Brewing a Café Culture: Aavika Chhawchharia on Building Honey & Dough into a Beloved Neighbourhood Bakery Chain
📝InterviewsIn this interview, Aavika Chhawchharia talks about building Honey & Dough, evolving from a bakery to a café chain, understanding customer preferences, and maintaining quality while scaling in India’s competitive café and bakery industry.
India’s café and bakery market is growing fast, driven by urban lifestyles and rising coffee culture. It is valued at around USD 400–425 million and expected to cross USD 1.1 billion by 2034, growing at 11%+ CAGR.
With over 5,000+ branded café outlets already operational and expected to cross 10,000 by 2030, cafés are rapidly evolving into social, work, and lifestyle spaces, especially for millennials and Gen Z consumers.
Amid this transformation, homegrown brands like Honey & Dough are redefining the neighbourhood café experience by combining freshly baked products, comfortable spaces, and consistent quality.
As part of StartupTalky’s International Women’s Day 2026 special series, celebrating women entrepreneurs shaping modern consumer brands, we spoke with Aavika Chhawchharia, Co-founder of Honey & Dough, about her journey, learnings, and the brand’s growth story.
The Idea Behind Honey & Dough: Bringing Café Culture to Delhi
StartupTalky: What inspired the idea behind Honey & Dough, and what made you believe Delhi needed a neighbourhood-style bakery café when you launched the brand in 2016?
Aavika Chhawchharia: Honey & Dough started with the idea of creating a neighbourhood café. Back then, Delhi had either small mom-and-pop bakeries or very traditional, old-school bakeries. There weren’t many places offering freshly baked croissants, pastries, tea cakes, and breads made with good quality ingredients in a modern café setting.
We wanted to bring that everyday café culture you see in European and American cities where people drop in for coffee, pick up fresh bread, or just spend time with friends while building a homegrown bakery café brand from Delhi.
Learning Without a Culinary Background
StartupTalky: You entered the hospitality industry without formal culinary training. What were some of the biggest learning curves in the early days of building a bakery and café business?
Aavika Chhawchharia: Since I didn’t have formal culinary training, most of my learning came through hands-on experience. I worked very closely with chefs while developing recipes, spent a lot of time understanding ingredients, and constantly experimented with products.
Another big learning curve was understanding the market, what customers enjoy, how the Indian palate works, and what price points make sense. A lot of it came from interacting directly with customers and observing their preferences. So honestly, the entire journey has been about learning on the job.
From One Outlet to a Growing Café Chain
StartupTalky: Honey & Dough began as a single outlet in Defence Colony and has grown to around 14 outlets across Delhi-NCR. What were some of the key turning points that helped the brand grow from a next-door bakery into a recognised café chain?
Aavika Chhawchharia: When we first opened in Defence Colony, the menu was quite limited because we were primarily positioned as a bakery. But over time we realised that people wanted more, they were looking for a place where they could sit, meet friends, have breakfast, lunch, or dinner along with their coffee.
That’s when we gradually evolved from just a bakery into a full café concept. We expanded the menu step by step, introduced more food options, and focused on making everything from scratch in-house. That shift really helped us grow and eventually expand to multiple outlets.
Balancing Global Trends with the Indian Palate
StartupTalky: You lead brand development, marketing strategy and menu innovation. How do you approach creating new bakery products or desserts while ensuring they resonate with customers?
Aavika Chhawchharia: We do keep an eye on global trends and what’s happening internationally in the bakery and dessert space. But at the same time, we’re very conscious of the Indian palate. Not every global trend works here.
So we usually experiment a lot in our kitchen, but we also try to keep some familiarity in the flavours. People enjoy trying new things, but they still want comfort in what they eat. Over the years, we’ve understood that balance better taking inspiration from global trends while adapting them to flavours that our customers connect with.
Building Customer Loyalty in a Competitive Market
StartupTalky: The café and bakery segment in India has become increasingly competitive. What do you believe has helped Honey & Dough build a loyal customer base over the years?
Aavika Chhawchharia: The industry has definitely become more competitive, but at the same time the demand has also grown a lot. People are going out for coffee more often, students are studying in cafés, and many people even work from cafés now. So cafés have really become a part of people’s everyday lifestyle rather than an occasional outing.
For us, what has helped build loyalty is consistency in taste, constant innovation, and keeping our pricing approachable. We focus on quality and making sure customers have a comfortable experience every time they visit, and I think that’s what has helped Honey & Dough remain a loved brand.
Ensuring Consistency Across Multiple Outlets
StartupTalky: Running a multi-outlet café brand requires consistent quality and experience. What systems or processes have you put in place to maintain the same standards across locations?
Aavika Chhawchharia: Maintaining consistency across outlets is extremely important for us. We have standardised recipes and preparation processes so that every product tastes the same no matter which outlet you visit. A lot of our bakery items are centrally produced to maintain quality control.
We also invest heavily in staff training and regular quality checks. Teams are trained not just in food preparation but also in customer service and presentation, so the overall experience remains consistent across locations.
Building a Strong Founder Partnership
StartupTalky: You run the business alongside your husband and co-founder, Utsav Chhawchharia. How has this partnership shaped decision-making and the overall growth of Honey & Dough?
Aavika Chhawchharia: Yes, we work very closely as a team but with clearly defined roles. I focus more on product development, menu innovation, PR, marketing, and the creative side of the brand. Utsav handles strategic growth, financial planning, and operations.
This division of responsibilities works really well for us because we both bring different strengths to the table. It allows us to focus on what we do best while making decisions together for the overall growth of the brand.
Advice for Women Entrepreneurs in Hospitality
StartupTalky: As a woman entrepreneur who has built a recognised café brand, what advice would you give to aspiring women founders who want to enter the food and hospitality industry?
Aavika Chhawchharia: My advice to women founders would be simple if you’re passionate about something, go for it. Don’t overthink it to the point where you miss the opportunity to try. Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is the only way to discover what you’re capable of.
I truly believe women can achieve anything they set their minds to. We naturally multitask and handle multiple responsibilities, which is a huge strength in entrepreneurship. So I would encourage women to believe in their potential and give their ideas a real chance.
Vibhavari Madki