Chris Holland meets the head of a Bradford ethnic bakery business which is celebrating its 50th anniversary

A CUP of tea and a digestive biscuit is a treat familiar to most of us. But that could all change if a Bradford bakery boss has his way.

Asim Saleem, who runs Kashmir Crown Bakery, wants its signature product, the cake rusk, to rank alongside the digestive as a culinary favourite among British as well as Asian consumers among whom it is an established treat.

Promotion of the cake rusk - a crisp biscuit-cum-cake suitable for dunking in tea, coffee or milk - which was developed by his father and business founder Mohammed Salim - forms a key part of the company's 50th anniversary celebrations.

The cake rusk remains Kashmir Crown Bakery's best selling product out of a range of more than 90 lines made by Europe's largest Asian food manufacturer.

The twice-baked award-winning crunchy vanilla flavoured cake was recently sampled by Great British Bake-Off winner Nadiya Hussain who visited the Bradford bakery to kickstart the firm's 50th anniversary celebrations.

Traditionally a breakfast dish among Asian consumers, cake rusks account for around half of Kashnir Crown Bakery's output. While the UK remains the biggest market, the rusks are exported to Europe and also made under licence in the United States where they are growing in popularity.

Aslim said: "We see our 50th anniversary as a good opportunity to promote cake rusks to British consumers with the aim of rivalling the popularity of the digestive biscuit. They sit in the same sector of the confectionery market.

"Increased foreign travel has made British people more adventurous about what they eat and curry is now a well established favourite dish across the UK. We want to educate more people about our products and the cake rusk in particular makes an excellent alternative treat."

Kashmir Crown Bakeries now produces 125,000 pieces of cake rusk a day and sells them to independent retailers in various size packs ranging from six slices up to family boxes.

The business was started by Mohammed Saleem who arrived in the UK in 1961 with just £5 in his pocket and followed the traditional route of working in Bradford's wool textile mills.

He branched out into the food business in 1966 at a grocery shop in Leeds Road, the Kashmir Food Store, in which he invested £55 and had the idea of creating a halal dish aimed at British Asians.

After returning from the night shift in the mill, Mohammed started producing Asian sweetmeats on a single gas cooker.

In 1970 he bought the long-standing Whitehead's bakery on Carrington Street and renamed it Kashmir Bakery which formed the basis of today's business. He bought a van and switched full-time into the bakery business supplying a growing number of shops.

The signature cake rusk was first produced in 1971 to Mohammed Saleem's own recipe which remains a closely guarded secret.

By1980 KCB was distributing its products nationally and three years later moved into its current larger Worthington Street base to cope with growing demand.

Asim said: "My father grew the business gradually into the successful operation we have today and we have continued to build on that success since his retirement. The past five years have been tough with economic recession and so we have continued to move forward cautiously with a policy of controlled growth."

Kashmir Crown Bakeries continues to focus on supplying independent retailers. It's a £2 billion market sector with room for further growth.

The company is also looking to open up new overseas markets such as the Middle East where there is a big expat community of mainly South East Asians along with Canada which also has a large Asian community.

In markcts such as these KCB will establish local production operations under licence using local ingredients. .

In 1991 KCB launched a spin-off business, Yorkshire Cottage Bakeries Group, which made fairy cakes, American muffins and biscuits, mainly for supermarkets, including Morrisons. The £20 million turnover business was sold in 2005 to the Inter Link Foods group.

Asim said: "Supplying supermarkets is a low margin business which puts a major strain on cashflow which creates extra pressure. As a small family business we prefer to deal with independent retailers top which we are a key supplier and leading product brand. Other people try to imitate the cake rusk but consumers are very loyal and know our product.

“From the beginning we insisted on using high quality ingredients and obtained proof from our suppliers that whatever we used was high quality and free from animal fats."

Kashmir Crown Bakeries has a £7 million turnover and employs a 120-strong multi-ethnic workforce, most of them living in the BD8 and BD9 postcodes.

"We employ a wide range of people from Muslims to eastern Europeans and others. It's a very cosmopolitan and diverse workforce and we try and accommodate their needs, such as providing time to break off work for daily prayers," said Asim.

The company also operates a £3.3 million, 72,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre on Futures Way, off Bolling Road, which opened in 2012.

Asim is also considering further expansion into 15,000 sq ft of production space but will weigh up the impact of the Brexit vote before committing to the scheme for which funding is in place.

KCB is a hands-on family affair. Asim's wife and children work in the business taking responsibility for various parts of the operation, including managing food safety and supplier relationships, compliance and audits.