The Funky Brownie Co is a small Redruth business owned and run by Andrew Smitheram.
Before entering the baking world Andrew had a long career in catering, working up from a KP to a Sous Chef. He then decided to enter the baking world and started working in various small bakeries. Here he honed his skills and rediscovered his love for Brownies. Which was quite fitting as brownies were the first thing, he taught himself how to bake.
Andrew originally started working as a baker for the previous owner Amy and created many of their much-loved flavours. Then, at the start of March this year Andrew and his wife Sam were presented with the opportunity to own the Funky brownie Co and they decided to “just go for it!”
Today the company is comprised of three staff Andrew who bakes, experiments with new flavours and makes deliveries. His wife Sam, who manages their social media and website, organises markets, makes deliveries and keeps Andrew sane. Plus their college student Beth who, bakes, packs orders and helps out elsewhere when needed.
This three-person team has created some exciting new brownie and blondie flavours including the Hazelnut Hippo Brownie, Gold Bar Cookie Bar, Jaffa Cake Mega Blondie and Lemon Meringue Blondie. All of which are currently on sale via their website and will be making an appearance at the next Redruth Town Market. Be sure to come and grab one before they sell out!
Experimenting with new flavours is a big part of Andrew’s job and whilst taking a random idea and turning it into a finished product can take a lot of work it’s completely worth it in the end. Andrew recently just finished a blondie which took 6 weeks to perfect.
It’s kind of surreal, but really nice. I really love reading the positive feedback we’ve been receiving lately, and there’s quite often lots of fist pumps when hearing feedback on the newer products.
Andrew Smitheram – The Funky Brownie Company
Andrew is conscious of the environment and the impact his business can have on it. He doesn’t package his brownies with plastic but instead uses paper bags and boxes. Baking is also done on a week-by-week basis to minimize waste as much as possible. On weeks when Andrew and his team will be attending markets, he’ll bake more brownies to cover orders and have enough to sell at the markets. On others, he’ll just bake enough to fulfil orders. If they have a lot of brownies left in the middle of the week then they tend to run a discount on their website. Leftovers are also given to family and friends especially if his parents have been watching his dog, Alfie.
So, what’s next for the Funky Brownie Company? Short term it’s to continue to do what they do best, creating fantastic brownies and selling them via their website, markets and some local cafes (Poldhu, Feed, Martina’s, MT3, Cove Cafe, Vertical Blue, Old Cheese Shop). They’re currently working on a vegan range so even more people can enjoy their brownies! Long term the goal is to grow the business by adding other more diverse products.