How Rajni Bector Turned a Small Bakery Operation Into a ₹6,000 Cr Food Empire
Started With Rs 20,000, Built Rs 6000 Crore Company: Meet India’s Ice Cream Lady
Many North Indians fondly remember the taste of Cremica ice cream or English Oven bread. But behind these household names is the extraordinary journey of Rajni Bector, a woman who turned her passion for baking into a ₹6,000 crore empire.
Born in Karachi before Partition, Rajni Bector relocated to Ludhiana with her family and eventually married at 17. After raising three sons and sending them off to boarding school, she found herself with time and curiosity, and enrolled in a course at Punjab Agriculture University.
What began as a passion for making ice cream and cakes quickly gained attention. Friends, neighbours, and relatives loved her food, and soon she borrowed ₹300 to buy her first oven. In 1978, with a ₹20,000 loan from her family, she launched her first ice cream unit, giving birth to the brand Cremica (derived from “cream ka”).
What followed was a slow but steady transformation of a small home-based venture into one of India’s most trusted bakery and food brands.
The liberalization of the 1990s became a turning point. Bector’s company expanded into breads, sauces, biscuits, and buns. Then came the big break: a deal to supply burger buns to McDonald’s India in 1995. That partnership launched Cremica into the big leagues.
From there, Mrs Bector’s journey only accelerated. In 2006, the company touched ₹100 crore in revenue. By 2012, that number had ballooned to ₹650 crore. Today, it’s a ₹6,000 crore empire serving major global chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s, along with Indian Railways.
Cremica products are now available in over 550,000 outlets across 23 states, and its sister brand English Oven is one of India’s leading premium bakery labels.
Rajni Bector’s story is more than a tale of entrepreneurship, it’s proof that big dreams can start in small kitchens. In a world where funding, scaling, and valuations dominate headlines, her journey reminds us that skill, passion, and persistence can build empires, even from a backyard.
