Fans of European baking living in Wuxi, Jiangsu province are in luck, thanks to the efforts of Xuzhou-born entrepreneur, Cao Liqiu.
Her German-style bakery situated in the heart of Wuxi has seen a steady stream of customers since it opened just over a year ago.
With the traditional dirndl dress hanging up behind the counter and stack of pretzels next to the till, the 43-year-old businesswoman has created an authentic little bakery that would not look out of place in any Bavarian village.
Cao, who decided to open the bakery after spending 10 years living and working abroad, knows that she took a risk opening such a niche business in a second-tier city.
Some people advised me to simply invest money in the stock market, says the softly-spoken entrepreneur.
But Cao sensed an opportunity. She and her Austrian-born husband, Robert, were both missing the food they had enjoyed abroad –– especially German-style bread and cakes –– and she noticed that others were trying to find places to buy them.
I could see that more and more people were ordering this type of thing, but from Shanghai or Suzhou, she explains.
So Cao decided to take the plunge and enrolled herself on a professional month-long baking course in Germany. While there she learnt the different aspects of German baking and graduated from the course with a diploma from the German National Bakers Academy.
Back in China, Cao didn't waste time. She quickly found a small shop for rent and purchased the equipment she needed for her new business, including commercial ovens and a proofer for her bread products.
Now ready to start trading, the entrepreneur opened her new bakery "Alps" in downtown Wuxi, near to the city's Sanyang Plaza shopping district, on Sept 1, 2017.
And after spending all those years abroad, Cao claims that China is simply the best place to come and start a small business.
She highlights the relatively low tax rates and the ease of setting up payment systems like WeChat and Alipay, powered by China's internet of things (IoT) revolution.
The only thing I would have liked which I couldn't do, was to have some small chairs and tables outside the bakery for my customers, she says.
But sourcing some of the ingredients for the products proved difficult, especially getting the right flour for her traditional German sour bread, meaning she is forced to rely on imports.
Despite the expense of opening a new business and the difficulties of creating high-quality German bread and cakes in China, the entrepreneur's business is now thriving –– and it's not hard to see why.
With everything from coffee, pretzels and sour bread; to cheesecake, tea and German beer –– Cao is able to offer customers an authentic European bakery experience.
And her formula is proving such a success that she now has a steady stream of regular customers, including many who place large orders.
While a lot of foreigners buy my products, around 60 percent of my clientele are Chinese, she says.
Local Swiss expat Astrid Fehr, 59, is a regular customer of Cao's. And while she claims not to buy many foreign products, she is willing to make an exception for Alps.
"I like going to Alps because the owner is a lovely person, and I admire her for opening her own business. I like her pretzels most of all, but all her bread is good and she uses high-quality ingredients," explains Fehr.
Many of Cao's regular customers are members of her bakery's WeChat group, where she shares the latest products that she's made and takes orders.
She's really friendly and has created a unique business; she doesn't follow trends and is bringing European culture to Chinese customers, says Tian Xiaona, 42.
Recently, she has seen an increased number of orders from large companies buying European-style snacks for their staff. And this is an area where Cao hopes to expand.
But she faces challenges in producing products in large enough quantities to meet demand.
At the moment Cao works 10 hours a day in the bakery, with only the occasional few hours off, thanks to the assistance of her nephew.
However, the energetic entrepreneur doesn't fear hard work and is now looking to expand her business and open more bakeries in other cities.
I am looking for good, reliable partners to help expand what I have built here, but I have to be careful as many simply want to copy my recipes and open their own bakeries, she says.
But with her thriving Wuxi business, and her obvious passion and determination for what she does, there is probably a good chance that one of Cao's bakeries will soon be opening in a city near you.
(source:chinadaily.com.cn)
