Many who grew up in North India in recent decades need no introduction to Mrs Bector's Cremica biscuits and English Oven bakery products. Not as many, however, know about Rajni Bector, the woman who transformed a small ice cream shop she had opened in her backyard into one of the most well-known bakery brands in India.
Mrs Bector Food Specialties on December 17 garnered 198 subscriptions to its initial public offering (IPO), generating bids worth Rs 40,000 crore and a market value of Rs 540 crore. The development may well propel the bakery brand - so far a small player in the Rs 45,000 crore domestic packaged food industry - the company is now positioned to expand its footprint in the Indian market. Not just biscuits, Mrs Bector is also the supplier for fast food chains like Burger King and McDonald's.
And it all started from a small kitchen in Ludhiana.
But who is Mrs Bector?
Born in Karachi, Rajni Bector came to Ludhiana in Punjab at the time of Partition. She grew up in the city and got married at the age of 17. After raising three sons and sending them off to boarding school, Bector enrolled herself for a course in Punjab Agriculture University.
An ardent cook and baker from the start, Bector's recipes for ice cream and cakes soon became popular among her friends and associates, encouraging her to borrow Rs 300 for an oven. And that's how the biscuit brand first began - with a Rs 300 oven and ice cream that Bector churned in her own backyard. In 1978, when the Bector's backyard bakery began to attract an overwhelming amount of attention, Bector's family loaned her Rs 20,000 to set up an ice cream manufacturing unit.
Mrs Bector chose the name 'Cremica' as a play on the Hindi words 'Cream ka', meaning made out of cream.
From backyard to big leagues
The opening up of the Indian economy in the 90s was the next big change that helped Cremica grow further, opening up the way for Mrs Bector's little bakery to become known across the country. By the 90s, the company had started to manufacture buns, biscuits, breads, and sauces. Its big break, however, came in 1995 when it bagged the deal to supply buns to fast-food chain McDonald's'. The aggressive expansion of the fast-food chain in India helped Mrs Bector's Cremica grow as well.
In 2006, Mrs Bector's Cremica made Rs 100 crores. By 2011-12, it was making Rs 650 crores in annual sales. Today, the Ludhiana-based company is the Indian supplier of bread, pizza bases, sauces and other condiments and confectionary items for international brands like Burger King, Pizza Hut, Papa John's as well as the Indian Railways.
Mrs Bector's success is an inspiration for countless women in India who dream of starting their own food business. With the right skills and passion, even a backyard could be the best place to start.