Several e-commerce platforms that retail food have gone bust over the last few years, but the sudden spurt in bakery chains and the sheer size of the bakery industry gives companies the confidence that selling cakes online and on mobile will click. 

 

Of late, home bakeries and startups have been mushrooming with several professionals and graduates turning bakers. The overall bakery market, valued at around Rs 8,500 crore and growing 12-15 %, is estimated to reach Rs 15,000 crore in 2014-15 , data with Technopak Advisors said. 

 

Major product categories include biscuits, snacks, cakes, pastries, rusk and savouries such as puffs. Startups are, however, adding categories like cupcakes, strudles, waffles and doughnuts. 

 

Close to 90% of the market is now unorganized. "There are a lot of people asking for online orders. For companies like Dominos Pizza, 20% of their revenues are from online orders and the number in this segment will be similar," said Narendra Malhotra, CEO of Oriental Cuisines, which runs the country's largest premium bakery chain The French Loaf. 

 

"Today, you can order a cake and flowers online, but you don't know where the cake is from and what kind of cake it will be. That will change when people like us come online. So you can see it, you have perhaps had it in the store," he said. 

 

The company's products are now available on sites like delyver.com and its website is being revamped now to incorporate the entire range of products for online retailing. There has been a need for this but the company is starting only now, Malhotra said.

 

Sourse : Times of India