More planning

James
Monday, 12 July 2010 22:25

I don't remember ever seeing Emma quite so fired up about something. She keeps plying me with brownies. We are throwing ideas about and it all seems really rather doable...

We need something exceptional to really make this business idea a no-brainer, though. It's not beyond the world of cliché to see a young mum with a toddler baking the occasional cake in her kitchen in between washer loads of tiny clothes; what would make us different? Emma shows me some websites from the US, people selling brownies on the Internet via mail order. She shows me sites of people doing something similar in the UK but the approach seems different - the US companies have many, many flavour options and all use the word "gourmet" at every opportunity. The UK companies seem largely to have plumped for a more homely style - good, home cooking. I think we can manage something that nestles very comfortably in between. Home-made taste and texture but never skimping on the quality of the raw ingredients or the outward style of the finished article.

The other big feature that would make us unique is the notion of a range of flavours. The American sites frequently display loads of delicious-sounding flavours, some with wacky names, some with an accent on quality, but the appeal in all cases is that you can try lots of new varieties rather than only having a single options. I've seen other people in the UK offering a couple of flavours... but... I like the idea of having an almost bewildering array of choices. The Krispy Kreme Effect. But... also... I know a chocolate brownie ain't exactly health food (although you can put some amazingly good raw materials into it to mitigate the trashiness), so I'd be keen to avoid the rather, shall we say, deep-fried aspects of that particular doughnut chain. Can't see why me and Em can't provide a massive range but of peerless quality. Might require a fair amount of research and testing. Oh Noes.