Bangalore based vegan bakery grows 3x, expanding from 100 to 2500 items during Covid

Crave by Leena started as one of the first vegan bakeries in Bengaluru that makes cakes and desserts. The specialty is that her cakes are sugar-free and gluten-free. “After being a home baker for a few years, I moved to a commercial kitchen in 2019 and have grown to a team of 22 members across various functions, including pastry chefs, cake artists, bakers, tech, sales, operations, and delivery,” says Leena.

The restaurant is run by Leena and her partner Sunny Gurnani who is a business and tech expert with solid experience in brand building, marketing, and business partnerships. The brand was started in 2019 with around 100 items on the menu. Today the bakery sees over three times the growth. They have also expanded to around 2500 items on the menu with a turnover of Rs 25 lakhs per month. 

Speaking of her baking journey, Leena says, “I was awarded the first runner-up in Peta's 2014 Great Vegan Desserts Challenge. I am honored to be making my Vegan cakes to Bangaloreans including corporates and restaurants like Boeing, Bangalore International School, Indus, Mimansa by Azure Hospitality Brand, Bohemians and even making them for head chefs of Taj!”

Currently, the bakery provides directly to customers but it also supplies to some of the best fine dining restaurants in Bengaluru like Bohemians and Azure Group. The brand aims to grow bigger and start specializing in corporate and B2B partnerships.