A recipe for resilience and success with Charlotte Giddings

What happens when a simple recipe, a spark of creativity, and a whole lot of hard work collide? You get “Brownie and the Bean” – a family-run business that’s turning handmade brownies into a national obsession.

Founded by Charlotte and Luke Giddings, this husband-and-wife duo started with a vision to bring moments of joy through something beautifully simple: the perfect brownie. What began as a small kitchen project has grown into a thriving business with loyal fans, nationwide delivery, and a story that’s as as great as their creations.

In this interview, we sit down with Charlotte, co-founder and creative force behind the brand, to talk about building a business from scratch, turning challenges into opportunities, and what it really takes to make your dream a reality – one batch at a time.

 

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Get to know Charlotte Giddings

Based: Norfolk/Suffolk Borders

My Favourite Business Book: 10x is Easier than 2x by Dan Sullivan

My Podcast Recommendation: Holly Tucker: Conversations of Inspiration

My Business Hero: Emma Grede

If I wasn’t a business owner I would of been: Still working in the media industry

Outside of the office you can find me: Out for walks with my family

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Do you remember the exact moment Brownie and the Bean went from a dream in your kitchen to a brand people couldn’t stop talking about?

Lockdown had a huge role to play in the evolution of our brand. Thankfully people were really championing small businesses and it really helped to give us a boost. It was very funny going from “stay at home Mum” to being stopped in the supermarket by people I don’t know almost overnight.

Behind every ‘overnight success’ is often a long story of late nights and long hours – what did those early days really look like for you? 

PURE HELL. There is absolutely no way to sugar coat it. We had two very young children and would have to work when they went to bed, and still be present for when they woke up at 5am. There were a lot of tears and moments where I wasn’t sure how we would be able to continue like this.

Building a business with your partner often takes a lot of trust. What’s the secret to keeping your business thriving? 

We always have to check in with each other and where we feel the business is at. There are times when we can really go off on a tangent with product lines and we really have to focus on reining things back.

The Brownie and the Bean brand feels joyful, warm, and human – was that intentional from the start, or something that evolved naturally? 

Initially we tried to be all things to everyone. We didn’t want anyone to feel alienated by our presence, but over time, it became very clear that we have very strong personalities, which leak into the brand and we started to lean into it. Our goal has always been to show ourselves as really positive, fun people. Life is tough enough and we want people to genuinely feel the warmth when they buy from us/ receive a box.

Running a food brand means being creative, but also relentless. How do you stay inspired if exhaustion hits? 

The only way we can stay inspired is by taking breaks in nature. Going for walks and talking things through can often be more productive than being sat at a desk all day. We are both incredibly creative people who are extremely passionate about what we do, it’s imperative that we keep the creative energy flowing.

Are there any mistakes that turned out to be a blessing in disguise? 

I would say not necessarily “mistakes”, but we’ve had things go really wrong that have been utterly heartbreaking within our business, but then we realised what a blessing these things were. There’s always a lesson to take from difficult situations.

You’ve built a great brand – how do you balance authenticity with the pressure to constantly market and sell? 

The only thing you can do here is be authentically you. It’s hard, because you can often feel like you’re under-selling really important products, but our incredibly dedicated following will always seek out anything new/ interesting.

What’s been your toughest call as a founder – a decision that kept you awake but changed everything for the business? 

The most recent decision that we’ve made has by far been the one that has kept me awake at night- our rebrand. Over the years, we’ve had so many experts tell us that our branding needs to align with our brand personality, but we didn’t want to do anything that felt slightly “unsafe”. Thankfully we recently took part in a new TV series that forced our hand. We were so incredibly nervous about revealing our new brand to everyone, but the feedback so far has been super-positive!

Every founder has that ‘I can’t believe this is happening’ moment – what was yours? 

Again, I would say working towards this rebrand for the show has really been an OMG moment for us. It’s something we’ve talked about for almost 6 years, but we’ve never had the guts to do it.

What advice would you give someone standing at the edge of their own small business dream — scared, excited, unsure where to start? 

Just blooming do it. Don’t wait for things to be perfect. You can tweak things along the journey. As long as you have a product and a means for people to buy it, that’s a starting block and foundation. If social media is appropriate for your business, post regularly and start to build a following. Niche down, don’t be all things to everyone and your tribe will follow.

When someone takes a bite of a Brownie and the Bean brownie, what do you want them to feel? 

Like they’ve had the most delicious and luxurious bite. People have often said that you can taste that they’re made with love and I honestly believe that’s because we handcraft every aspect of our brownies and use nothing but the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients.

And finally – when you look ahead to five years time, what does the business look like? 

I want it to be a name that’s nationally synonymous with quality and luxury.