Sheffield baker discovers secret ingredient

Heather Moore, who lives in ​Sheffield, set up her business “We Luv Brownies” in 2014.

A visit to her local brewery, Bradfield Brewery, inspired ​Ms Moore to add beer to her recipe and to her surprise she discovered the end result was a richer tasting brownie which intensified the chocolate flavours.

Her creation proved to be a hit at local farmers markets, but like many other new entrepreneurs she recognised that if the business was going to succeed she needed to develop a regular customer base, allowing her to transform her hobby into a full-time commercial venture.

She recognised that she needed to expand her business and turned to Launchpad, a business scheme for the Sheffield City Region designed to help entrepreneurs transform ideas into a commercial reality.

Through the Launchpad programme ​she received advice from an experienced business advisor who worked with her to develop new markets for her products.

​Ms Moore said:​ ​“I’ve always enjoyed baking and my recipes were well received by friends, family and work colleagues, but selling to a complete stranger for the first time was something which both excited and terrified me in equal measures.

“Leaving a secure career and taking a step into the unknown was a leap of faith but I decided to give it a try. Running your own business can be daunting for anyone, but Launchpad helped me to understand the nuts and bolts of what it takes to run and grow your own business as well as giving me the confidence in face to face interaction with customers and in my business idea as a whole.​”

Ms Moore now sells her brownies to coffee shops and pubs throughout Yorkshire.