Origin Bake in partnership with eighty/twenty Cafe opens in City West. Photo: Tenele Conway.
In his seventh year of business, local baker Karim Gad of Origin Bake has partnered with Aakash Shah of eighty/twenty Cafe. Together they have their sights set on shaking up wholesale bakery distribution in Canberra.
The first sign of this new hospitality partnership was the opening of a new bakery cafe located in City West which bears the branding of both businesses. With bright topaz walls and gold pendant lighting, the cafe going by the name of Origin Bake, opened its doors in October 2024 and has a prominent presence on Childers Street.
Sitting down with Karim and Aakash, it’s apparent they are leveraging their complementary skills to define a new way of business for both of them with the bakery cafe selling Karim’s breads, while the cafe food is by eighty/twenty.
In a case of something being more than it seems, the cafe itself is not the primary goal for this new hospitality duo who will also be using the space to grow their bakery wholesale supply network which will be serviced from the production space onsite.
Aakash Shah and Karim Gad of the new Origin Bake Cafe. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Eighty/twenty cafes are in eight locations in Canberra with more coming soon and in addition to supplying their own stores they plan to attract cafe clients with an aggressive pricing strategy.
“The wholesale market in Canberra is controlled by one or two players, which is why the prices are high. We want to make the market more competitive to bring costs down for cafes by around 20 per cent,” Aakash said.
“We’ve been using Origin Bake in our cafes for the past couple of years and we know it’s good. We want to focus on producing the staples that cafes need, everyday products. We’re making sure those products are really good at a reasonable price.”
Looking to the future, Karim and Aakash have ensured their production facility can handle the volume of new clients they are hoping to win.
“We have the space and manpower here to expand as we get more clients. Our staff are very experienced and we know what we’re doing. We’re set up for three times what we are currently producing now,” Aakash said.
The faith Aakash has in Karim’s sourdough was the primary catalyst for the partnership and with nearly a decade of sourdough making under his belt, Karim is confident in his product.
Karim Gad is taking charge of production for the new business venture. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Coming to Australia from Egypt in 2012 with his Australian wife, Karim’s job as a kitchen hand with the famous patissiere Adriano Zumbo was the springboard for him to get fully trained in the industry.
After making his way to Canberra in 2018, Karim made his mark on the farmers market scene and has been selling his sourdough across the region and even as far as Wagga.
The market’s income then allowed him to move into a bakery premises in Phillip, which included direct to consumer distribution but no cafe services.
His passion for sourdough is what drives Karim to keep refining his product and part of that passion stems directly from his Egyptian heritage which he proudly shares through the company’s logo which resembles the Eye of Horus as well their tagline “Egyptian Crafted”.
“Sourdough came from ancient Egypt and my sourdough has no preservatives or additives and I’m so proud of that,” Karim said.
Origin Bake is serving bread from Origin Bake and cafe food from eighty/twenty. Photo: Tenele Conway.
The friendship between Karim and Aakash has been one of the driving forces for Karim to further grow his business through the new cafe and the expansion of the wholesale supply.
“We told him that his products are amazing, and that he needs to take the next step; we’re going to support him to do that,” Aakash said.
While expansion is the goal, Karim is conscious that not all business opportunities are worth pursuing and has pulled back on his previous commitments to supplying IGA’s across Canberra which didn’t align with his need for family time with two kids at home.
If this hospitality duo’s combined experience and open support of each other are anything to go by, Canberra may be set to reap the benefits of a more competitive supply chain within the hospitality industry.
Origin Bake is located at 3/35 Childers Street and is open 7 days from 8 am until 3 pm.
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