Bake My Day takes pink tins to Riyadh

Bake My Day has opened its first international store in Riyadh, taking the Dubai-born dessert brand beyond the UAE with a retail format built around its viral cookie dough sharing tins, fresh-baked cookies and gifting-led bakery experience.

The Riyadh launch marks a cross-border step for a founder-led business that began as a home kitchen idea in Dubai and grew into a recognisable dessert label through social media visibility, delivery demand and distinctive packaging. The brand, founded by Yasmeen Jisri and trading since 2014, is best known for its pink tins filled with cookie dough-style treats designed for sharing, gifting and group occasions.

The first Riyadh outlet introduces the Saudi market to Bake My Day’s core range, including thick cookies, loaded flavours, celebration-themed treats and the signature tins that became central to its identity in the UAE. The opening follows growing appetite in the Gulf for dessert brands that combine product theatre, giftability and strong visual branding, particularly among younger consumers who discover food concepts through Instagram, TikTok and delivery platforms before visiting physical stores.

Riyadh has become one of the region’s most competitive food and beverage markets, helped by population growth, higher consumer spending, mall expansion and the city’s broader hospitality push. Saudi Arabia’s food and beverage market is estimated at more than $38bn in 2026 and is projected to cross $50bn by 2031, while the café segment continues to expand as international chains, regional operators and homegrown concepts compete for prime locations. Dessert and bakery operators are benefiting from the same trend, with premium cookies, cakes, frozen desserts and speciality coffee increasingly treated as lifestyle purchases rather than occasional indulgences.

Bake My Day’s move into Riyadh also reflects a broader pattern in which UAE-born food brands are using Saudi Arabia as the first major test of regional scale. The kingdom offers a large urban consumer base, rising tourism activity and a fast-growing restaurant scene, but it also presents a demanding market where brand novelty alone is rarely enough. Operators face high expectations on product consistency, store experience, delivery reliability and adaptation to local tastes.

For Bake My Day, the appeal lies in a product format that is already suited to social occasions. The pink sharing tin gives the brand a clear point of difference in a crowded dessert category, while its cookie dough positioning allows it to sit between bakery, confectionery and gifting. That hybrid identity has helped the business stand apart from standard cookie shops and cake counters, particularly in a market where packaging and presentation strongly influence purchase decisions.

The brand’s Dubai story is also central to its positioning. Its growth from a home-based bakery into a retail and delivery name gives it a founder-led narrative that resonates with consumers who increasingly favour businesses with a visible origin story. In the Gulf, such stories can carry commercial value when paired with scalable operations, especially as diners look for regional concepts that feel more personal than global chains.

The Riyadh opening comes at a time when Saudi consumers are showing strong demand for premium casual dining and speciality food formats. International restaurant groups have targeted the kingdom aggressively, while local operators have expanded from single-city businesses into national brands. This has created a market where a Dubai dessert concept can find opportunity, but also where it must compete against established café chains, boutique bakeries, chocolate houses and homegrown Saudi dessert brands.

The social media dimension remains critical. Bake My Day’s cookie dough tins gained attention because they were designed not only to be eaten but also photographed, shared and gifted. That matters in Riyadh, where food trends can move quickly through digital platforms and where limited drops, distinctive packaging and creator-led promotion often shape early footfall. The challenge will be to convert launch attention into repeat demand once the novelty of the first store fades.

Product localisation is likely to be another test. Gulf dessert consumers often favour rich flavours, generous portions and celebratory packaging, but preferences vary across cities and occasions. Operators entering Riyadh frequently adjust menus around family gatherings, Ramadan and Eid gifting, corporate orders and delivery-friendly formats. Bake My Day’s tins give it a ready-made platform for such occasions, while its core cookie range can be adapted with flavours that suit local demand without diluting the brand.