Hind Al Mulla Is Taking Home Bakery Global

Hind Al Mulla has always loved baking. She started experimenting in the kitchen at the age of 10. By 13, she had perfected a vanilla soufflé and became the go-to family member for desserts. After starting a family of her own, Hind continued to bake for relatives and friends. In 2011, she started accepting orders on social media. A few months later, the overwhelming number of orders had Hind working around the clock and enlisting the help of her siblings.

Hind Al Mulla. (Courtesy of Hind Al Mulla)

In 2012, Hind opened the first location of Home Bakery in Dubai after multiple malls had rejected her application, more accustomed to foreign franchises than homegrown cafés. Because she had no experience running a café and was faced with droves of excited customers, the first day was hectic. As the staff struggled to keep up, Hind and her siblings put on their aprons to help. Word got around to Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, about the buzz this new café run by the siblings had generated. Upon his visit to Home Bakery, he patted the siblings on the back and praised their entrepreneurial spirit. He later returned with Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the UAE, and the entire Cabinet, to enjoy Home Bakery’s offerings, which was a proud moment in Hind’s career.

A self-taught pastry chef, Hind now serves as co-founder and creative director of Home Bakery, overseeing its five branches in the UAE and two in Saudi Arabia. After attending Le Cordon Bleu to study cuisine in 2018, Hind started Home Bakery Kitchen, which serves lunch and dinner across nine branches in the UAE. La Gente, a specialty coffee shop with nine branches in the UAE, is also under the Home Bakery umbrella. Hind’s story has inspired restaurateurs across the UAE. She has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Forbes Middle East award and nomination for “Emirati Woman of the Year” by Emirates Woman Magazine, and she won the Valrhona Circle V global baking competition.

In the weeks leading up to the outbreak of the conflict, AGSI spoke to Hind about her creative process, the future of Home Bakery and its global expansion plan, and the challenges facing Gulf restaurateurs.

Home Bakery’s stand at the UAE Pavilion at Davos 2024 serving Emirati chai hot chocolate. (Courtesy of Hind Al Mulla)

AGSI: What are your plans for Home Bakery in the next five to 10 years?

Hind: In the next five years, I see a large expansion in the Gulf. In the next 10 years, I see an expansion to India, Egypt, and Turkey. I see London in the more distant future, but there are a lot of restrictions there. I would love to expand to the United States too, but I would need the right partners, as we don’t know the laws or the regulations. I have a few chefs in mind who are friends and who are very eager to partner with Home Bakery and open a branch in the United States. They can be my eyes and ears without me calling it a franchise.

The other part of the plan would be retail – coming up with different items, such as ice cream, sauces, spices, granolas, that can end up on grocery store shelves. In terms of merchandising, I definitely see a future with Home Bakery homeware or kitchenware –something that I personally love and would love to see everyone using. I have very specific tastes when it comes to kitchenware.

AGSI: You mentioned franchising and investors. Do you prefer to have investors or partners over franchising?

Hind: Yes. I don’t see us as a McDonald’s. The interior of the branch alone is expensive and time consuming to design and build. There must be attention to detail. Our menu is extensive and very detailed. And, we do change it up every once in a while. “Today, we’re gonna launch something special.” It’s just for a day, a week, or a certain period of time. I need all my branches to be aligned. That is where I feel a partnership with someone who understands my vision works better than blowing Home Bakery up, and I have no control.

AGSI: What is your approach to finding investors or partners?

Hind: We have been approached by so many people! For our Gulf and India expansion, I am working with a friend who knows the market. They suggest a location. We fly in. We look at the location and ask, “Does this make sense for Home Bakery? Yes. Let’s go ahead!” I fly in every few weeks to check on the design, accessories, and how it’s going. I’m very much involved. Working with this friend has been excellent because I feel like I have complete ownership of the expansion and where we want to see our brand going. They understand our vision. They support me. They don’t take rash decisions. I love this partnership.

AGSI: For your expansion in the Gulf, what challenges do you face in terms of the laws, permits, and logistics? If someone owns a business and hopes to expand in the Gulf, what can they expect?

Hind: I highly advise finding a local partner. With our first branch in Riyadh, we did it ourselves, and it took us three years to open! We didn’t know a lot of the rules and regulations. It is different when you have a Saudi who knows the ins and outs of those government departments and regulations. You can leverage their connections. After the partnership, things are much smoother. Opening a branch now takes six to eight months from finding a location to opening, not two or three years!

AGSI: In a January 2025 interview, you mentioned that you provide consulting for other businesses. Is this something you want to continue doing?

Hind: Absolutely! Currently, it’s people coming to meet me, and I say, “What is your idea? Where do you want to take it?” I give them a step-by-step, A to Z on how to start. Some of them come back to me: “Hind, this is our kitchen plan. Can you help us?” I redesign their kitchen plans. Some of them get in touch with me later: “We are having trouble hiring people. Do you know anyone?” If I see anyone suitable, I send them the CV. I’m not getting paid for this. I do this because I want to see people do well, and I would like to see more concepts coming out of local, talented people.

I definitely see a huge gap in the market. People have a brilliant concept they want to see come to life, but the cost of opening something has become so high that you cannot do this on your own. This is where I plan on stepping in. They can rent the space but only have a small kitchen. We become their back-end kitchen. We create everything together – we create the recipes, the mise en place, the items, and we send it to them ready, and they only need to finish it up in the kitchen. This will save them hiring so much staff when opening a restaurant. This is what we’re working on for the future of Home Bakery – a consultancy, but we take care of everything from A to Z, design of the kitchen, implementation, hiring, and training the staff. We already do this – we have a roaster called La Gente where we train our baristas and those of other cafés.

AGSI: You were trained at Le Cordon Bleu, and you also taught yourself a lot of things. Do you see similar pathways today for young Emiratis and khaleejis?

Hind: With pastry, I was self-taught. When I went to Le Cordon Bleu, I was learning cuisine because I didn’t have time for 10 years of trial and error to perfect that. I needed to be taught so that I could speed up the process of opening a restaurant. Right now, for young Emiratis, there are so many institutions here in Dubai where they can learn.

I grew up in an age where there was no YouTube, so learning a recipe meant looking at different books and developing a recipe through trial and error. Now, anybody can be a cook! It all depends on that person’s creativity: finding your flavors, your taste, and what appeals to your customers. How are you going to stand out? I want to see Emiratis coming out of their shells, coming up with amazing concepts. Opening a business is so easy – you just need an Instagram account, to register your business, and then see where it goes! You just need to have your passion, follow through, and be creative.

AGSI: I’m curious about your process. When you need to come up with ideas for new specials on the menu or collaborations, what do you do?

Hind: We have a summer menu, a winter menu, and a Ramadan menu. For these, I used to create three to four items for every section of the menu. Right now, I’ve reduced it to one hero item, so we have one dessert, one drink, and one breakfast. And, if it’s Home Bakery Kitchen, it’s one salad, one main, and one something to share. I look at what I’m craving! I try something at home, and if it works, I think, “Let’s see how we can upgrade this.”

I’m currently on the hunt for the best chocolate chip cookie in town, so we’ve been testing cookies like there’s no tomorrow – changing the sugars, butter, flour, consistency, and different chocolates. I think that we can come up with the best chocolate chip cookie in town. It’s been a 3-month process, and I still haven’t cracked it! So, this is my exercise.

We also get a lot of requests from different government entities or brands that want to collaborate. They say, “This is what we have in mind. This is the theme. Create a menu.” Here, I’m restricted by their idea, and I come up with something. That has been very exciting too. For the 1 Billion Followers Summit, an annual gathering of influencers organized by the government of Dubai, for example, they came to us and said, “We want Arabic desserts.” We created a whole menu. For example, our coffee was a rotab, or freshly harvested date, latte. I had the dates soaking overnight in steeped milk so that we could get the most flavor. I didn’t want bits of the dates in it. You want a smooth drink with a qahwa, or Arabic coffee, shot. What we did for Dubai Watch Week was an arcade in the ‘80s, with neon colors. They were launching a half-moon watch, so we created everything around that theme, with super colorful, super playful desserts. The food was back to basics – burgers and hot dogs but with a nostalgic Dubai flavor. I love these collaborations!

AGSI: You mentioned local flavors. What kind of research do you do for that? And what is your approach to introducing those flavors to people who might not be familiar with them?

Hind: When it comes to traditional dishes, I go back to my grandmother’s recipes. I look at the original recipe, and then I think, “How can I make this modern?” And that’s where it becomes super playful, super fun. It then becomes more appealing to expats as well because it’s not something unusual that they’re looking at. They think, “Oh, it’s soft serve!” But when they taste it, it’s bursting with saffron. And there are crunchy bits. “What’s this?” It’s khanfaroosh, a Madeleine-like cake. “What’s this jelly thing at the bottom?” It’s sago. So, you’ve got so many different textures, layers, and flavors coming together. And, then they ask, “What is this? I’ve never had something like this before.” And, you go, “Oh, let me explain.” It becomes an interesting story to tell!

AGSI: If we zoom out, what do you hope your impact will be in the community? When people walk away from a Home Bakery branch, what do you hope stays with them?

Hind: Right now, when I go to speak at schools and universities, students say, “When I was young, I remember going to Home Bakery!” For them, it’s nostalgia. I feel very old when they say that to me! But it’s very humbling that this is their childhood. For my generation, it is comfort. I feel like Home Bakery is growing with me. When making desserts, I used to make things so much sweeter compared to right now. My palate has changed completely. “Please, let’s not make it too sugary!” So, we’re catering to both generations. Home Bakery is for the community. It’s growing with the community.

Home Bakery’s desserts, featuring the signature Chewy Melt Cookie served aboard Emirates flights. (Courtesy of Hind Al Mulla)

AGSI:  You mentioned nostalgia and people growing up with Home Bakery. The Chewy Melt cookie is your signature item. Is it a good thing that people get attached to items, or does it make it hard for you to convince them to try new things?

Hind: No, I love that they have items that they love, and they always come back! I don’t think there is a person who comes by Home Bakery and does not pick up a box of Chewy Melt on their way out or a slice of milk cake. It’s impossible! But they do try the new items, and they send us feedback. They message me personally. Even customers who come from Kuwait, Qatar, or Bahrain, they say, “We cannot leave Dubai without a Chewy Melt box!” They all keep saying, “When are you going to open in our country?” So, I’m very excited to be opening in those locations. I still have people coming with a gigantic box and telling me, “Fill this up with Chewy Melts!” It’s lovely to see.

The views represented herein are the author's or speaker's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AGSI, its staff, or its board of directors.