Yangonites are developing a sweet tooth and bakeries are reaping the benefits.

CAKE shops are growing in popularity among customers seeking a venue where they can sip a drink, savour a snack and chat in air-conditioned comfort.

The Moon Bakery chain, the Ice Berry coffee and cake shop near Dagon Centre and the bakery in Doreen Burger and Snacks on War Dan Street are among the outlets reaping the rewards of catering to cus-tomers with a sweet tooth.
Sales have more than doub-led since last year, said shop owners.

One of the pioneers in the market is Moon Bakery, which opened its first shop on the ground floor of Olympic Tower, at the corner of Maha Bandoola and Bo Aung Kyaw streets, in April 2004. It has grown to six branches throughout Yangon, with another due to open in Latha township next month.

“In the past, sales were up during the summer and on special days such as holidays, but now all our branches are crowded throughout the year,” said Ko Win Kyaw Myint, sales manager at Moon Bakery’s Olympic Tower outlet.

The manager of the Ice Berry coffee and cake shop, Ma Thandar San, said its location near busy Dagon Centre helps to ensure a steady stream of customers.

Ice Berry has not needed to advertise, she said. Ice Berry has relied on word-of-mouth advertising by satisfied customers since it opened in April 2005.
One of the challenges of running a cake shop is sourcing ingredients such as flour, cream and flavourings, some of which need to be imported.

The bakery at Doreen Burger and Snacks, part of the Feel Group chain of food outlets, began operating last September and imports all its ingredients from Malaysia.

Doreen Burger and Snacks opened in 2002. It is owned by U Soe Nyi Nyi, one of the partners in the Feel Group, who launched the bakery operation to supply cakes to all of the outlets in the chain.

Doreen’s manager, Ma Khin Thaik Htay, said the idea for the bakery came when U Soe Nyi Nyi visited Malaysia. He was impressed by the cakes he sampled at a shop there which used an Australian production technique.

After returning to Myanmar, U Soe Nyi Nyi had contacted the shop and arranged for one of its pastry chefs to travel to Yangon and train the bakery staff in the Australian technique. The result, said Ma Khin Thaik Htay, is cakes of a quality that clearly appealed to customers.

She said sales promotions that began when the bakery opened had also been successful in creating demand, and that the operation was poised to expand.
“We will open a café and cake shop at the corner of Bogyoke Aung San and War Dan streets within the next two months,” she said.

The range of cakes available in the shops are irresistible temptations for many customers.

Ma Thandar Cho, 18, a regular customer at Moon Bakery’s Olympic Tower outlet, did not hesitate when asked to choose her favourite. “The cake I like best in this shop is Black Forest Cake,” she said.