Episode #430 - Standing Out And Diversifying In A Busy Marketplace - with Charlotte Giddings from Brownie and the Bean

In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, host Kevin Brent speaks with Charlotte Giddings, founder of Brownie and the Bean, a business that started as a mobile café and has since grown into a multi-faceted company with a strong online presence. Charlotte takes us through her entrepreneurial journey, sharing the key decisions and challenges that have shaped the business since it launched in 2019.

Episode Highlights:

• Business Evolution: Charlotte explains how Brownie and the Bean began as a mobile café in a horse trailer and pivoted during the pandemic to embrace e-commerce. They now operate across several revenue streams, including online sales, wholesale, and a thriving corporate gifting division, particularly strong during Q4, where sales increase fivefold.
• Scaling Challenges: From managing seasonal demand to dealing with skyrocketing ingredient costs (e.g., a 300% increase in cocoa prices), Charlotte discusses the pressures of scaling up. She also reveals the difficulties of transitioning from a hands-on founder to a team manager, alongside navigating cash flow and financing growth.
• Product and Brand Differentiation: One of the keys to Brownie and the Bean's success is their handcrafted, high-quality products, including brownies, blondies, and cakes for wholesale. They’ve built a strong following on social media, leveraging their personal brand story and behind-the-scenes content to connect with customers.
• Future Ambitions: Looking ahead, Charlotte plans to grow their corporate gifting line to smooth out seasonal fluctuations, participate in larger festivals like Glastonbury, and ultimately work towards selling the business in the next decade.

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For now, continue listening for the full story from Charlotte!

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More on Brownie and the Bean

They are a Suffolk based family business that started life just before the pandemic. They specialise in handcrafted cakes, baked with the finest ingredients (locally sourced wherever possible). Corporate gifting is their main area of expertise and they work with businesses in lots of different ways. They have a huge range of gift ideas on offer from individually wrapped branded brownies, to festive feasting grazing tables. Their brownies are also dispatched all over the UK in gift boxes (which can also be branded with your logo and festive message). You can find out more about their corporate gifting here.

Charlotte can be found here: