Some food businesses start with spreadsheets and strategy decks. Others start with a tray of something good and a few curious neighbours. This is the story of the lockdown kitchen turned neighbourhood bakery, a brand that began by baking for people nearby during the first lockdown, and has since grown into a recognised name with 25 shops across London.
You might know them as the local croissant bun pioneers. Their signature croissant-dough cinnamon buns, made with rich Normandy butter, quickly built a following. The kind where people don’t just come back. They bring friends.
But going from a home kitchen to a city-wide operation brings a different kind of challenge. Demand is great. Keeping up with it is another story.
That’s where Dephna came in.
About Dephna
Dephna provides flexible commercial kitchens and cold storage solutions in London for food businesses at every stage of growth. But in reality, it’s a bit more hands-on than just “providing space.”
It’s about helping you figure out what you actually need: how much space, what layout works, how your production should flow, and making sure everything runs properly once you’re in.
For growing brands, that kind of support tends to matter more than they expect.
Client Overview
Client type: Bakery brand
Brand identity: lockdown-born kitchen to neighbourhood bakery
Length of partnership: Ongoing
Production focus: Croissant-dough cinnamon buns and bakery goods at scale
The Challenge
What Challenges Led Them to Dephna?
Growth is exciting, but it’s rarely neat.
For the Notting Hill-born bakery, things had moved quickly. What started as small-batch baking had turned into a multi-site operation, and the original setup just wasn’t built for that kind of scale.
They weren’t just looking for more space. They were trying to avoid making the wrong move.
Their main priorities were:
- moving into a purpose-built commercial kitchen
- avoiding over-expansion (and unnecessary costs that come with it)
- keeping product quality consistent as volumes increased
- supporting multiple locations from one production base
- staying in a North West London location that made sense operationally
It’s a common spot for growing food businesses. You need to level up, but you don’t want to overcommit and regret it six months later.
Finding the Right Space
Why Dephna?
At Dephna, the approach is pretty simple: find the space that actually fits how you operate. Not just today, but a bit further down the line too.
“We’re experts at finding your bespoke space – we help you choose the right size whether it’s choosing smaller or bigger space for the power you need, the production volume you want to target.”
Raj, Managing Director
For the croissant bun pioneers, that meant securing a unit in a North West London location that worked for their current production levels, without locking them into something too big too soon.
It’s a balance a lot of businesses struggle with:
- enough space to grow into
- not so much that you’re paying for empty capacity
- flexibility to adjust as things evolve
Scaling Production
How Their Setup Evolved
Moving from a home kitchen into a commercial production space is a big shift. Not just physically, but mentally too.
You’re no longer just baking; you’re managing flow, output, consistency, and timing across multiple locations.
With Dephna’s support, the lockdown kitchen turned neighbourhood bakery was able to:
- step into a purpose-built commercial kitchen in NW London
- increase production without cutting corners on quality
- bring more structure to prep, baking, and finishing
- improve consistency across all their shops
Nothing overly complicated, just a setup that works properly.
And that’s often what makes the biggest difference.
Consultancy and Production Support
How Dephna Helped Optimise Operations
Scaling a bakery isn’t just about getting bigger ovens. It’s about making everything flow.
For this client, that meant focusing on the details:
Workflow planning Thinking through each stage: dough prep, proofing, baking, finishing, packing: and making sure it all connects logically.
Space optimisation Setting things up so people aren’t constantly crossing over each other or doubling back.
Production planning Working out batch sizes and timing so they can supply multiple locations without overproducing or falling short.
Cold storage strategy Making sure key ingredients (like butter and dough) and finished products are stored properly and consistently.
Compliance support Keeping everything aligned with food safety standards without making it overly complicated day-to-day.
Tips From Dephna
A few things we often share with bakery businesses making this kind of move:
- Start with your process: If your workflow isn’t clear, your space won’t fix it
- Don’t rush into a big unit: Growing into space is easier than shrinking out of it
- Think about storage early: Ingredients like butter and dough need proper planning
- Expect peaks: Weekends, holidays, and events will test your setup
- Keep things simple: The easier your layout, the smoother your day-to-day
- Stay flexible: Your menu and demand will change; your setup should allow for that
Day-to-Day Support
What Ongoing Support Looks Like
As the business has grown, the support hasn’t stopped.
Dephna provides:
- On-site team support
- Quick answers when things come up
- Practical advice as production changes
- Help adapting the space when needed
It’s not overly formal. Just consistent, useful support when it matters.
Audit Readiness and Compliance
For a growing bakery brand, compliance is always in the background. Dephna’s kitchens are set up to make that side of things more straightforward:
- Clear separation between different stages of production
- Logical layout that supports hygiene practices
- Storage that aligns with food safety expectations
- Systems that make audits less stressful
For the Notting Hill-born bakery, it means fewer surprises and more confidence when inspections come around.
Confidence to Grow
How Dephna Enables Expansion
Probably the biggest shift has been confidence.
For the kitchen turned neighbourhood bakery, having the right production setup means they can:
- plan growth without constantly worrying about space
- keep quality consistent across locations
- increase output as demand grows
- spend more time on the brand, not just the operations
Production becomes something that supports growth, rather than holding it back.
A Growing Partnership
As these croissant bun pioneers continue to expand across London, Dephna remains part of that journey.
What we offer is fairly straightforward:
- Flexible commercial kitchen space in London
- Scalable cold storage
- Ongoing, practical support
- Honest advice based on real operations
No overcomplication, just what’s needed to help things run properly.
Supporting London’s Food Businesses
This kind of growth story isn’t unusual in London right now.
A lot of the most interesting food brands start small, grow quickly, and then hit a point where their setup needs to catch up.
With the right space and support, that transition doesn’t have to be chaotic. It can be steady, manageable, and actually quite straightforward.
Looking to Scale Your Bakery Production?
If your current setup is starting to feel stretched, or you’re thinking about what comes next, it might be time to look at your production space properly.
Dephna offers flexible commercial kitchens, cold storage and storage solutions in London, designed to support growing food businesses without making things more complicated than they need to be.
If you want to explore your options, the team is always happy to have a conversation. Contact us and discover how Dephna can support your growth.
Author Information
This article was co-written by…
Brindha, Sales Director
Our Sales Director, Brindha, knows her stuff when it comes to finding the perfect commercial kitchen or cold storage solution. With years of experience and a hands-on approach, she’s all about making life easier for food entrepreneurs so they can focus on what they do best – creating amazing dishes. When she’s not helping businesses thrive, Brindha’s out and about exploring the hottest food trends around London.
