Some websites should carry statutory warnings along the lines of: ‘Dieters and weight-watchers, beware!’. This is particularly a must for Karachi Bakery’s website, whose home page alone, with photographs of mouth-watering biscuits, cakes and chocolates, is enough to break the strongest diet resolution.
Hyderabad, known for its two famous landmarks — the Charminar and the Karachi Bakery — still has debates on which is the more famous, with the latter (voted for by foodies) in the lead. It is said that anyone seeking directions in Hyderabad usually receives a response that begins with the nearest Karachi Bakery outlet!
Placed in history
Karachi Bakery, known as the ‘Icon of Hyderabad baking’, was started by Khanchand Ramnani in 1953. A Sindhi from Karachi (in the then-undivided India), he chose to make the Deccan his home in 1947, after the partition. The story goes that he had a sweet tooth for Karachi sweets, and decided to make a living out of that, with the help of his three sons, Hassaram, Narayandas and Ramesh, by selling rusks and bread.
Soon, he opened a small bakery called ‘Karachi Bakery’ near Moazzam Jahi Market. Reports say that it was the first bakery in the area. There is no tenable reason as to why the name was chosen but rumours say that it is because Khanchand had fond memories of Karachi, had a weakness for the city’s sweets, and felt Karachi was still a part of India.
In the early days, as the bakery did not have its own manufacturing unit, it sold products that were sourced from other bakeries. The first production unit was set up in the 1960s, which lead to experimentation with flavours and ingredients, and development of its own brand of biscuits — especially the signature fruit biscuit whose recipe is still a family secret. It is even said that the fruit or ‘tutty-fruity’ biscuit introduced by the Ramnanis was the first of its kind in India.
Growth was slow but steady and the outlet earned a name for quality that still stands. People visiting Hyderabad are usually flooded with requests to get goodies from Karachi Bakery!
Slow expansion
Its product range improved quickly but the founder wished to build a strong regional presence first, before he thought of further expansion. It is said that Hyderabad was and remains, a biscuit-hungry city: this helped the bakery’s growth as it introduced variants in the biscuit range: butter, choco-cashew, coconut, badam-pista, ‘chai’ or Osmania biscuits and more (40 per cent of the total revenue still comes from fruit, cashew and Osmania biscuits).
Karachi Bakery also has several varieties of bread, cakes, cupcakes, chocolates, pastries, macarons, snacks and mithai items. Two-in-one biscuit packs were launched recently. The cakes — customised for special occasions — are said to be both visual and edible delights.
It is also one of the few bakeries that provides an online shopping option.
Spreading the crumbs
It was only in 2006 that outlets were set up in other areas of Hyderabad, like Madhapur, Banjara Hills, and Secunderabad. In 2008, Karachi Bakery outlets also opened in Hyderabad’s domestic airport. As tourists started taking the products to other States within India and abroad, brand recognition spread, which emboldened the bakery to go national.
It tied-up with retailers across the country to stock its products, concentrating especially on those places where demand for the ‘special varieties’ was high. New flavours and international-style cookies made their appearance in West India, while the Kerala market was introduced to their cakes and pastries.
Today, Hyderabad has about 20 branches, and outlets have opened in Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, Warangal, Delhi, Mumbai, Suryapet and the Vijayawada Airport. By 2016, there were 15 outlets across India. Internationally, a store in Dubai was recently opened, and its products are exported to countries like the US, the UK and Australia.
Meticulous process
Just what is it that sets these biscuits apart? For starters, all their biscuits are handmade. In addition, the fine taste, the quality, the consistency, the light, fluffy texture and low sugar content make them stand out among other bakery products. It is said that the products have a shelf-life of a month after being baked — that is, if they remain uneaten for that long!
The kitchens and ovens at Karachi Bakery reportedly run throughout the day to provide customers fresh biscuits.
The factory (located near Shamshabad) is said to churn out three to four tonnes of biscuits daily. Every step in the production process is strictly monitored: procurement of the finest raw materials (low-fat, vegetable oil, fresh dairy cream, high-quality wheat and flour and more), preparation of the dough, baking, storing, packing and distribution. Both international and Indian hygiene and health standards (United States Public Health, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point and ISO) are adhered to, with frequent quality checks being conducted and monitored.
Production costs are kept under control as much of the work (like the kneading and mixing of the dough, and packaging) is still done manually.
Controversies
Karachi Bakery India Pvt Ltd was incorporated only in 2015 — more than six decades after it was founded. It is today run by the third generation of the Ramnani family — Vijay, Harish and Rajesh Ramnani. Their aim is not just to introduce new products but also maintain the standards of existing products and introduce changes according to varying consumer tastes.
As consumers become more health conscious, the bakery is focussing on introducing nutritional biscuits that contain oats, ragi and more. Gluten-free and organic products are said to be in the pipeline as well.
But it hasn’t been all smooth for the much-loved bakery. It has faced its share of controversies. In 2016, Muslims called for a boycott of its products as it was reportedly selling Israeli dates as part of its Ramadan Gift Hamper. The bakery responded by removing the dates from their shelves and issued a statement clarifying that they were sourcing dates from Iran.
A year earlier, the Shiv Sena had demanded a boycott of its products as the bakery was named after Karachi in Pakistan. The founders’ grandchildren assert that there has never been a problem with the name.
But whatever the origin, it is a name that is recognised today in every nook and cranny of India.