Struggling for manpower, ‘European’ bakeries provide bread, butter to textile city

Found in every nook and corner of the city, the concept of small-scale bakeries was introduced to the city of textiles during the colonial rule.

“When the Europeans came to Coimbatore around a century ago, looking for possible trade avenues and to develop tea plantations in Ooty and Anaimalai hills they introduced the concept of bakeries. Breads and cakes, mostly sold at the bakeries, were the staple food of the Europeans. They trained the locals to prepare the baked items according to their requirements. Over a period of time, the locals too developed a liking towards these baked food items,” said historian Rajesh Govindarajalu.

Gradually, the bakery business boomed, thanks to the presence of hundreds of textile mills in Coimbatore. “Those who entered the bakery business found places close to mills as potential spots. Since the mills were located far from residential areas, workers walked or cycled, owing to lack of proper public transport system, to reach work. For them, bakeries proved to be the perfect place for a bite, be it a loaf of bread or a cup of hot piping tea,” added Rajesh. As the business grew more profitable, it generated a good volume of job opportunities. Workers were employed in three shifts at the bakeries as the business boomed. The number of bakeries, which grew proportionally with rise in population, have now become one of the driving factors of the economy of this industrial city.

“They are now the bread and butter for thousands. Apart from generating direct employment, it also provides indirect employment, mainly for women who make cakes and confectionaries that are supplied to the bakery,” said R Ponnusamy, president of Coimbatore District Bakery Owners Welfare Association and managing director of Mahalakshmi Dairy and Aroma Bakery. There are around 750 big bakeries, besides numerous smaller ones across the city.

There were times when people hardly took anything from outside shops beyond home-made snacks. But, things changed after these bakeries cropped up. With people slowly acquiring a fondness for bakery products, the pride of Coimbatore has now spread over to other districts in Tamil Nadu.

“You can now see bakeries in every district across the state. But, they are yet to make it big in the southern districts because of the lower spending capacity of the people,” said Ponnusamy.

But the bakery business has not been that rosy in the past few years. The bakery owners claim that finding skilled labourers and retaining them has become a challenging task. Like all other labour-intensive sectors, the bakery industry too thrives on employing labourers from north Indian states like Bihar and Orissa. A substantial number of bakeries are now run by people from Kerala, known for their affinity for tea.

The still popular Ayyar & Co, JM & Sons English Bakery and Aroma Bakery are the pioneers in introducing the concept of bakery to people of Coimbatore.

“Back in those days, the JM & Sons even trained people going abroad on table manners and food etiquettes of those countries. It was also known for its unique taste and had even catered to loyal clientele including former President Dr S Radhakrishnan and ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,” said Rajesh.