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Theobroma refused to write ‘Happy Birthday’ on Bengaluru woman’s cake. Their clarification
After Ritu Joon's claims of a cake message refusal at Theobroma, the bakery chain explained that the practice stems from space limitations
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One day after content creator Ritu Joon alleged that a Theobroma outlet in Bengaluru refused to write “Happy Birthday” on her cake, the bakery chain has acknowledged that its teams have been instructed to not pipe celebratory messages on cakes.
The clarification came after HT.com reached out to Theobroma for a statement on Monday.
Here’s what happened
On Sunday, content creator Ritu Joon alleged that she went to a Theobroma outlet in HSR, Bengaluru and bought a cake. She requested that the bakery write “Happy Birthday Ritu Joon” on the cake — a request that was turned down.
Instead, a Theobroma employee informed her that she could purchase a “Happy Birthday” cake topper.
“Yesterday we went to Theobroma in HSR for a birthday cake. I asked them to write ‘Happy Birthday Ritu Joon’ on it. The shopkeeper refused and said they would write the name but not ‘Happy Birthday’ on the cake. He said I could buy a Happy Birthday cake topper from their shop,” the content creator alleged in her X post.
Ritu Joon wondered whether the refusal to write ‘Happy Birthday’ on cakes — a pretty standard practice — was a ploy to get customers to spend more money by pushing them to purchase cake toppers.
“What is this new technique to force customers to buy these things?” she asked.
Theobroma, however, told HT.com that space constraints, not monetary gains, is the reason why its teams have been instructed to not pipe celebratory messages like ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Happy Anniversary’ on cakes.
Theobroma’s clarification
You can read Theobroma’s full statement below:
At Theobroma, our customers are at the heart of what we do, and we want them to feel valued and cared for, especially when they choose us to be part of their special occasions.
Given the limited writing space on some of our cakes, our teams have been instructed to write only the recipient's name so that the cake remains well presented.
For celebratory messages such as 'Happy Birthday' or 'Happy Anniversary', our teams offer a cake topper as an additional option. Cake toppers are entirely optional and many customers have found them convenient as they are aesthetically pleasing and reusable.
We remain committed to making every celebration with Theobroma a positive and memorable experience for our customers.
