In 1980, Bakers Delight was founded by fourth generation baker and current CEOs Roger and Lesley Gillespie, together with Gary Stephenson. The first bakery was in Hawthorn, Melbourne and is still going strong today.

In 1988, the Gillespies owned 15 bakeries; quietly confident about their proven formula, they began to franchise these bakeries and by 1991, grew to 43 bakeries across Victoria. In the next two years, Bakers Delight expanded to 200 bakeries and just ten years later, 600. Today there are over 700 bakeries across three countries.

In 1991, the first franchise outside of Victoria was opened in Adelaide, South Australia. Just two years later Bakers Delight expanded to New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. In 1995, Bakers Delight went international, opening bakeries in New Zealand. And, in 2003 saw expansion into Canada under the 'COBS Bread' brand.

The name ‘Bakers Delight’ originated from the belief that every baker should be delighted by the product they bake and that every customer should be delighted by the service they receive. This belief drives Bakers Delight's current day practices and culture.