THE MASTER OF BAKING: Dan Cake's foray into the Bangladeshi market

During the middle ages, bakers catered to an extremely niche market, with the rich munching away on fine floured bread and the poor only being able to afford rye or black bread. Perhaps it was from then that bakery products carved a reputation for itself of being a luxury good. Over time, introducing cakes during celebration, unimaginable for those below a certain economic standard, became a norm for celebrations of the rich and famous. Over time, bakeries became more widespread and popular, as they became increasingly affordable. But the standard associated with baked goods remained. In recent years, bakeries have also become popular in Bangladesh, with better quality products now steadily increasing in demand over the lower quality yet affordable ones. Capitalising on this,  Dan Foods Limited official began operations in 2012 through a joint venture between Dan Cake A/S, Denmark and Pandughar Limited, with their products being launched in 2015.

Bangladesh can be considered an extremely lucrative market for bakeries. Although the current surge in the number of branded bakeries started off a decade ago, the fascination with bread and other baked goodies in Bangladesh have been around for many years.

From the cheap butter buns and Danish to the current trend of cupcakes and pastries, Bangladeshis have long craved the taste of bread in almost all forms. Thus, knowing this, Dan Cake entered the market, aiming to deliver high quality, hygienic, world class products.

Among these qualities, the most important one that Dan Cake brings is unbeatable reputation. Dan Cake has been in this business longer than almost any of its competitors and with good reason.

Dan Cake can trace its roots back to the 19th century, when Jens Eskildsen, a baking aficionado began practicing his art in the small Danish town of Give. Driven by sheer love for wonderful taste, inspired by years of watching his mother prepare the best muffins and cakes for a young Eskilden, he knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up. Jens Eskilden soon devoted all his time to baking, honing his skills and practicing his craft to perfection. So amazing were his products that word of these "cakes from heaven" spread far and wide. Having established his reputation firmly, Jens then decided to share his joy and love for perfect Danish baking and this led to the creation of Dan cakes. Soon, the products were being made available to countries like United Kingdom, Poland, Turkey, Sweden and a lot more. Dan Cake managed to win over hearts and palates in all these countries and the brand managed to satiate appetites everywhere  it went. 

With such a rich history behind it, Dan Cake's entry into the Bangladeshi market could not have been a disappointment. But to ensure that the people of Bangladesh could learn to love Dan Cake as others have, many steps were taken. "We assure quality and hygiene both in our products. Plus, another way we differentiate ourselves is through our shelf-life. While most packaged bakery products have an 8-10 days of shelf life, our products have a 3 month shelf life," Mr. Sohel Shahriar Rana, the Marketing Manager of Dan Foods limited explained. "We have Danish bakers and trained technicians from abroad just to assure that everything we do meets international quality," he continued. He further informed that the major components of the products come in pre-mixed form from abroad to make sure of the quality control with a few local ingredients being used for. The only difference between a product in Bangladesh and in Europe is that whilst Europeans are used to more bitter tasting chocolate, Bangladeshis prefer it sweet. This aspect has been taken into consideration and the ingredients are chosen to reflect this. This shows the extent to which Dan Cake has adapted themselves only to provide products that guarantee satisfaction. 

A state of the art factory in Birulia, Savar has been designed to international specifications. The care to detail is such that every employee first have their hands tested for bacteria before being allowed to take part in the production process. "Yes, our entire factory has been built on recommendations by Dan Cake A/S. So everything is of an international standard," Mr. Shahriar said. "Apart from hygiene, we also have focused on the health aspect of our products. Our products use sugar only as a preservative Furthermore, we use canola oil, which is more heart-friendly," he said. Of course, maintaining such standards comes at a price and consumers will have to pay a little extra compared to other bakery brands. Dan Cake also uses Eco-Pack, the packaging used for the products, a kind of  special paper cups from Italy. This is again yet another special feature and shows the dedication of the firm to providing almost everything of utmost quality. 

Yet another milestone for Dan Cake was sponsoring the latest cricket series between Pakistan and Bangladesh. As if fate itself had decided to intervene, Dan Cake's association with the Bangladesh Cricket team coincided with the rise of the Tigers as a force to be reckoned with in the cricketing world. This can only be seen as a good omen for Bangladesh. Currently, the brand has launched three products; muffins, layer cake and Swiss roll. "This is a quality-consciousness generation and we not only promise but deliver quality in absolutely every sphere," Mr. Shahriar emphatically stated in conclusion. Dan Cake is here to stay for sure and their journey has just started, with still a long way to go. But perhaps its time for us to familiarize ourselves with the product because if the early signs are anything to go by, Dan Cake may be the biggest game-changer in their respective market. 

Photo courtesy: Dan Cake