Raised In Humble Family, Noida Founder Built a ₹35 Cr Logistics Business, Now Eyes ₹400 Cr in 3 years with His Bakery Venture- Bakeats

“I had my first chocolate when I was in Class 5. Until then, it was just rice, dal, and dreams.'' 

That’s not a punchline—it’s a memory that has stayed with Pankaj Mishra, long after his family moved from Gorakhpur to Delhi in 1995. They lived in a one-room flat inside an under-construction building. There wasn’t much—just four people, one room, and a lot of pressure. Pressure to study hard, to fit in, to somehow “make it big” because his father, a hardworking sugar export veteran, had spent his whole life making ends meet.

But fitting in wasn’t easy. In school, Pankaj often felt like an outsider. His classmates spoke fluently about current affairs, cracked jokes about pop culture, and knew what was trending. He didn’t. That sense of being behind, of needing to catch up, became his quiet motivator.

Fast forward a few decades, and that same boy now helms Bakeats, a Noida-based bakery brand aiming to change how India experiences everyday bakery products. It’s not just about cookies and rusks. For Pankaj, it’s about delivering quality, design, and dignity—even in a ₹10 packet. This Noida-based bakery brand is built with the heart of a struggler and the mind of an engineer.

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From Last Bench to First Bench: A Shift in Mindset

Driven by that motivator, Noida-based entrepreneur Pankaj Mishra started as an average student at Greenfields Public School—not because he lacked intelligence, but because he lacked focus. That changed during his B.Tech at KIET. After scoring poorly in his first year, he broke down, until his mother said something that stuck:

“You study hard, but still don’t score. So find where the gap is.''

That advice shifted something. He left the backbench and sat in the front row from second year onwards. The result was a steep rise in grades and eventually, a gold medal in M.Tech at Gautam Buddha University.

“I think that’s when I truly learned how to solve problems by fixing processes—not just in machines, but in life,” says the founder of Bakeats, the emerging Indian bakery brand, in the Startup Pedia interview.

The Leap into Logistics and Entrepreneurship

Armed with strong academics and a problem-solving mindset, Pankaj began his career with Lava International, managing supply chain operations. A short stint at Delhivery followed, but then he began to have this urge to build something of his own

“I just needed space to think, to create, and to build,” he recalls in the Startup Pedia interview.

With support from his wife, a doctor, and his father, who was nearing retirement, he decided to launch something independently.

That “something” turned into PnD Global Logistics in 2019, a company co-founded with Amit Kumar, a seasoned logistics expert. From a turnover of ₹51 lakhs in the first year, the business grew to ₹35 crores, with branches in Noida, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Gandhidham, and Dubai

But as the logistics business grew, so did Pankaj’s desire to build a consumer-facing FMCG startup—one that would combine his operations expertise with products that touch people daily.

The Birth of Bakeats: Premium Bakery Products for the Masses

It started with a question: “If people are eating cookies and rusks every day, why shouldn’t they feel special?''

In early 2022, Pankaj began exploring the Indian FMCG snacks/bakery market with a small team. Over two years, they met 7–8 seasoned consultants, culminating in a conversation with Dr. Girish Gupta, whom Pankaj respectfully calls the “Bhishma Pitamah of the FMCG world.” With that guidance and his team’s full buy-in, the idea of Bakeats took shape in December 2024.

The name combines bake and eat, intentionally technical-sounding to stand out in a sea of generic Indian bakery brands.

“We don’t just want to sell rusk and cookies—we want to build a brand,” says Pankaj Mishra in the Startup Pedia interview.

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What Makes Bakeats Different?

At launch, Bakeats is offering 8 cookie variants—JEERAAA, AAAJWAIN, ATTAAA, NAAARIYAL, MASKAAA, BADAAAM, CHOCO CHASKAAA, FRUITY MASKAAA, and more—each creatively spelled (like “Baaadam” or “MASKAAA”) and paired with cheeky taglines such as “Butter Than The Rest.” "Taste mein A++" is the core idea behind every product by Bakeats.

Their rusks, perfect for tea-dipping mornings, come in 4–5 types: Suji, Elaichi, Milk, and Gud Rusk. The packaging showcases the ingredients cuddling the product—a visual representation of transparency.

What truly sets Bakeats apart in the Indian bakery market is its mission of accessibility without compromise.

“Even a ₹10 pack of Bakeats feels premium. Why should good packaging and taste only be for the upper class?” says Pankaj.

In the pipeline are sugar-free healthy snacks such as Gud Atta cookies, date powder-based products, and variants with ragi and jowar—all aimed at a broader range of Indian consumers looking for affordable premium bakery snacks.

A Made-in-India Factory, Built from Scratch

While most FMCG bakery brands in India might begin with third-party manufacturing, Pankaj did the opposite

“I didn’t want to depend on anyone,” he says in the Startup Pedia interview. “I learned that lesson the hard way during our early logistics days.”

He built Bakeats’s factory from scratch using 100% Made in India bakery machinery, including patented equipment fromBakewell Machines from Delhi and Empire Bakery Machines in Ludhiana. With 80–85% automation, the plant is among the most hygienic in the region.

“I’ve visited some top factories. The hygiene there was shocking. I swore Bakeats would be different,” he says.

This obsession with quality is backed by his Six Sigma Green Belt training and background in industrial engineering.

“I built the production process with efficiency in mind—low error rates, high consistency,” explains the founder of this Noida-based bakery startup.

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Investments and Vision: Bakeats on the Rise

So far, over ₹4 crores have been invested into building Bakeats.

“This is just the beginning,” says Pankaj Mishra in the Startup Pedia interview.

The Indian bakery brand expects to break even within 6 months and reach monthly revenues of ₹5 crores+ once operating at full capacity.

The factory has a daily production capacity of 14–15 tons, and plans are in motion to triple this within 18–24 months.

Bakeats is initially targeting North India’s bakery market, with strong distributor interest from Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Haryana, UP West, and more.

Quick commerce platforms like Blinkit and Zepto are part of the roadmap for faster brand discovery in metros. Export orders are also being lined up, especially for Indian diasporas in the US, Canada, and Australia—where PnD’s logistics backbone will give Bakeats a cost advantage.

People-First Leadership and a Brand for His Father

Pankaj isn’t just building a brand—he’s building a culture.

“I believe in giving people freedom,” says the Noida-based entrepreneur. “If my sales guy wants to close a deal while watching a movie, I’m okay with that. What matters is results.”

His leadership is practical, grounded, and deeply empathetic—reflecting the values of a true startup success story.

“Although I am dedicating my time and effort to building Bakeats, emotionally I am building this for my father—so that he can proudly say, ‘This is my brand, which my son has built,’” Pankaj Mishra, the founder of Bakeats, concludes in the Startup Pedia interview.

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