Maria Svedenhov, aka Mrs. Viking, is on a mission to make the best baguette in Dubai… and she’s already nailed it with artisanal bakery Viking Bageri
Growing up in Sweden, Maria Svedenhov has long been inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of her family. “When my classmates asked me what my father did, my replies would vary from ‘he owns a supermarket’ to ‘he is looking to buy an ostrich farm,’” she tells MOJEH. “We always talked a lot about business opportunities around the kitchen table, and I will always be grateful that my sister and I got those lessons from an early age.” It’s this spirit imbued in the 40-year-old mother of two which led her to launch Viking Bageri alongside her husband, Magnus, who both run the business while also working full-time day jobs in Dubai and Ajman.
Borne from the pandemic, Viking Bageri is a small artisanal bakery specialising in freshly-made baguettes, providing soft, home-baked loaves to the people of Dubai and the surrounding emirates. “My husband started his baking journey in March 2020, and continued into the summer, getting more obsessive,” explains Maria. Not only did he stay in Dubai and bake every day during his wife’s summer trip to Sweden with their children, but when she returned, Maria discovered he had unwittingly created a whole new business. “When we returned after a couple of weeks, he sat me down,” she says. “He told me, ‘So I’ve baked every day, and now people want to order the bread.’” And the rest is history. “I realised we were in business,” says Maria. “I also realised we needed a website and ordering system, so the next day we worked on those.”
Soon, people were driving across the UAE every single Friday to buy one of the team’s now-acclaimed baguettes, and it soon became a ritual for Maria. Now the brand boasts a partnership with Krush Brands, offers deliveries, and even has its very own bakery in the heart of Dubai Marina, producing the highest-quality bread in the business. “We take great pride in our bread,” explains Maria. “We still to this day don’t use any machinery other than a fridge and oven, and we work very hard to make sure the bread is no older then three hours when it reaches our customers.” When not baking, Maria loves sampling Dubai’s plethora of fabulous restaurants, of which there are many. “I have so many favourite restaurants, depending on the mood and company,” she says. “One that probably not a lot of people have found yet is Goldfish in Galleria Mall. It’s very low-key, but the food is anything but. It’s owned by Akman Anuar, the chef who started 3Fils, and the food is simply amazing.”
Maria also enjoys spending time with her family. “The business does steal time from us, and I guess that’s something all entrepreneurs can agree on. It’s near-impossible to get anywhere without putting your soul, blood, sweat and tears into your business, but when you do that you need to sacrifice other things.”
With a slow and steady expansion on the cards, the Viking Bageri duo are now looking to enter the Abu Dhabi market, while still continually reflecting on their expedited success. “When people started contacting me for advice on becoming as successful as we have been, I realised that we had made it,” says Maria. “I’m still overwhelmed by the fact that I get asked to do interviews like this, or give speeches, but it’s slowing dawning on me that it is because of what we have achieved.” Order now
