Female-led Bao & Dim Sum Brand Launches with Immediate Success in the UK.
Female-Founded Bao and Dumplings brand Bun-dles has launched in the UK with meat, sweet & vegetarian options.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, founders Jenny Howson and Julie Lynch decided to swap their corporate careers after spotting a gap in the dim sum market.
Traditionally bao buns & dumplings, often referred to as ‘dim sum’, are hard to find outside of specialist shops and aren’t made fresh, often being packed with preservatives and additives to lengthen their shelf-life. Additionally, most dim sum foods require a steamer to be cooked, something not every household has.
Jenny and Julie set out to create something that they couldn’t find on the market – trendy bao and dumplings full of flavour that are made with no MSG, no added preservatives and use responsibly sourced, fresh ingredients. Every bao and dumpling is handmade with love and care in their London kitchen by top dim sum chefs, and support local independent farmers, using 100% British free-range meat in their meat options.
Their bao buns can also be cooked from frozen using just a microwave, making them available to everyone - even those without a steamer!
Customers can choose from a range of delicious flavours, including the popular Beef Rendang Bao and sweet Salted Custard Lava Bao. The company also offers a selection of vegan & vegetarian bao and dumplings, which are proving incredibly popular especially throughout Veganuary.
Customers can customise the size and flavours of their dim sum boxes, starting with the mini bun-dle, containing 18 bao & dumplings at £36.00 - great value for the quality of food you can only otherwise find at top specialist restaurants.
Influenced by her upbringing in Malaysia, where food played a huge part in her life, Julie wanted to share her fond memories of Sunday lunches spent sharing dim-sum with family and friends with people across the UK.
However, starting a business during the pandemic was definitely not easy, as Julie admits: “It wasn’t straightforward launching with two very young children at home, let alone in the middle of a pandemic riddled with supply chain issues.”
“At times, it felt like an incredibly steep uphill climb in the road to launching during Covid-19. Julie had just had a baby, childcare was incredibly difficult to secure and there were sleep deprived nights of gluing packaging sleeves at 2am to meet orders!” Jenny adds.
The two have spent the last year perfecting the recipes with input from some of the UK’s leading dim sum chefs, hosted countless tasting sessions and have now kitted out their own production kitchen in London. Despite the challenges, Bun-dles continues to go from strength to strength, selling thousands of meals over the past couple of months and has plans for retailer, restaurant and cafe stockists.
For more information, visit https://bun-dles.com/
High-quality images & Sample Boxes available upon request.