A Warwickshire woman who started a brownie empire ‘by accident’ has celebrated a new partnership that will see her creations stocked in three popular Coventry locations.
Faith Carter, 27, from Rugby, started making and selling brownies from her kitchen over Facebook in 2018 to make a living while recovering from hip surgery – just months after finishing university.
Five years and countless brownies later, Baked Brownies has a cult following on social media with online orders often selling out in minutes.
Now, Baked Brownies has teamed up with No Ordinary Hospitality (NOHM) to bring its sought-after baked goods to the Coventry public, with items now available at the Abbey Artisan Market and Café in the Park at Coombe Abbey, and the Park Bistro at War Memorial Park.
The partnership comes as NOHM expands its local supplier network to support small businesses in the region and provide high-quality, locally-sourced goods across its venues.
Faith, who studied Fashion Design at Birmingham City University, underwent major surgery to address a hip problem which required a year-long recovery process. In a bid to start making money once she was back on her feet, she turned her passion for baking into a micro-business, selling brownies to friends, family, and people in the community.
After officially launching Baked Brownies in March 2019, Faith hoped it would be a stop-gap to tide her over between surgeries and help her start a career in fashion.
But popularity soon exploded, with friends and family pitching in to make, bake and pack brownies throughout all hours in her kitchen to keep up with demand.
With further surgeries still required, and a loyal customer base already established, Faith decided to keep going with the business throughout the pandemic.
Baked Brownies is now an established brand in the region with a shop in Rugby and a dedicated catering facility to support in-store, online, and wholesale orders – though their original brownie recipe has stayed the same.
Faith said that partnerships with venues in the region were a key part of her growth plan, and that working with NOHM is a huge opportunity for the business, which now has 10 members of staff.
She said: “It’s been a really unpredictable journey from starting in my kitchen to where Baked Brownies is now. Working with venues like Coombe Abbey shows how far we have come.
“The business gives me a creative outlet both in the kitchen and in terms of building a brand. While a lot goes into how we engage with our customers and partners, we also believe in providing the highest quality product, and so far that combination has worked well for us.
“A huge part of our early success has been down to collaborating with people and places in our community, whether that’s making deliveries to our neighbours, teaming up with venues to host outdoor events during the pandemic, or working with the likes of No Ordinary Hospitality, a larger company that ultimately shares a lot of our values.
“I am honoured to be partnering with them, and really excited to see the results.”
Core menu items include Kinder Bueno, Daim, Biscoff and Terry’s Chocolate Orange Brownies, with weekly specials designed and tested by Faith also available.
A selection will be available every day in The Park Bistro at War Memorial Park and The Abbey Artisan Market at Coombe Abbey.
Ron Terry, Operations Director at NOHM, said: “Baked Brownies is a fantastic addition to our line-up of local suppliers across the NOHM group, and we are thrilled to be working with Faith as her exciting business continues to grow.”