Bakers Delight is an Australian-owned multinational bakery franchise chain, with franchisors in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
There are over 700 stores worldwide that offer freshly baked bread each day using traditional recipes and real ingredients. Australia has the highest number of stores with over 500 bakeries.
Bakers Delight was established on May 1st, 1980 by Roger and Lesley Gillespie. Lesley and Roger, a third-generation baker, opened a single bakery on Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn, Victoria.[1][2]
Bakers Delight now operates over 700 bakeries globally.[3]
In 1995, the franchise opened their first international bakery in Auckland, New Zealand and planned for further expansion.[4] Today, there are 19 bakeries in New Zealand.
Bakers Delight entered the Canadian market in 2003, under the name COBS Bread, and now has over 140 bakeries in five provinces and five bakeries in the USA.[5][6]
In 2017, Roger and Lesley Gillespie took a step back from the business and appointed daughter Elise Gillespie and her husband David Christie as joint CEOs. Still proudly family-owned and operated, Bakers Delight is now Australia’s most successful bakery franchise.
Committed to supporting local communities, Bakers Delight are well known for their fundraising and sponsorship opportunities, as well as successful partnerships.Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) Partnership
The long-term partnership between Bakers Delight and BCNA started in 2000. Since then, Baker's Delight have raised over $25 million for BCNA with their annual Pink Bun campaign that runs for three weeks in May. 100% of all 'Fun Bun' sales are donated directly to BCNA.