Jodhpur’s MBA Grad Made A Millet Cake That Was Sliced And Praised by PM Narendra Modi; His Bakery Clocked Rs 1.5 Cr Revenue In FY24

Amit Soni, hailing from the city of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, had never thought that he would end up innovating healthy cakes that would reach India’s top government officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I am someone who didn’t understand the bakery business at all. I never saw myself in a bakery either. I thought my life would be about corporate jobs. But one thing led to another, and I started a bakery business that soon took a turn towards healthy millet recipes and products,” Amit Soni, founder of RD’z Bakery, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.

Founded in 2018, RD’z Bakery is a Jodhpur-based bakery brand that is popular for its millet cookies, customized cakes, and flavourful pastries. Today, it bakes a total of 150 kilograms of cookies every single day. With 15,000+ monthly customers, the bakery clocked an annual revenue of Rs 1.5 crore in FY24.

RD’z Bakery has become the go-to bakery brand for numerous Government officials, institutions, and events in India, including the G20 Summit, the Defence Ministry, and the Department of Personnel and Training.

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HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Amit Soni comes from a family of jewellery artisans. After finishing his MBA in Human Resources and Marketing in 2009, he worked various jobs in the realms of event management and electronics.

Ultimately, he was hired as the factory and general manager of a local company that operated a bakery in Jodhpur.

“My job was to transform the bakery from the age-old practices of using wood as the primary source of fuel for the ovens and stoves. I was to improve the hygiene practices and lay out a standard operating procedure that could be utilized to scale the bakery,” Amit explains.

Eventually, during the course of his job, he would visit the factories of the likes of Amul and Parle to understand their operating and working infrastructure.

He also introduced the concept of “eggless bakery” in Jodhpur. The company that he worked for became successful and began selling 400 cakes on a daily basis.

“In 2017, I realized that I wanted to create something from scratch, too. I had cracked the product, marketing, and operating side of the bakery business, but hadn’t created anything myself. I decided to quit my job and undertake training from the Institute of Hotel Management in Mumbai. I also learned Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in detail,” Amit Soni tells Startup Pedia.

When he returned to Jodhpur in 2018, he had a bunch of international job offers in the field of bakery and hotels. But he wanted to dive straight into the waters of entrepreneurship.

In 2018, he started his bakery called RD’z Bakery in Jodhpur. 

“The name comes from the initials of my parents—Ramesh ji is my father, and Durga ji is my mother. 1983 is the year of their wedding anniversary. I wanted to dedicate my bakery business to the love and affection of my parents. They’ve played a very important role in everything I have done in my life,” founder Amit Soni shares.

To kickstart his operations, Amit Soni pooled Rs 13 lakh from his savings and took a MUDRA loan of Rs 8 lakh. His parents also helped him with a fund of Rs 20 lakh.

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JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES

Right from the beginning, RD’z Bakery began innovating unique cakes that were new and rare in Jodhpur. 

Amit Soni was joined by his brother Sumit Soni, who is a physiotherapist. 

In December 2018, RD’z Bakery made the biggest cake that was ever made in Rajasthan. It weighed a whopping 151 kilograms! This order had come from a Rajasthan school, and the cake was distributed to 2,500 children and 500 adults during an event.

“This cake was the reason why RD’z Bakery gained immediate popularity in not just Jodhpur, but the entirety of Rajasthan. The cake and our bakery name were published in newspapers—and as a result, hundreds of orders for large cakes came flooding in,” Amit Soni says.

In 2019, the bakery scaled to three outlets and hired a team of 20+ employees.

But after some time, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country. Just when RD’z Bakery was about to take off, everything came to a sudden stop.

The outlets were on lease, and the owners weren’t ready to reduce or forgo the rent. As a result, the outlets came to a close. From 20+ employees, the bakery was able to retain only 4 employees.

“I admit that I was second-guessing my idea of starting a bakery. I wondered what would happen, and I almost began regretting the fact that I had quit a stable job in the first place,” entrepreneur Amit tells Startup Pedia.

But the light at the end of the tunnel came in the form of certain orders that RD’z Bakery received from police officials in Jodhpur. Amit and his brother obtained special passes for bread and cake, and began to personally deliver the orders.

Ultimately, as the business grew stable, Amit Soni started conducting training for SHGS (self-help groups) via companies like Ambuja and ICICI. 

“I was hired to teach baking in villages under the CSR programs of these companies,” the entrepreneur explains.

In 2022, he joined the Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), the regional agricultural department of Rajasthan. That was when he started meeting Government officials and members of the FSSAI.

One day in December 2022, Amit Soni’s RD’z Bakery was tasked by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), popularly known as Pusa Institute, to develop millet-based bakery items.

“At the time, the Government was keen on promoting millets and bringing it back to the Indian kitchen,” bakery founde

r Amit Soni shares.

Despite having no experience in the millet domain, Amit Soni and his team at RD’z Bakery began experimenting with the grain and started making a millet-based chocolate truffle cake. It weighed 80 kilograms.

“Officials from the CAZRI department came and picked up the cake. Some commandos also accompanied them. I had no idea where the cake was going,” Amit shares with Startup Pedia.

Two days later, Amit Soni and Sumit Soni received a link on their WhatsApp numbers. It was a video link. They opened it up to witness something they hadn’t thought was possible.

“Our cake was being sliced by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. It was a high-profile event with leaders like Narendra Singh Tomar, Kailash Choudhary, and Rajnath Singh also present. The RD’z Bakery’s cake was appreciated. This was something we had prepared in under one month,” entrepreneur Amit shares happily.

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RD’Z BAKERY: FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO NATIONAL POPULARITY

Later in 2023, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) approached Amit Soni and proposed a plan for product expansion.

The bakery was tasked with making millet-based cookies, biscuits, brownies, breads, and cakes.

“For the cookies, the Government officials wanted us to use the same pearl millets that we had used in our chocolate truffle cake. That was kind of difficult. We failed at least 96 times before perfecting a pearl millet-based cookie that was flavorful and healthy,” the bakery founder explains.

Since then, RD’z Bakery has been involved in delivering millet-based snacks (cakes, cookies, pastries, breads) to not just direct customers but also high-profile government events like the G20 Summit, UN meetings, national officials, and institutions like the Defence Ministry and NITI Aayog.

“Our cookies have reached CRPF soldiers who enjoy one millet-based cookie every day with their morning cup of tea or milk,” Amit says.

Amit Soni and Sumit Soni have set up numerous stalls in food exhibitions across Delhi, Kota, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. In just one year, they’ve attended at least 37 government events.

Rd’z Bakery has also partnered with hotels like The Fern, ITC, and Taj Palace for supplying millet-based snacks.

“Earlier, we were more involved in the business side of things. But ever since we’ve included millets in the mix, we've focused on welfare, health, and purity. Millets are high in iron and completely gluten-free. They can be grown in arid regions like those of Rajasthan and need very little water for their cultivation. At RD’z Bakery, we want to support the millet movement of India,” Sumit Soni tells Startup Pedia.

“We buy the millets directly from farmers and provide them with the best price in the market. This uplifts them economically and motivates other farmers to also start millet cultivation,” Amit adds.

Currently, RD’z Bakery produces 1.5 tonnes of millet-based cookies in a month. In FY24, it clocked an annual revenue of Rs 1.5 crore. 

The bakery is projecting a revenue of Rs 2 crore in FY25.

LOOKING AHEAD

Having pivoted towards a health-based approach, RD’z Bakery developed India’s first Millet Red Velvet Honey Cheesecake. It was cut by chef Ranveer Brar at World Food India in 2024. 

Amit Soni and Sumit Soni are now working towards innovating and launching millet-based chiwda, khichdi, and upma.

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