Le Bakehouse: Chattogram’s bakery at its best
Even before the official launch, some of its cakes and pastries gained popularity among customers
When Abrar Hossain returned home to Chattogram from the UK a few years ago after finishing his studies, he missed nothing but England's cakes and pastries. He could get something equally delicious only when he visited Dhaka, or when someone brought him something from the capital.
Tasting his favorite items so infrequently did not satisfy his cravings, and he knew there were many others with a sweet tooth like him in the port city, so he and his friends decided to set up "Le Bakehouse" – a world-class bakery in Chattogram.
Abrar was already in the restaurant business and his friends Mohammad Ataul and Sajid Ahmed – who also studied abroad – had some idea about pastry shops in foreign countries. Together, they wanted to bring to life their ideas, in Chattogram.
They started setting up a factory in 2018, importing bakery machines and equipment from abroad and looking for the manpower needed, but the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and disrupted their plans.
As the pandemic subsided, the young entrepreneurs resumed their project and finished setting up a 6,000 sqft factory in the city's Kalurghat BSCIC Industrial Area for making over 40 bakery items a day.
They started with small scale initial production at the factory in August 2021 and opened an outlet to market test their products at the end of that year. This initial site was near the petrol pump at the Wasa junction in the city. They only officially launched the shop on 24 March this year. So far, they have invested Tk4 crore.
Even before the official launch, some of the company's products gained a lot of popularity with customers and among their most sought items are butter croissants. Le Bakehouse's chocolate éclair, salted caramel éclair, strawberry éclair, chocolate tart, red velvet cheese brownie, and strawberry mousse domes also attract a lot of customers.
Customers also like their cookies, like strawberry shortbread, golden raisin cookies, and pistachio cookies which have gained recognition within a short time. Most of these delicious baked goods were not available in Chattogram before.
Abrar Hossain, managing director of La Bakehouse, told The Business Standard (TBS), "We have focused on three issues here – fresh products, varied flavours, and price. We are trying to strike a balance among these three things."
"Officials and employees have been given six months of training to maintain a healthy environment in the factory. Premium quality chocolate is imported from Belgium, fresh cream from Australia, butter from New Zealand, and oil from Italy," he added.
Mohammad Ataul, deputy managing director of the company, told TBS, "It is very easy to bring in franchises from abroad, but we are trying to establish our own brand with quality products made to international standards."
"We plan to launch four outlets this year and have set up the factory so we can readily deliver products to airlines or corporate clients in the future. We already have some corporate clients and they are quite satisfied.
"We also plan to set up an institute to train up quality bakers," he added.
