If you have watched Sex and the City, you may have at least once heard about the Magnolia Bakery. Carrie Bradshaw casually sits on the beach enjoying her pink vanilla buttercream cupcake, the ladies treating each other with the baked goods. Well, to satisfy your cravings for these iconic treats, Spago Foods’ co-founder Zonu Reddy purchased Magnolia Bakery and brought it to India so we can momentarily teleport to New York!
About the founders of Spago Foods
The creators of Spago Foods, Zonu Reddy and Nischay Jayeshankar, a husband and wife duo, purchased the Magnolia Franchise for India and opened the bakery in Bengaluru in 2019.
Education and career
Zonu Reddy after finishing her schooling from The International School Bangalore, went to the University of California, Berkeley to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Cell/Cellular Molecular biology. catered to a wide range of clients while working in Bengaluru’s real estate industry. Later, after learning about social media and digital marketing, she started to create strategic marketing plans. She spends her free time serving in leadership capacities for CREDAI, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, which is an organisation for young people. She has also been involved with angel networks that promote and fund talented entrepreneurs and their start-up businesses. UC Berkeley awarded Zonu a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Co-founder Nischay Jayeshankar graduated from Bond University in Australia with a degree in business administration. He has more than ten years of experience in Bengaluru’s real estate market. He directs Adarsh Developers and is responsible for the planning and implementation of numerous residential and hospitality projects throughout the city.
The couple connected over their love of food and travel and went on to discover foods from all across the world that are made from fresh ingredients and are authentic to taste and that gave birth to Spago Foods.
While talking about her journey to Vogue and the struggle behind bringing this iconic shop to India Zonu said, “I have been a big fan of Magnolia Bakery since the time I was studying in the US. I loved the variety of desserts they had, and everything just tasted so fresh! It became a must-visit spot on every trip to New York for me. When I found out that they wanted to open in the Indian market and were looking for a partner, I knew I had to give it a shot.”
The founders’ objective was to acquire as many of the components locally as possible. Magnolia Bakery has established standards for each ingredient utilised. After a lot of research, they were able to strike the balance of local and foreign ingredients with the assistance of Magnolia Bakery’s executive chef from the US. The development of a group of skilled pastry chefs and their training in accordance with Magnolia Bakery standards was another significant undertaking.
Some of the most delicious treats according to Zonu are the Kuzukiri in Black Syrup from Kagizen Yoshifusa Hoten, the DKA (Dominique’s Kouign Amann) from Dominique Ansel, the pain au chocolat from Angelina’s, the truffles from Maison Du Chocolat, the Imperial Torte from Hotel Imperial, the pistachio gelato on La Fabrica del Gelato, and the chocolate cookie from Van Stapele Koekmakerij—which she thinks is the “best cookie in the world.”
Magnolia Bakery at present is located in five locations with four franchise in Bangalore and one in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad and the couple has plans for expansion.
So if you are from these cities or are planning to visit, then the baked goodness from Magnolia Bakery has to be on your bucket list!
