Bun-dles: Enjoy An Authentic, Fresh Bao And/Or Dim Sum Delivery

Launched in 2021, Bun-dles is a female-led bao and dim sum start-up that has taken the market by storm, – due to their popular meat, sweet, and veggie products.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, both Founders (Jenny Howson and Julie Lynch) decided to ditch their corporate careers after they spotted a gap in the dim sum market.

Traditionally, bao buns and dumplings (which are often referred to as ‘dim sum’) are hard to find outside of specialist shops, and they’re not typically made fresh. Also, there’s the issue of preservatives and additives being used to lengthen their shelf-life.

Therefore, Jenny and Julie decided to create something that they could not find elsewhere: trendy bao and dumplings which are full of flavour, minus the MSG, minus the added preservatives, AND using responsibly-sourced, fresh ingredients.

Bun-dles’ bao and dumplings are handmade with love and care in the brand’s London-based kitchen, by top dim sum chefs. The brand supports local independent farmers: they use 100% British free-range meat in their meat options. Also, their bao buns can be cooked from frozen using just a microwave, – making them available to everyone (even those without a steamer).

This quality of food can ONLY be found otherwise at top specialist restaurants, and customers can choose from a wide range of delicious flavours, such as their popular Beef Rendang Bao and sweet Salted Custard Lava Bao, or their wonderful selection of vegan and vegetarian bao and dumplings.

As well as this, orders can be customised, and the size and flavours of the dim sum boxes can be varied, too, – starting out with the mini bun-dle (which contains 18 bao and dumplings).

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 she admits below:

“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,” said Julie.

“At times, it felt like an incredibly steep uphill climb in the road towards 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!” said Jenny.

The duo have spent the last year perfecting the recipes with input from some of the UK’s leading dim sum chefs, they’ve hosted countless tasting sessions, and now, they’ve kitted out their own production facility in London.

Despite the above challenges, Bun-dles continues to go from strength to strength: from being featured in Olive magazine and The Grocer, to selling thousands of meals (with plans for retailer, restaurant, and cafe stockists), the future is looking bright for this start-up.

Find out more here: https://bun-dles.com