CROWD-PULLER: J Hearsch Bakery in Mumbai

During the last week of 2025, I was in the Bandra area of Mumbai to attend a marriage. I took the opportunity to walk into a place that I never miss when I am in that area. The J Hearsch Bakery, which is tucked away behind an old bungalow on Hill Road.

There was a long queue of people waiting to get into the bakery. This was not surprising at all because J Hearsch serves the tastiest burgers, rolls and puffs. As it has been doing for many decades now.

I spoke to a few customers in the queue about why they come here, and one of them told me, “Did you not know that Hearsch serves burgers made in heaven?”

Then, on New Year’s Day, my wife and I walked down the roads of South Bengaluru to one of our favourite bakeries in the city — VB Bakery. It was teeming with people waiting to buy rusks and buns. In particular, the bakery’s legendary khara buns stuffed with spiced peanuts (Congress kadlekai) were selling briskly.

These bakery outings in two different cities led me to think about how virtually every large Indian city has at least one or two legendary old-world bakeries. Just to illustrate, Bengaluru also has Koshy’s Bakery, Delhi has Wengers, South Mumbai has Yazdani Bakery, Pune has Kayani Bakery and Kolkata has Flury’s on Park Street.

Each of these is at least 50 years old. Yet they continue to do brisk business in a world that has changed so completely. What explains their phenomenal success?

Consistent quality

First and foremost, these bakeries deliver superb product quality, consistently over the years. For instance, the chicken puffs at Hearsch Bakery are mouth-wateringly delicious, and they taste exactly the same as they did when I first ate them 30 years ago. Similarly, the Christmas cake at Flury’s just takes my breath away. These outlets are so obsessed with authentic product quality that many of them often continue to use the traditional and manual methods to make their wares.

Signature products

Each of these bakeries has one or more signature products that are legendary. For instance, Kayani Bakery has its lovely Shrewsbury biscuits. Yazdani Bakery has its buttery brun maska, best eaten with hot Irani chai. Flury’s has its soft and yummy pastries — even as I am writing this, my mouth is watering away. Many customers visit these bakeries for these signature products and end up buying other things also.

Heritage appeal

Many use their heritage as a unique selling proposition. For instance, the very first line on the Wengers website speaks about how it was established in 1924 as a catering outfit for the British troops stationed in Delhi. Kayani Bakery proudly says “Established 1955” on its store façade. Several old-world bakeries have even maintained their heritage look and feel, perhaps to feed this imagery. Koshy’s Bakery, one of my favourite go-to places in Bengaluru, looks exactly as it did 35 years ago. Even the man in charge there has remained the same down the decades, and I love having a chat with him each time I am there.

Accessible pricing

Most of the age-old bakeries do not invest in paid marketing. On the other hand, they rely on word-of-mouth publicity, including social media reels made by happy customers, as well as free editorial coverage in publications, to generate continued awareness and salience. Also, in many cases, they use rudimentary, low-cost packaging, such as brown paper packets. Because they save costs in these ancillary areas, they are able to invest all their resources in creating brilliant products and price them quite affordably, thus pulling in many more customers.

Learnings for marketers

What lessons can modern marketers take away from these age-old bakeries? Very simple learnings, actually. My biggest learning is the absolute primacy of product. If you make products that people desire, and keep the quality consistently high, consumers will beat a path to your door. If you keep the pricing accessible by investing in only the essential things that really matter, that can open the doors to a large number of customers.

Finally, a brand has to decide what it would like to be famous for. What will be your Shrewsbury biscuit or Congress khara bun? Only then is your brand likely to enter the hall of legends, like these bakeries have done.

(Harish Bhat is an avid marketer and bestselling author)

Published on January 12, 2026