informed about our signature dishes. A lot of them are familiar with the bakery because of Sex and the City (a photo of Carrie and Miranda eating the cupcakes graces the store), many have been to the original store in New York, and then there’s our social media feed as well.”
For the Bengaluru-based couple, who work in real estate, a visit to Magnolia Bakery had become a rite of passage during their trips to New York. “When we heard they were looking for a partner in India, we wanted to see if we could be the right fit and after a lot of discussions (over more than a year), we realised that this was a good partnership,” adds Zonu.
Erick Larios, vice-president, franchise operations, Magnolia Bakery, who is in the city to supervise and help the team, says, “A lot of it came down to finding the right partner. Many people asked us why not Delhi or Mumbai. Bengaluru is where they (Zonu and Nischay) are based and this is where they have their infrastructure and resources. The city was also very appealing because it’s an up-and-coming foodie culture. There are also a lot of people in the IT sector here who are based in US cities.”
Cupcake stores may be ubiquitous in the city, but according to Zonu, “One thing that sets us apart is that we only do American desserts. Most of the others do really well with French desserts. A lot of our products are exclusive.”
As Erick moves around deftly clearing a table here and there, he adds, “We always want to bring in and authentic New York city experience, whether it’s the décor, the ingredients or the products. For instance, the floor tiles are imported, we have a standard paint colour, the lighting is custom made... It’s about the whole experience.”
Of course, the most important thing is the food. Says Erick, “We have a training programme of eight to 12 weeks for the kitchen or back-of-house staff. It’s an intense schedule where our corporate chef trains the head chef and then all the staff trains together. Training continues post opening as well. We also educate the front-end staff on all our products so that they are comfortable them explaining to guests.”
Bengaluru special
Zonu says, “Like in other Magnolia Bakery outlets, everything is made in small batches; fresh every day. We have a rotational menu. It also depends on the seasonality of the produce. We want to champion local ingredients so we have developed a line of mango-based products. We also have eggless products for India. Being one of the few Magnolia Bakery outlets that has ice cream on the menu, we plan to do a lot of things such as sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and cookies. For Christmas, we are planning a limited edition plum cake with a Magnolia twist.”
Products are priced from ₹80 (for a cookie) to ₹450 for a slice of the Blueberry Jamboree (likely to make you rethink that purchase). The bakery also plans to launch wedding cakes soon.
As for plans to expand, Erick says, “The plan is always to grow and expand the company but we want to do it in a thoughtful manner. There are always kinks to work out. I’m confident that once we have that settled here, we will start looking to expand. It’s a very big country; there’s a lot of potential here.”
