Episode 41: Charlotte Giddings - Brownie and the bean

Yvonne: Welcome to the Adventures in Cakeland podcast. I'm um, your host Yvonne and this is the podcast where we talk about the ups and downs of cake life, running a business, exploring the latest cake trends and hearing authentic stories from other cake business owners. I really hope you enjoy today's episode. Welcome to another episode of the Adventures in Cakeland podcast. So how are you and how is business? So in today's episode it is a guest. We haven't had a guest for quite a while and I am interviewing Charlotte from Browning the Bean. It's a national family run business and I first came across Charlotte at the SBS event that I went to in February, the Theopa Fetus event. And she was on the stage and she was so passionate about her business and so vibrant that I thought I'd love to have her on the podcast. And when I asked her, she kindly agreed. So without further ado, here is Charlotte from Brownie and the Bean. So welcome to the podcast, Charlotte. Thank you for being on. How are you today?

Charlotte Giddings: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really great today. Um, yeah, it's been a busy couple of weeks, thank goodness. So yes, I'm feeling pumped.

Yvonne: I can imagine. So before we go any further into the interview, would you just like to introduce yourself and your business?

Charlotte Giddings: No problem at all. I am Charlotte Giddings and I am the co founder of Brownie and the Bean. We are a bakery on the Norfolk Suffolk Borders and we specialise in direct to consumer. Consumer. Um, we also specialize in corporate gifting and we do wholesale and events.

Yvonne: So I first came across you first of all on um, the SBS Instagram page when you were preparing for your pitch. But then when I went to the event, obviously I saw you there. So would you like to go a bit more into your background because do you have, do you come from a hospitality background, baking background, retail, etc.

Charlotte Giddings: Yes, it's quite an interesting one to be honest with you. Basically, um, I grew up in the hospitality industry. My parents had a pub and a nightclub in Oxford. Um, so from the age of 10 I was waiting tables, I was making food, um, I was, you know, uh, helping my mum, uh, load the dishwasher, um, serving everybody. Um, and then I'd always wanted to work in the media industry so I kind of did that side by side. So I started writing articles and stuff when I, from the age of 10 as well M. And that sort of escalated and snowballed and I'd, I'd spend all of my school holidays getting on the bus to London from Oxford, working for all of the TV channels, doing work experience. Um, and then by the time it came to going to uni, I was still working for my mum and dad in their nightclub at this point. Um, and uh, doing my degree and also um, I was working in lots of different TV companies trying to save enough, up enough money to sort of get myself through university. Um, yeah, so it was quite chaotic. And I have to say I've always been somebody that's never just had one job.

Yvonne: Right.

Charlotte Giddings: I've always been a bit of a side hustle chick. Um, so I think when I was about 23, I started a property, uh, business and I was renting properties and stuff as well as all of this. Um, and then I, When I was 31, I met my husband and it was one of those magical love at first sight moments. We were at a music festival and m, you know, we got chatting and we, the, the heavens opened up and we just got some drinks and we'd left all our friends and we run a piece of tarpaulin and we just peered out and we just said, look at that. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a food or drink business one day? Wouldn't that be incredible? Um, and you know, it was just such a moment and that was sort of like the, the starting, the foundation of our relationship and our business basically. So, um, everything about my husband and I, um, has revolved around food and love and music and you know, we love just marrying all of those things together. And he came from a background similar to mine. His parents were food and drink entrepreneurs, they had a dairy business. Um, and then he'd gone into the um, the cheese industry after

Yvonne: university.

Charlotte Giddings: Um, and he had been running a deli, um, in London for one of the swanky delis in Mayfair. Um, so we kind of both had like this background of parents that were entrepreneurs that worked together as well, which is also another niche. Um, and you know, we'd both been in the food and drink industries and we both had this passion for food and you know, even on our dates we'd, you know, just get a rucksack on and go and walk around Peckham or Brixton and try and find the wildest market stand we could find to get the craziest herbs or spices that we've never seen before. And you know, it's, it really is a tapestry sort of thing of our entire relationship to end up where we have ended up. Which is a, uh, bakery and my husband's the baker and I manage absolutely everything outside of baking.

Yvonne: It sounds like proper kindred spirits. They've just. You've just found, you know, it's almost like you were meant to be together. That says, that's such a lovely story. Because I know that people from hospitality, because you understand the industry, sometimes we're attracted to each other. Because I come from the hospitality industry. I've been in it all my life, so I totally get the passion for it. But this is a lovely. It's like an origin story of how you be began. Um, Brownie and the bean. Am I getting the name right? Making sure I'm getting the name right.

Charlotte Giddings: Yes, yes.

Yvonne: Okay. So how did we start with brownies? Why did we go to brownies as opposed to cake or cupcakes? And did you try any other food businesses before you did the brownies?

Charlotte Giddings: Well, at the time, we were living in London and we were just fleshing out loads of ideas. Every single Sunday night, as soon as he'd finished work, you know, we'd pop open some ramen, have a nice rum punch, you know, chill out and, uh, you know, write, you know, some ideas out. And, um, what we found was that every single idea we'd come up with had been done to a greater extent than our imaginations could have taken us to. And, um, my husband was traveling and he was at a. I think it was a pork pie festival, something random like that. And he said there was a coffee business there, family run coffee business. And he said they were absolutely raking it in. And he, he sort of said, you know, maybe it's coffee and one thing really. Well, yeah. And, um, his mom's brownie recipe was just absolutely out of this world. And it was something she would bake for everybody's birthday. She'd make a tray of brownies. And I remember the first time I tried them, we. We'd barely been together a few weeks, and, um, I was at one of his family parties and I just picked it up and I was like, oh, my God, this is delightful. I said, honestly, um, you know, you. You could sell this. And she said, do you think so? And I said, yeah, I paid good money for this. I said, I'm a bit of a brownie connoisseur, and this is absolutely delicious. Um, and, you know, Luke sort of said, you know, maybe it's the brownies and the coffee. Maybe these two could be a really, really good combination. And at the time, we didn't know things about, you know, how great it's got a shelf, like, you know, how great it travels all these Other things, we were just thinking in terms of flavor and in terms of, you know, a really good product. And luckily we chose a good one to go with because it is a really good product for people to handle. It's got great shelf life, it handles well. Um, and it can withstand. It's, you know, it's quite robust. So it's ideal for E commerce. Um, and, uh, we, we sort of moved to Suffolk because we felt like we, we were done on the London scene and we wanted to move somewhere where we felt we could have a bit of an impact. And London can feel very saturated in terms of food and drink offerings. So, um, we sat down, we, um, put a little plan together, a business plan. And I did the whole Allen Sugar thing and went to the startup loans agency and got us a sp. Startup loan and, um, you know, pitch the business idea to them. And, um, you know, they said, right, you, you've got to register a name now. So I said, right, it's really, we've really got to pick something. And, you know, I just said, why not Brownie and the Bean that does exactly what it says on the tin. And originally we were supposed to be a mobile cafe selling coffee and brownies. Um, but yes, we had a whole other disaster because that was six months before COVID Oh, no.

Yvonne: So with the brownie, it's a family recipe, so it's got some heritage in there. And then I was wondering about your name, Brownie and the Bean. And now you've, you've spoken about it, it totally makes it coffee and brownies, which go perfectly well together. So before I get on to Kobe, because I want to talk about that, because that was such a line in the sun for everybody. Brownie flavours, have you got your favourite brownie flavours and how many do you do and what's your offering? There was the song that made the cut and then some, that you thought, hell, no, that that's not going to see the light of day.

Charlotte Giddings: Oh, my goodness. Well, my husband is like the Willy Wonka of the brownie world.

Yvonne: Oh, cool.

Charlotte Giddings: And I have to say, it is. Every single day is a journey. You just never know what he's going to come up with next. 99.9 of the flavors he comes up with are wonderful.

Yvonne: Right.

Charlotte Giddings: But there was one which was absolutely atrocious. And I said to him, there is no way this is ever going on sale. Nobody on this planet will get it.

Yvonne: What was the flavor?

Charlotte Giddings: Orange licorice.

Yvonne: Oh, my God. Right, okay, so orange, fine, the licorice. I uh, see where you're coming from, because let me tell you, I went to Cake International and I brought a licorice. Was it a black currant and licorice flavor or a licorice flavor? I thought, I know what I'll do. I'll make a black currant licorice cupcake. Never saw the light of day. It was grim. It was disgusting. No, no, no. I had no business doing that. So tell me more about the orange and licorice. I want to think that it could work, but I just. I'm not. I don't know. Maybe, maybe not.

Charlotte Giddings: It was mind blowing. It was honestly mind blowing and not in a good way. It was based on, basically, we try and theme the. The boxes vaguely each month. Um, we try and theme the boxes vaguely each month. And in the summer, we like to do a holiday special. Now, we always like to have a little bit of a story about what the flavor is, um, wherever possible. And where he was going was when he was a little boy, he remembers having an orange licorice sorbet and it being absolutely delicious.

Yvonne: Right.

Charlotte Giddings: So he thought this was a really nice story. And, you know, it would sort of tell a story to the customer. But my goodness, this thing was never, ever going to see the light of day. It tasted bizarre, foul. I just cannot even, uh, put into words how bad it was.

Yvonne: Oh, my goodness. I suppose because it's the brownie, the chocolate, the orange, the licorice. I suppose the chocolate and the licorice were probably clashing, maybe. I don't know. Because I do love a lot of flavor because I have a little cake business, so I do like a lot of flavor. But that is, that is quite unusual. But yeah, I could see why it possibly wouldn't work. So.

Charlotte Giddings: Huh? Yes, that and, and Turkish Delight brownies. I really had to put my feet down with these ones.

Yvonne: Right, okay. Was that with the rose flavor or did you actually put Turkish Delight in it or on it?

Charlotte Giddings: He made a rose flavor Turkish delight.

Yvonne: Right.

Charlotte Giddings: And it just did not go at all. I, I don't really like Turkish Delight. And to be fair, his is better than anything I've ever tasted, but it was not a good flavor combination. And whilst our customer is quite an adventurous person and we do like to adhere to that, we also need to bear in mind that people are, ah, buying these boxes for uncle Tom, who's 80 and it's his birthday and they can't think of what to buy him. And m. Uncle Tom is going to look at that box and go, what the hell is that? And it needs to have some crowd pleasers in as well. It can't just all be wild.

Yvonne: Of course. Yeah, that's true. So what's your favorite flavor then? For you, Bright. They collect the selection that you do or the theme.

Charlotte Giddings: My favorite flavor, probably we've got a toffee crisp style brownie at the moment. Absolutely delightful. Um, and we've. We also do a mar style brownie. So we. Our USP is that we make all of the elements to the brownies. So you'll never just get a Twix plonked on the top.

Yvonne: Right.

Charlotte Giddings: We'll recreate every single layer. So he makes the chocolate nougat, he makes all the caramels. Oh, my goodness. It's out of this world. Um, I love all. I genuinely love all of them. Uh, some of the blondies I'm not as keen on, but, like, genuinely, if I don't like it, it doesn't go out. So I. We sit down every single month m. And we go through the flavors. Yeah. And if I don't like it, it would go in the box.

Yvonne: So you basically have the final say.

Charlotte Giddings: Yes, because, uh, I have come at it with a more commercial head, whereas he's creative and commercial. Creative need to meet in the middle because, you know, you've got to have something that's a bit more je ne sais quoi than, you know, your average brownie seller. But also it has to be commercially viable. It has to be something that's gonna make people feel intrigued and want to buy them.

Yvonne: Yeah, of course. So moving on from your flavors now, we're going to go to 2020, which was, like, I've said, a line in the sun for lots of people I know in the cake industry. Weddings were halted immediately. And as well as. As much as people were losing business, there were some businesses that were absolutely killing it because of the postal element. So how did you manage to navigate 2020 for. For your business? What. What was you doing at the time and what did you have to do? Or did you have to Pivot at all?

Charlotte Giddings: 2020 was one of the biggest nightmares.

Yvonne: Oh, God.

Charlotte Giddings: So, um, basically, Theo Paphitis always says, don't bet the farm. And that's about. Basically what he means is don't put everything that you've got on one venture. Never do that. And we stupidly bet the farm on, um, a pitch outside a local train station. Um, and we had put everything we had into it. You know, the. The, um, the trailer was, you know, completely off grid. Electric. It was just everything you could possibly have ever needed to have had an eco, um cafe. And um, obviously we'd signed a year contract with the, with the railway company. And yeah, like January, end of January came and the whole family started getting ill. And bearing in mind we had a one year old and year old at the time, right? And a one year old's, you know, being rushed to hospital, not breathing. Luke has got severe respiratory problems. Um, I was having severe respiratory problems. I was literally going through inhalers like, you know, like there was no tomorrow. It was absolutely terrifying for us. We kept saying to the doctors, could we have Covid? And they kept saying, oh, no, you've never been to China, of course you can't have Covid. Um, and we sort of got to before lockdown. And I said to Luke, I don't think we could continue to do this. I said, whatever is out there, you know, this illness that's sweeping, we're not going to survive as a family because we've all got this terrible respiratory flu. We can't afford to take the chance. And it was the hardest decision to ever make to say we owe all this money from the startup loan. We have bet our entire life savings and everything we have on this pitch. I mean, who could have possibly known that the whole world was going to shut down after we'd plunged everything we had? Um, and so we, we took the decision to shut before lockdown because we just thought it's not safe for us and we, our health is worth so much more than this silly startup loan that I'm worried sick about paying back, you know, uh, do you know what I mean? We pay that back over time, but, you know, one of us dices, you know.

Yvonne: Yeah, exactly.

Charlotte Giddings: Good. So, yeah, basically, um, we shut and I spent three weeks crying. And at the end of the three weeks, I sort of said to Luke, you know, what, what can we do? And he said, I just don't know, I'll get a job in the shop or whatever, whatever it takes to get us through this period and then we'll, we'll start up again afterwards. And I said, well, the brownies always sold really well. Why don't we think of doing some doorstep deliveries? And he thought I got completely nuts. But at this point he could see how desperate I was. He could see it in my eyes. And he said, if you think, you know, that is a good idea, let's go for it. Yeah, um, so I, I, I'd been off Facebook for years by this point and I sort of set up a, um, like a profile to post in a local community notice board and just sort of say, if anyone wants any contact free doorstep deliveries, um, we're happy to deliver brownies in boxes of six. And I thought maybe one or two people we know locally that, you know, enjoy our coffee might say yes. I had no idea what was going to happen and my phone was just beeping off the. Yeah. For the next 24 hours, uh, it was just like. And what was happening was people were sharing that post across other notice boards all over, not only East Anglia, but beyond. The furthest I had a message from was someone in Bedfordshire saying, I'd like some brownies delivered this afternoon. I said, I'm sure you would, it's

Yvonne: not going to happen.

Charlotte Giddings: Two hour drive.

Yvonne: Oh, my goodness.

Charlotte Giddings: Um, so within like 24 hours, basically, I was driving from North Norfolk through to Cambridge Six and Suffolk, delivering brownies. Um, all the while Luke is at home baking like a trooper whilst the kids are having like a couple of hours sleep here and there. Ah, um, looking after the children. And I'm just driving around like long distance. Clara from Pigeon street day and night, um, delivering these brownies. Um, and it was so bizarre because, you know, my life before this, I, uh, had this wonderful job in media and then, you know, we sort of thought of doing this family business and little did I know that I'd end up becoming a delivery driver. Fantastic.

Yvonne: So you would have been one of these businesses that were killing it then because I think a lot of brandy companies or people started making brandies and posting and so you were one of the ones that were just absolutely killing. So when did you decide to then switch it from being a bit more local? Because I know your nation. Why now you're, you're doing postal. And how did you decide to start doing postal?

Charlotte Giddings: I think by May time it was virtually impossible to run the business in the current format. So I could not physically take the orders because we didn't have a website. I was doing it all through either Google Docs or Facebook and Instagram. Um, I couldn't physically take the orders anymore, so I would be driving along the road, have to pull over, call in to get him to make a few more trays and say, I've got some more orders added for the blah, blah. Um, and yeah, I had to sort of say to him, uh, you know, there's more orders coming, I'm so sorry. And he was like, no, no, just keep coming in. And you know what? I was charging 10 quid at the Time. And I know this is old money because, you know, the price of cocoa's gone up by over 400 since then. I was literally charging 10 pounds and that was including delivery. And if you think about it, I mean I was not making any, I was killing it, but not making any money.

Yvonne: Yeah, yeah.

Charlotte Giddings: And it's so the same for so many bakers. You know, we just don't price, oh, you know, fairly to cover the cost of what we're actually doing.

Yvonne: Don't get me started. Because that is a long running narrative within the cake community that the, the discussions we've been having about pricing. So I totally, totally get it. You price what you think is the right price and then you realize actually my product ingredients cost this, I'm spending money on fuel. So I totally get it. I totally, totally get it.

Charlotte Giddings: Yeah, yeah. I mean and you have to be granular with these things and I think at the time it was a knee jerk reaction to having to pay back this, you know, a year's contract of rent at a station that we're not ever going to go back to and um, paying back the startup loan. Um, and also we couldn't get any help at all from the government so we couldn't get the um, the self employed one because we didn't have enough books.

Yvonne: Right.

Charlotte Giddings: We couldn't get the um, the one where they. It's a furlough because, um, our accountant at the time had made a mistake and employed Luke to a different company that I owned that was sort of dormant in the background.

Yvonne: Right.

Charlotte Giddings: So we couldn't get any furlough. Basically it was a uh, cluster funky we'll call it. I like that.

Yvonne: Gosh.

Charlotte Giddings: So talking about absolute cluster.

Yvonne: Sorry, sorry. So talking about pricing, how are you managing this surge, this absolutely avalanche of uh, cocoa prices? Because obviously I use chocolate and I'm very well aware of how much is going up. So how are you managing with um. Because cocoa is your main, one of your main ingredients in your product.

Charlotte Giddings: Yep. I have no guilt, no shame, no concerns, no nothing about nothing. Right. I feel like we have been through the ringer and then some. And I am at the point where I'm like, this is our price.

Yvonne: Yes.

Charlotte Giddings: If you don't understand what we do, you are not my customer.

Yvonne: Absolutely. Couldn't agree more with that.

Charlotte Giddings: Yeah. We are not Marks and Spencer's churning out rubbish in a factory. Our products don't last for, you know, three months. Um, you know, we are using real ingredients with absolute integrity from the local farms near us. You know, Growing the wheat. The sugar is grown in our village. Um, you know, our sugar beet is actually grown in our village. We're using British butter, We're using eggs from the farm up the road. If you don't understand what it takes to build a product with that much integrity, that much provenance, this product isn't for you, and it's not for everybody.

Yvonne: Yeah.

Charlotte Giddings: You know, it's not for everybody. And you have to really, really be strong in that. And, uh, we are sort of lucky in a way, because I do feel sorry for people that do work on their own, because it's so hard to blow your own trumpet. And when you're doing it about somebody else, it feels so much easier. And for me, it feels such an easy thing to say, because I'm talking about Luke and I'm talking about his product, and I feel like I can say it because it's not me, you know, So I feel very proud to sort of stand up and say, this is what he does. This is how he does it. These are the amount of hours that go into it. I mean, for example, our Christmas cake, we bake it for five and a half hours on a really low heat, and it takes in five and a half hours to make it. So it does cost a lot more money than a Mr. Kipling cake. But at the end of the day, we seep the fruits for a year in rum and brandy.

Yvonne: You don't even have to tell me about that, because I know about that one because I've got some downstairs that's receiving speak. Yeah, definitely.

Charlotte Giddings: Yeah. Sorry. I was just gonna say if I think if you position yourself as a premium product, and you are very strong in that, that is your usp, you've got nothing to worry about. Um, and yes, people can make cakes cheaper at home. It's not going to taste anything like what we produce. Yeah, anything like what we produce. So I've got no fears, reservations, concerns whatsoever. And trust me, it's taken a while to come to that point, especially with wholesale, because we have really been through head and back with wholesale.

Yvonne: Yeah.

Charlotte Giddings: But I'm very confident now. This is who we are, this is what we do, and this is the price, and the price is the price.

Yvonne: It's so refreshing to hear that you so strongly believe in your worth and what your product is worth, because sometimes people can be like, oh, I'm not sure if I can, you know, charge that. People won't pay. But my. I'm, um, a bit like you. You get to that. You have that journey where you realize, actually this is my project to put a lot of passion and time into what I do. So if you don't want to pay for it, then, sorry, keep it moving. You're not for me. So I totally get that. But it's so refreshing to hear somebody talk about it and how passionate you feel about your ingredients as well. That's really good. But now I want to move on to reading your sps, which is how I found you. I know. So would you like to, in your own ways describe what SBS is? Because I've spoke about it on the podcast before but would you like to say, um, what, what it is?

Charlotte Giddings: So basically the small. The SBS is a wonderful small business community. Um, and we get together once a year, um, for a fabulous event. And throughout the year there's loads of support, loads of camaraderie, um, and loads of great sort of, um, resources to help you along your journey. And I think what is so special about it is uh, it doesn't matter if you've got a team or if you're a sole trader, it's still lonely. It still does feel lonely whatever you're doing and just having the chance to connect with somebody in a completely different industry to you, like my friend Jane who's a calligrapher, you know, we're still seeing the same sort of trends and the same sort of buying patterns that do you know what I mean? You're still seeing a lot of synergy across the brands. Um, and I just love that, I absolutely love that. Um, and I was very fortunate. They announced they were, they were going to do a, um, a competition in um, conjunction with NatWest to give, um, give away, I think it's £10,000 which was an incredible prize. Um, and it was spread across three people or three businesses. Sorry, should I say. And um, we were invited to send a pitch in, a 60 second pitch, um, which was the easy part. Saying to my husband, I've just, I've just entered this competition but I'm really worried if I actually get through. Oh no.

Yvonne: When did you win your sbs? When did you actually win your sbs?

Charlotte Giddings: When? Oh, as was just the year before, but just before the actual event. So I think, um, I remember. No, no, it was just after the, the, the last event. So it must have been 2025. No, 2024. Sorry, just after the last event. Um, so I collected my certificate last year um, from Theo and I have to say I was so nervous even about going to the event last year because I didn't know anybody. And I'd really worked myself up to the point where I was outside the building and I text somebody that was one of the organizers, and I sort of said, oh, I can't find. I can't find it. And I was trying to sort of say, uh, uh, you know, I might go home. And the person was like, charlotte, it's just blah, blah, blah in Birmingham. Like, you can't really not. And I just thought, she knows that I'm outside and I'm just too nervous to go in, so I'm just gonna have to go in. Um, and I remember the whole day I was just sort of like, oh, God, no one's gonna want to talk to me. And, you know, I'm just gonna be on my own all day. And I was so worried. Um, and, uh, you know, to think a year later I was up on that stage in front of, you know, well over a thousand people pitching my business, which is just mind boggling to me.

Yvonne: I want you to talk some more about the pitch. So talk about. Because you were doing something on Instagram and you were sharing a bit of your process, which I absolutely loved. And then on the day. So just share that kind of journey and how you felt and how you went about it and how you wanted to come across.

Charlotte Giddings: Yeah, I think I wanted to come across as somebody that was really passionate and also somebody that had been through so many hardships and just needed a leg up, because that was kind of where we were. We'd been through some so many difficult times, and I just wanted to come across as somebody that, you know, I. I've got the fire in me. Just give me a break. You know, that's m. What I was saying. Yeah, just give me a chance. And, um, over the course of the. I think it was about two or three weeks leading up to it, um, I was forming my pitch. It had to be three minutes long. Um, and there were so many points we had to get away in three minutes. I mean, to even speak those points almost took three minutes. So it was really. You had to be really, really careful with your wording. And, you know, and look at other ways that, you know, you can use your extra personal skills to kind of, you know, reiterate the things that you were trying to say. So it wasn't even just a case of just delivering it. It had to be so much more animated. Um, and, uh, yeah, I was, you know, just even simple things like what do I wear? You know, I couldn't sleep at all in the run up Because I was so nervous, um, and, you know, rehearsing it over and over again and then also rehearsing all of the variations of questions that I think I might be asked because the worst thing would have been to be put on the spot and not being able to answer the question. So it was, it was, I think, two, three weeks of, I'm not gonna lie, pure hell.

Yvonne: Yeah.

Charlotte Giddings: Because I have worked so hard for this.

Yvonne: But your pitch was amazing. It was really passionate and, um, I mean, I'm not gonna spoil it. You can tell them what you, you know, hey, hey, you know, hey, why you did. But I thought, yeah, your picture is really good and really brave as well. Because I don't know whether it was so nerve wracking because you had. Was it four or five people on the panel at the time?

Charlotte Giddings: There was four and Theo, uh, Paphitis. But Theo wasn't supposed to be answering questions. Asking questions, but he started asking questions. There was five people.

Yvonne: He did, he did, he did, he did.

Charlotte Giddings: Gosh.

Yvonne: How do you feel that? Um, tell me before I get there, tell everybody how you did with your pitch.

Charlotte Giddings: Right, so, um, there were three of us that were the finalists and they said that, I think they said that everyone was going to walk away with something in the end. Um, so you could either have mentorship from, ah, Kip, who is the, oh, sort of right hand man. You could have, um, £2,500 or £7,500. Um, and we won the second prize, which was £2,500. But the prize, biggest surprise and the best part of it was Dr. Raphael Sopholuque very kindly gifted us a stand, a free trading stand at, ah, the UK Black Business show in October and then agreed.

Yvonne: I saw that and I thought, oh

Charlotte Giddings: my God, do you know who else?

Yvonne: I'm sure, I'm sure Emma Greed's gonna be there. You know, Emma Greed. So she does a podcast as well.

Charlotte Giddings: Emma Greedy.

Yvonne: Yeah. So, I mean, I want to go myself, so it's going to be amazing. And when you got off of that, I thought, oh, my God, that is so cool that you've been given that opportunity as well. Amazing. So generous.

Charlotte Giddings: I mean, any opportunity you get to tell your story is so much higher converting than any advert that you could buy on Meta. Like, honestly, absolutely being able to tell your story. So to have that opportunity from Dr. Raphael Sofaluke is absolutely phenomenal. This could open so many more doors for us. Um, and you know, obviously the 2500 pounds is amazing as well. And we are Putting it to such good use. I am being so strict about how the money is being spent because I really want it to be spent on things that we would have put on the back burner or put on the in five years time list. I really want to use it to sort of, um, you know, catapult us to the next sort of level. So, yes, we, I'll, I'll give a spoiler away exclusive. Um, so we have designed the most gorgeous box for our brownies. Um, and this has been, I mean, it's something we've always wanted to do. So we always wanted something bespoke and beautiful, but they cost so much money. Bespoke packaging costs a fortune. And also because we, it is really expensive and we do so much corporate gifting that we always thought it was easier if we had something that was interchangeable easily because we could sort of be a lot more adaptable and drop everything and, you know, run with a, you know, 2,000 boxes for Barclays bank or whatever next week. Um, however, we have designed this box and you know, I mentioned before about USP and I think it is so important to have your positioning, your brand positioning to be something completely different so that, you know, when people look at your brownies, for example, they say, oh, that's definitely a brownie and the bean brownie. Or if someone looks at the box, they can say, that's definitely a brownie in the bean box. So, um, it's more along the lines of a kind of chocolate box design, um, but with no plastic interior because we don't like plastics. Um, and it is just beautiful. It's got a soft slide off sleeve and we think it's going to give such a wow factor. When people have it on their laps and they slide that off it and pull out the brownies, it's going to be like, wow, this, this is really exciting. So when this is going to get to launch, right? So it is in production at the moment. I think we've got about another three months to wait before, um, we can show the world we've seen the prototype, um, in the factory and it is everything that we wanted it to be. So, still keeping with the disco theme, still keeping with the idea of the glitter ball, um, but it is just taking it to the next level.

Yvonne: Oh, congratulations on that. That must be such a moment, a pivotal moment, having your own bespoke branded packaging, because I would love that myself. But like you said, it's very expensive to do these things, but good that you put in the money that you've wanted to. They use to elevate and catapult the business further. Uh, so do you think, do you. Do you find that winning SBS and, um, getting your picture done with Theo, do you think that's helped your business?

Charlotte Giddings: Um, I think winning the sbs, um, this, this competition, uh, they did, has helped us exponentially. Um, and I think the, the most wonderful thing about it was telling our story to an audience of people that get it. Yeah, they understand exactly how much balls it takes to get up on that stage when you believe so passionately in your small business. And they understand how much effort and hard work and blood, sweat and tears goes on behind the scenes. And I think that is the most amazing audience to be in front of because it's. It's like stepping into a warm hug without being too corny. It really is. And that was when I was doing my rehearsals in the morning with the SBS crew. Um, I burst into tears at the end because I just. It was so emotional just the thought of doing that. And, um, I said, you know, all these people want you to win. And I know that I'm going on a stage in front of a whole room of people that really want you to win. And I don't just mean me, I mean figuratively. And, um, I said, and, you know, that is so special. And it would have been difficult to do it in front of any other audience than that. But it has helped us so much. We have reached so many new markets. And also, um, Theo mentioned about joining the Lifestyle Card, um, at the SBS event, and that has really helped us. We've only been a part of the Lifestyle Card for about a month now, but it's really helped us to reach new audiences. And that's what it's always about, is trying to nurture, uh, the customers you already have and then also go out and find new customers. So I would say it's definitely been a benefit for us.

Yvonne: That's fantastic. And I, uh, when I was doing some research, you've been featured on ITV and BBC, I believe, I think. And have you want. And you've won more awards? I think so. It's not just the SBS event that you've won. So would you like to talk a little bit about the other awards that you've won and what tv. What TV you've done? Basically, yeah.

Charlotte Giddings: So, um, we won the Barclaycard Business boost award in 2023, I think it was, um. And this was wild because the prize was £10,000 and a pitch at Latitude Festival, which is a local festival. Music, an arts festival to us. Um, and the. The most amazing part about it was we didn't even apply for it. Uh, so basically, uh, we were put forward by a local food and drink writer. Um, and I just received an email for somebody working on behalf of Barclaycard saying that you've been nominated. Would you like to. Would you like to take this further? And I was just sort of like, whoa, amazing. Um, and what was lovely is they were really trying to, um, be a, Like a place for, uh, encouraging women of color into entrepreneurialism. And, um, it was just so, so great to, um, be a part of a campaign that. And it went out all across social media. It was on LinkedIn and Instagram and Facebook and stuff. And it was all about, yeah, just giving, um, women of color a platform. And it was just wonderful. So that. That was a really lovely campaign to be a part of. And, uh, the money that we were awarded was entirely to be spent on, um, the infrastructure for being at Latitude Festival. So, um, for those who aren't okay with, you know, the event scene, it costs a, uh, lot of money to put on a ditch. Yeah, you have to have so much equipment, um, and, you know, so. So we invested in. In equipment for the festival. So that was wonderful because obviously we have all this event equipment that we never, ever, ever. I mean, it's beyond your wildest dreams to be able to afford to buy all of this sort of stuff. So that was wonderful. Um, we've also won the Great British Entrepreneur Award for Family Business of the Year for the last two years in a row, which was wonderful. Um, and we also won a, um, an advertising slot on a podcast for Holly Tucker a few years ago. I think maybe that was three years ago as well. Um, so that was fantastic as well. Um, and yes, we. We've been featured on the BBC, um, because we originally moved to Suffolk because we were on Escape to the Country. Yes. And we kept in touch with the presenter, Johnny Irwin, um, who's sadly no longer with us. He's a. He was a really wonderful guy. And the whole, um, time post filming, he sort of said, you know, he kept in touch and he. He saw what we were doing with the business and he really wanted to champion us. He said, look, I'm gonna put it to the team. Would you be up for doing a revisited program and we'll come back and film the business? Um, and we just thought, oh, my goodness, this is just incredible. So we were so lucky. They came back and filmed us during lockdown. Um, when we just Sort of hit the ground running. Um, and this point we were still baking in our family home, which was insane. I mean, you know, we, we built a bakery on the side of the house, but yeah, at this point we were baking in the family kitchen. Um, and we had a lovely time filming with Johnny and he was sort of like trying to bake along with us and, and that was great. And that went to air. Ah, the sort of golden period of, uh, you know, e commerce buying, which was I think the um, week of Black Friday of 2020. So this was, it was crazy, honestly. The most amount of orders we've ever had, the busiest we've ever been. And the gift that keeps on giving with Escape to the country is it's, it's seen all over the world. And also they repeat the episodes loads. And I think we were in a total of about five or six different, um, shows that they recut, you know. Yeah, I think we're in I. Escape to the Country. Greatest Escapes to the Country. Um, and then, yeah, a few other sort of recuts. So it, it has kept, you know, bringing back loads of new audiences for us. Yeah, it's wonderful. We've got people, people, you know, as far as Trinidad that have become friends.

Yvonne: Fantastic.

Charlotte Giddings: I know that saw us on the first show and then saw us on the revisited and we're like, oh, my son's going to uni in the uk. I'll send him some brand. Yeah, it was wonderful. And then, um, last summer, um, Holly Tucker did a post on her, um, Instagram page. For those who don't know who she is, she's like an absolute champion of small businesses. Wonderful, wonderful lady. Um, and she did a shout out for some small businesses to be on her show. And the whole premise of the show was to counteract the sort of, you know, Dragon's Den and you know, the Apprentice style programs where it's more about sort of not necessarily tearing businesses down, but that a lot of the humor and it comes out of the humiliation of the businesses that don't seem to know their money and the stats and this, that and the other. And she wanted a small business show that was entirely rooted in kindness. And that really struck a chord with me because Luke and I are so passionate about what we do and it is so personal and we are so sensitive about it. Um, and we would only ever do something that made us feel completely in control and supported and safe and m. And we were really lucky, you know, we got through to the final stages of that. And then, you know, Holly Um, and the production team invited us to be on the show, which was amazing. So it was an ITV show, ITV1 show called Be youe Own Boss. Um, and it featured 10 small businesses that could just do a bit of direction, bit of a leg up. And, um, Holly Whisdin and came to your workplace and, you know, weaved her magic on our business. And, um, for us it was sort of, uh, doing a rebrand, which was so needed and it, and she wanted us to inject our personality into the packaging. Um, and, and that's what happened. And that went out in the first weekend of December last year. So that was another amazing boost that was so needed. Um, and yeah, it was just wonderful to make so many new, um, customers and talk to so many lovely people from all over the country.

Yvonne: This is, this talking to you, Charlotte. It's been so inspiring because you've just been on a proper, proper journey with your Brownie. So what does the future hold for Brownie and the Bean? Where do you want to see yourself? I mean, I hate saying like, five years time because you never know what's around the corner, never know five years time. But what, what's your hopes for your business moving forward?

Charlotte Giddings: Um, you know, this is something we talk about and we check in with each other regularly about this and I think if you're a husband and wife team or you're in a partnership or sub or something like that, it is so important to regularly check in with you because you, you can, you can mushroom so much into one direction or another direction and they might be loss leaders. They might be, yeah. Energy buzz kills. You know, they could be so many other things and it's so important to come back to, to why you started it.

Yvonne: Yeah.

Charlotte Giddings: What makes you tick? Where's your passion lie? And, and just make sure you're always on track. And so many times, like, Luke's had to pull me back in, I've had to pull him back in because we're just going in different directions with, you know, where this, where we see the business and the fundamentals lie in. We wanted a business that we could both work together, support our family and both raise our children together. We don't care to be multi millionaires. We have never cared about that. We want to wake up every day knowing we are making the best product we can possibly make and that we are making people happy. And of course, for ambition's sake, not for ego, for ambition's sake, we want to, you know, have as many people as possible try them. We want to build the business. Um, but we always want to keep the integrity of having local produce, um, employing people we love and not just employing people, just because, um, you know, we need to fill bums in seats because we would rather graft for another three months and find the right person. You know, having the right team is so important to us and, you know, it has to be fun and it. We have to feel some sense of a balance. And I know a lot of, you know, female entrepreneurs in particular talk about balance because obviously a lot of the child, you know, care falls to us in certain ways or the organization of the home. Um, but I never want to be that mum. And don't you get me wrong, there have been times on holiday where Daddy is in the pool with the kids and I'm like, just one more email. But overall, and we know that is a privilege. That is a privilege that we can go on holiday and we can still make money and I can still work from anywhere. We know that is a privilege. So don't get me wrong. But at the end, at the end of the day, I need to feel that I have a balance with my family, and that is the most important thing. And if any of those things don't fit together, uh, we, we, you know, we'll. We'll, uh, sort of have to, you know, cast that aside, cast that idea aside, or reduce how we're doing these various different things. So we're constantly checking in with how things are growing. And I just want to continue. We always say this. We just want to be happy. We just want to be doing something we love. We want to be innovating, we want to be creative, and we want to be using our brains every single day. That really fires us up. You know, I might not be a baker, but I am so fired up about the creativity and the recipe creation and working with my husband to create something that is so unique and exciting for our customer.

Yvonne: Amazing. Charlotte, it has been an absolute joy speaking with you. I, um, knew I would love this episode. So, you know what? I'm inclined. I think I'm going to order some brownies. I think I'm going to order some, definitely, because I've ordered some stuff online before. But I think I'm definitely going to have to give these a go because they sound absolutely amazing and looking forward to seeing your new packaging. But before you go, where can we find you? Where can we find you on socials and where can we order from? Because I'm sure people are going to want to try.

Charlotte Giddings: No problem at all. Um, you can find us on socials at Brownie and the Bean. You can um, send me a LinkedIn connection. I'm Charlotte Giddings, um, and I think there's a few Charlotte Giddings but there's definitely no other Charlotte bakery owners. So please, please, um, send me an invite on LinkedIn M and you can buy our uh, products@ah, www.brownieandthebean.com and you can also find us on Holly Tucker's website. Um, so some of our products and some exclusives are sold on Holly Tucker's um, website. Holly Co. Holly co. Sorry.

Yvonne: Well, thank you again for being a guest. You've been truly, truly inspiring. I've loved hearing your journey and I've loved that you've taken brownies to catapulted it to the next level because that's what it sounds like but amazing. But thank you for being a guest on the uh, the podcast. I really appreciate it.

Charlotte Giddings: Thank you so much for having me. It's been wonderful.

Yvonne: Oh, you're welcome. Okay. I really hope to enjoy the interview with Charlotte in a couple of episodes ago I spoke about shooting your shot and putting yourself in situations outside of the cake business world and Charlotte is an example of that. Even though she's a family owned business and they have a brand new business but she's part of a community that has a wide variety of people from different walks of life, business life that we can all share in the common goal. But it's really lovely to hear Charlotte's story of how her family business started off just being home bakers and delivering local how they um, navigated Covid then becoming a nationwide brand and then the opportunities that have come her way is regards to Holly Tucker, um, itv, BBC being on these programmers and the avenues that they could take it down. And she's going to be at the black um, black British business show, um, Black Business show in October, November which is going to be amazing and I hoping out of that come lots more opportunities and no, but it was just really inspiring to hear her story. So I hope you enjoy it and if you're a listen of this podcast and you want to try some of her brownies, she has kindly given me a voucher code and all you have to do is state podcast 15 and you should get a discount on of some sort off your next brownies. But I hope you enjoyed that episode because I really did. But anyway this month you're going to get two for the price of one. So I usually do a catch up on the business and what's been trending. And so I thought what I'm going to do is give you another episode this month, which will come out on Thursday. So that will be episode 42 for the month. But anyway, all that's left for me to say is have a great week, happy baking, and catch you on Thursday. Bye.