In Quiet Rebellion, This Bakehouse Is Making Space for Everyone
In the pastry scene, Rebel Bakehouse stands out not only for its croissants, but for its unshakeable commitment to inclusivity.
Rebel Bakehouse opened their first shop in 2022, a 500-square-meter warehouse converted into a commissary-café, inconspicuously sitting along Naguilian Road in Baguio City. But their pastries, particularly their croissants, did not stay inconspicuous for too long.
The baked goods amassed a following online—first, for how they looked, elegantly laminated and brushed; second, for how they tasted, good enough to sell out hundreds of boxes every time they came down to Manila.
That first shop, now their flagship, birthed several others: a commissary in Maginhawa, several pop-ups in the Metro’s major malls, and most recently, a shop right beside the historic Baguio Cathedral.
When they opened the space at the heart of the city’s central business district, they invited the Diocese of Baguio for a blessing. A priest considered the iconic Cathedral, cream-colored with its stained-glass windows, and mused at the bakehouse’s sign: strikingly red, with the “R” distinctively shaped to look both like a dagger and a flame.
He looked at the two thirty-something owners, both of whom are partners in the business and in real life.
“So. Why Rebel?”
More than a bakehouse
Kieran Punay
For Donna Aldana, a medical doctor-turned-baker who leads the business’ product development, Rebel came knocking during a tumultuous season, three years before their first shop opened. “I was going through a difficult time, and I had two options: to go down a destructive path or to create something. I chose to create,” she says. That, in itself, was Aldana’s rebellion.
Her partner, Danica Santos, who has a decades-long experience in construction and now spearheads Rebel’s operations, adds, “Donna and I started Rebel Bakehouse so we could create something for us, from the croissants we wanted to eat, to the kind of work and workplace we wanted.”
Santos reflects on their shoot with Allure Philippines. “When I was a kid, I knew and I felt that I was different. I never imagined, never dreamt of being in a beauty magazine. But what is ‘beautiful’ now is changing. Who says we need to ‘fit in’? Now that I’m an adult, I realize that we’re all different in our own way. So that’s what we want. Sa Rebel, lahat tayo iba-iba. We don’t care what your shape, size, sexuality, or color is.”
A people-first mandate
What started as an inclusive space for Aldana and Santos extended to their team, now 75-strong. Aldana says, “One of our team members shared recently, ‘Kakaiba naman dito. Never ako tinanong kung bakla ba ako.” (“I was never asked here if I’m gay.”) She continues, “Kung may compliment akong matatanggap, ‘yun ‘yun. Because it means we’ve normalized it.”
Part of creating psychological safety at work, and spurred by her own challenges with mental health, Santos also made sure that one of the team’s healthcare benefits included access to an on-call psychiatrist, who helps the staff process their experiences.
And because the Rebel team feels safe to show up fully as themselves, it becomes easier for them to provide what Aldana and Santos call “enlightened hospitality”—or putting people first—for guests. “May malasakit sila sa mga customers, no matter who they are,” Santos says. “May malasakit sila sa isa’t isa.”
Innovation over profit
Kieran Punay
When one of Rebel’s pastries becomes a bestseller, what Aldana does—quite rebelliously and contrary to conventional business wisdom—is to take it out of their lineup. She says that when their lineup of pastries stays the same, her team of bakers “isn’t learning anything new.”
So when they take specific pastries or croissants out of commission, the duo does so without any regrets. “‘Yung pinakamabentang pastries? Hindi ‘yun ‘yung point,” says Santos. “We didn’t do Rebel to have a lot of money.”
Aldana agrees. “I always go back to the team. It’s not for us anymore. Super saya ko pag natutulungan namin sila. Hopefully, Rebel is their stepping stone that propels them into greatness.”
“Our people matter,” Santos says. “We want to build a business where care isn’t just a value on paper—it’s something you can feel.”
Photographer: Kieran Punay. Makeup: Nicole Ceballos. Hair: JA Feliciano.
