Share
It's great how bread fits into your lifestyle so easily. On those lazy days, you can grab some bread slices and transform them into a wholesome meal without cooking. Bread is quite popular and has been a part of culinary practices in many cultures for many years. It is affordable, easily available and is like a white canvas, you can paint anything you want. From sweet to savoury, there is one bread for every palate. In this case, Mumbai has a particularly intimate connection to bread, which is ingrained in the daily routines and memories of the city. Bread is comfort, convenience, and culture all combined, from fluffy loaves waiting to be toasted at home to soft pav tucked into spicy bhaji at roadside vendors with love and kindness.
You may witness the same spirit in action when you watch the neighbourhood sandwichwala generously butter his bread on both sides. This tiny street, which is only a short stroll from Dockyard Road station, actually takes you to the centre of Wibs, a 41-year-old Mumbai-only company that expanded by being kind. Wibs, or Western India Baker's Association, is run by the Irani brothers Khodadad, Hoshang, and Shehryar. A lot of their story emerges from regular experiences. Today, Wibs has quickly taken over social media and Instagram, and people are obsessed with the brand and its narrative. However, the origins of this instant sensation are much older than reels, likes, and virality. Every cult classic, including Wibs, has a beginning. So let's go back and start at the beginning.
Why Wibs Works For The Way Mumbai Eats
Fresh, reasonably priced, and incredibly adaptable, it is more than simply a side dish for Mumbaikars. Whether it's a midnight sandwich yearning or a fast buttered slice before work, brands like Wibs have become part of the everyday ritual because of their reliable taste and soft texture. One slice at a time, bread powers Mumbai, a city that never stops moving. The bread's profound integration into Mumbai's street food heritage is the reason for the Irani family's modest confidence around Wibs. Nearly every sandwich shop will have the recognisable blue, white, and red wrapper hidden below stacks of buttered toast.
As soon as you enter Mazgaon's D'Lima Street, you'll see that kindness is a manner of conducting business here rather than just a sentiment. Here, two brothers from Mumbai discreetly amassed an enterprise worth ₹500 crore by prioritising charity. Free loaves were given to sellers to taste, trust, and discuss long before Wibs became the bread that the majority of the city's sandwichwalas vouch for.
Many claim that Wibs breads have the suppleness required for substantial fillings, while other brands' breads are slightly sour and tougher. White bread remained the gold standard for sandwiches, and Wibs subtly became the go-to option for many who fed the city every day, even as tastes changed and brown bread entered the mix. From the Bombay Stock Exchange to Bandra, the bread economy was more intimate, smaller, and focused more on relationships than on reach. These overlapping tales show how Wibs developed in tandem with the city's eating habits, competing with giants while establishing a reputation for reliability rather than noise.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
A Sudden Fall-Out & Comeback
Wibs has returned to the market after going missing from bakeries and sandwich stands due to a family disagreement. Reports mention that it was a disagreement between Khodadad Irani, his brother and partner Sheyriar Irani and his family, and the family of their deceased brother Hoshang Irani, resulting in Wibs disappearing from the shelves. Since Khodadad Irani, the oldest of the three, filed an arbitration petition in the Bombay High Court to end the partnership, Western India Bakers Pvt Ltd's factories had been closed. However, it appears that a settlement has been struck, and Mumbai's favourite sandwich is now complete once more.
The sliced bread that is associated with the city's famous vegetable sandwich is produced by Wibs, which has its headquarters on Dockyard Road. Bread distributors claim that it has a 46% market share in the city's sliced bread market, with sandwichwalas purchasing 90% of it. The company employs about 3,000 people and has numerous factories in the city and Navi Mumbai. Snacks in Mumbai are plentiful, and most, like vada pav and Bombay sandwiches, are high on carbohydrates.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Most Mumbai corners have a stall or shop serving the beloved Bombay sandwich using Wibs bread. The snack has evolved over the years from a humble sandwich with a cucumber, tomato, potato and chutney filling to one that is now made with other crispy snacks like wafers and Kurkure. Wibs established strong trust at the local level by remaining a Mumbai-only brand, providing consistently fresh bread, and creating loaves especially for street cuisine.
Volumes quietly but dramatically increased as thousands of theatres, cafés, and traditional restaurants continued to choose Wibs. No ostentatious advertisements, no ambitious growth, just recurring business, devoted suppliers, and a product that perfectly complemented the city's regular eating habits. Over time, that consistency compounded, turning a neighbourhood bakery into a ₹500 crore enterprise almost overnight in the public eye and a staple of the city's street food for decades to come.
