Nothing beats The Bakery Den

Monique Adams



“If baking is any labour at all, it’s a labour of love. A love that gets passed from generation to generation.” – Regina Brett

This is the sentiment with which The Bakery Den has been enticing customers to its outlet since its inception in 2016. Located in the heart of Oshakati, The Bakery Den’s service excellence comes through the heart-warming smell of freshly baked bread, brotchens, Chelsea buns and variety of sweet delights.

Founder of this homebred business, Niita Evaristus – who is a natural giver herself - fondly recalls how it all started four years ago.

“The secret ingredient to our baking success is really our personalised customer service, premised on the foundation of giving. As the first born in my family, I have this natural passion of caring and giving to others in need. Now, to nurture my generosity, the idea behind The Bakery Den was to start a sustainable business which is about the people and for the people because we understand their life hustles.”

Tailor-made products

Today, with seven permanent and casual employees, the business provides tailor-made products and services to mini markets, convenience stores and general traders in Oshakati, who have developed trust in the brand.

“Just one touch or taste of our fresh products, our clients come back for more. Our bakery operates in a fast-growing market, with key players and ever-changing consumer needs. With the majority of players offering similar or undifferentiated services, this market may soon become saturated, thus we need to be on top of our game and devise strategies that will anchor our growth and sustainability,” Evaristus said.

Relationships are key

For this business, relationships with both staff and customers are key and thus they developed a company culture that is aimed at maintaining good relationships. This is seen through their enduring promises to ensure excellent customer service, offering fresh bread with a long shelf life and providing a safe business environment that resonates with their clients.

The success of their business is premised on two key pillars, which are the customer base and sales growth.

The Bakery Den believes that over the years, their greatest success is attributed to the loyalty of their customers, which kept them afloat during difficult times, especially the nation’s economic recession at the end of 2017 and halfway into 2018. To date, the company continues to attract new customers, mostly through word-of-mouth, and this presents a positive impact on their sales and enables the business to meet its operational expenses.

Lucrative opportunities

Like any other business, The Bakery Den strives to scan its environment and with the increasing number of small businesses and growing trends toward healthier and leaner lifestyles, there are potential lucrative opportunities for them to diversify their products.

“We are currently working on an offer to run a bakery department of an upcoming supermarket in the north and this ties in well with our growth strategy in terms of expansion and enhancing our distribution points,” Evaristus said.

From a social responsibility perspective, the business being in its infancy phase still embraces the notion of ‘charity begins at home’.



Polishing employees’ skills

“Giving someone an employment opportunity means that the community is empowered. We take care of our employees because we know that this has a multiplier effect and will yield beneficial results for all of us in the long run,” she said.

By giving their employees opportunities to grow as individuals, three of their staff members attended an introduction to baking course that will polish up their skills.

Evaristus further said that “investment in staff training not only benefits the bakery, but also provides staff with knowledge to advance their career in the baking industry and also empowers them to one day embark into related small-scale business activities of their own”.

Covid impact

The biggest challenge the company has faced, just like all other entities in Namibia and across the whole world, is the Covid-19 pandemic. It impacted their production quantities, which led to declining sales partly as a result of less movement of people and restrictions related to informal trading, as general traders make up a great number of their customers.

Through this, they learnt the importance of continuous marketing communication initiatives that aim to create brand awareness.

“It is not rocket science that only popular brands will survive and I believe nothing beats The Bakery Den!” Evaristus said.

Interested to use their services? For fresh bread and sweet treats such as doughnuts, birthday cakes or cupcakes, call 081 777 6665, email [email protected] or engage them on social media.