Duchess Bake Shop

What Duchess Bake Shop does

Duchess Bake Shop is a French bakery and patisserie founded in 2009 in Edmonton, Alberta, by Giselle Courteau and Garner Beggs. Ownership transferred in 2022 to local entrepreneurs Ewa and Jay. The company operates two physical retail locations — the flagship at 10718 124 Street and Little Duchess at 9570 76 Avenue in Ritchie Market — and generates revenue through in-store and online pre-order pastry sales (with a 48-hour minimum lead time), special occasion orders (macaron towers starting at $100 rental plus a $100 deposit, favors at $9-$12), corporate gift boxes ($90 small / $180 large) sold under the Duchess Provisions sub-brand, baking classes through Duchess Atelier, and two published cookbooks (Gold and Silver winners at the Taste Canada Awards).

The underlying technology is traditional French pastry craft executed from scratch with premium ingredients; there is no proprietary software platform. Customer transactions are processed through Shopify-hosted e-commerce and the Toasttab online ordering system integrated with the company website. The business operates a direct-to-consumer model with no delivery service, requiring pickup at one of the two Edmonton storefronts. Customer segments include individual consumers, event hosts and wedding planners, and corporate clients seeking premium gifting, with no disclosed enterprise anchor customers.

The business model is straightforward retail and event-services revenue with a handful of adjacent monetization streams (classes, gift boxes, cookbook sales). Marketing is primarily organic — a strong local brand reputation cultivated since 2009, community involvement with organizations such as iHuman, Esquao, Theatre Network, and Edmonton Opera, and social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. The company is privately held, privately funded, and does not disclose revenue. A planned change effective July 1, 2026 will consolidate all pre-order operations to the 124 Street flagship.

Name

Duchess Bake Shop

Legal name

Duchess Bake Shop

Website

https://duchessbakeshop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Duchess Bake Shop is a French bakery and patisserie founded in 2009 in Edmonton, operating two retail locations with direct-to-consumer and pre-order pastry sales, event orders, corporate gift boxes, baking classes, and award-winning cookbooks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Bakery and French Patisserie

NAICS

Retail Bakeries (311811)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Artisanal & Craft Bakeries (CRAHAGAA), Cake Shops & Custom Celebration Cakes (THAFAFAC)

Keywords

• Artisan french pastries
• Specialty bakery
• Macarons and croissants
• Baking classes
• Corporate gift boxes

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Pastry Sales: In-store and online ordering of pastries, cakes, macarons, and other baked goods at two Edmonton locations with 48-hour pre-order capability.
2. Special Occasion Orders: Custom orders for weddings and events including macaron towers ($100 rental + $100 deposit), macaron favors, and full pastry selections for events.
3. Corporate Gift Boxes: Curated Provision's Gift Boxes for corporate gifting - small box starting at $90, large box starting at $180, with 48-hour notice required.
4. Cookbook Sales: Sale of published cookbooks authored by founder Giselle Courteau, including the award-winning 'Duchess Bake Shop' and 'Duchess at Home'.
5. Baking Classes: Duchess Atelier offers baking classes taught by experienced instructors for home bakers looking to develop their skills.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Duchess Bake Shop is a French bakery and patisserie in Edmonton that handcrafts pastries, cakes, tarts, breads, macarons, éclairs, and seasonal baked goods from scratch using premium ingredients. The company sells its products through two retail locations and a 48-hour pre-order system, and supplements core bakery sales with special-occasion items, corporate gift boxes, award-winning cookbooks, and hands-on baking classes through Duchess Atelier.

Product overview

Duchess Bake Shop is a French bakery and patisserie founded in 2009, operating as a single unified brand with two retail locations (124th Street flagship and Little Duchess in Ritchie Market). The product portfolio includes handcrafted pastries and baked goods as the core offering, supplemented by special occasion products (Macaron Towers and Macaron Favours), corporate gift boxes (Provision's Gift Boxes), and publishing (two award-winning cookbooks). Additionally, Duchess Atelier provides baking classes as an educational extension of the brand. The company does not operate a technology platform but rather uses third-party platforms (Toast Tab for online ordering) for customer transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Handcrafted French Pastries and Baked Goods
• Macaron Tower

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• iHumanminorOthersCommunity supporter of iHuman, an organization supportingEdmonton's youth and community development.
• Esquao: The Institute for Advancement of Aboriginal WomenminorOthersCommunity supporter of Esquao, an institute dedicated to the advancement of Aboriginal women in Alberta.
• Theatre NetworkminorOthersCommunity supporter of Theatre Network, Edmonton's theatre arts organization.
• The Edmonton OperaminorOthersCommunity supporter of the Edmonton Opera, Edmonton's professional opera company.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Levain Bakery: New York artisanal bakery specializing in premium pastries (notably cookies) with strong direct-to-consumer foot traffic. Comparable as a small-footprint, premium-priced, scratch-bakery retail brand with limited geographic footprint.
• Dominique Ansel Bakery: New York-based French pastry shop founded by a named chef, known for croissant-based and French-influenced pastries. Directly comparable to Duchess on French pastry positioning, owned-brand identity, and limited multi-store model.
• Butter Baked Goods: Vancouver-based artisanal bakery/café with a strong cookbook and bespoke cake business. Highly comparable on premium pastry positioning, cookbook-led brand, and custom celebration cake offering in Canada.
• Bread + Butter Bakery: Edmonton-based artisanal bakery under Jay's River Valley Company portfolio. Operates in the same city with a similar scratch, premium bakery positioning, making it the closest direct comparator.

Broad incumbents

• Tartine Bakery: Iconic San Francisco bakery known for artisanal breads and pastries made from scratch. Comparable as a benchmark scratch-bakery brand with strong product-led reputation and cookbook/brand extension.
• Balthazar Bakery: New York bakery tied to the Balthazar restaurant brand, offering French breads and pastries. Comparable on French bakery craft and bakery-plus-cafe retail format.
• Ladurée: Global French patisserie famous for macarons and elegant retail locations. Directly comparable on the macaron and French celebration pastry product line, but operates at much larger scale and as an international incumbent.
• Paul Bakery: International French bakery chain with cafe-bakery locations. Comparable on French bakery positioning and wide assortment of viennoiserie and pastries, but operates multi-unit at a global scale.

Emerging players

• Mah Ze Dahr Bakery: Chef-owned artisanal bakery in New York focused on viennoiserie and French-influenced pastries. Comparable on small-batch French pastry craft and chef-led brand.

Regional players

• The Butter Tart Company: Canadian specialty bakery retail concept focused on a single signature product with multiple locations. Comparable as a Canadian specialty retail bakery brand but operates in a different product niche and goes after scale via franchising.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/duchessbakeshop
• Instagraminstagram.com/duchessbakeshop
• Xx.com/duchessbakeshop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dutchess-provisions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Duchess Bake Shop