Brownies make a comeback: Versatile, classic dessert finds favour among Bengaluru millennials

BENGALURU: What is common between the morning meetings of tech firms Wipro, Biocon and CapGemini nowadays? They have all switched from cookies and dark chocolates to brownies as the table snack to go with beverages. Bite-sized chocolate walnut fudge brownies are sent over to their offices each day for the top management to sweetly brainstorm over. “Brownies have made a comeback,” says Kanchan Achpal, chief marketing officer at Bliss Chocolates that supplies brownies to the above corporates.

She notes that wedding functions, festive gifting and baby showers, too, have been frequently opting for brownies over chocolates in the past year. “Our findings show that Bengalureans feel brownies are wholesome and look richer than chocolate. They see it now as a classic that they cannot go wrong with,” says Achpal. She says sale of brownies has increased since 2017.

The square-baked chocolate dessert is trending in Bengaluru these days. Like the rise of cupcake stations a few years ago, dedicated brownie studios and retailers are mushrooming in the tech capital.

Chennai-based Brownie Heaven opted for Bengaluru to expand its offline operations. In six months, it has opened at three locations in the city, offering offbeat festive flavours like modak-brownies for Ganesh Chaturthi and motichoor-laddoo brownie for Diwali. “To open a café dedicated to artisanal brownie-based creations is a risky business model. However, Bengaluru contributed to 35% of my online sales, which convinced me to open outlets here,” says founder Nishant Vijayakumar. He has been witnessing 15-20% month-on-month growth in sale since the launch. “Interestingly, Bengalureans are buying healthier alternatives like keto, gluten-free, vegan and millet-based brownies. They are looking for snacking options, even for their kids’ tiffin boxes,” says Vijayakumar. The trend made 17-year-old Zahan Gafoor, a student of Mallya Aditi International School, into an entrepreneur three months ago. The home baker started brownie company Bread N Batter, which is already supplying to resto-bars like Café Azure and for wedding events. “From 1-2 trays per week during launch, I am baking about four trays per day now,” says Gafoor, adding, “While dark chocolate fudge and nutella are bestsellers, I am also receiving orders for offbeat red velvet, eggless, roasted marshmallow and gluten-free brownies. Social media platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp helped me reach out and create a market for my brownies in this tech-savvy city.”

Attributing the resurgence of brownies to its versatile nature, food blogger Nikhilesh Murthy says, “Brownies can be paired with coffee, stout beer and chai unlike other desserts. It can be consumed during breakfast, high tea and post meal. It’s as universal as ice-cream. Since it’s primarily being baked by home-bakers in the city, people enjoy the personalised touch it brings as a gift, too.”