Brownie Point

A World of Creative Desserts

As you drive up Pali Hill, you cannot resist stopping at the spot known for the best desserts. Enjoy cakes, brownies, cheesecakes and more with a visit here

Text: Shraddha Mishra   Photographs: Vijay Barathe

Perched on Pali Hill, Bandra this outlet of Brownie Point is 22 years old. 22 years; that's how long it has been since Bombay was first introduced to the classic brownie by Chef Manish Khanna. Back then, it was just one shop on the streets among few others. Directions had to be given to customers, visitors and suppliers specifying that Brownie Point is next to this shop and opposite that enterprise. Today, Brownie Point has become a landmark for other shops and commercial enterprises on that lane. We're next to Brownie Point, they say when giving directions to their location.
Brownie Point was launched in 1997, at a time when people weren't really familiar with the idea of brownies. Chocolate Truffle, Black Forest or Fresh Pineapple Cakes were the popular choices for birthdays and celebratory occasions. But Chef Manish decided to go beyond what was already popular. He wanted to offer them something new and different.

Talking about the time when selling a few brownies a day was a challenge, Chef Manish says, "When a customer walked in, they would see the brownies but wouldn't pick them up. They would still prefer the usual familiar cakes. Some curious customers would see the new offering and ask us what it is. That was our chance! We had to use that small window of curiosity to have our customers warmed-up to trying them. Simply saying that it is a dessert with a texture between a biscuit and a cake would do no justice to the delicious ooey-gooey soft-centered brownies that we made. So here's what we did. We started offering tasting portions on the house to every visitor, insisting that they try it at least once," he shares excitedly.

And surely enough, the trend caught on. Soon, brownies became irresistible to the growing base of customers. And Brownie Point had arrived! Brownie Point has grown to a family of 29 outlets, sharing the deliciousness across 4 cities and 2 countries. The one in Bandra is special for being the very first one. Back in the day, there wasn't much going on down this lane. There were only a few commercial enterprises but today it's quite different. This lane on Pali Hill is a buzzing locality and among all the happening spots, Brownie Point has become the landmark. Being here since over two decades, it has gained an identity for itself. The central kitchen where all the ideating, conceptualising, baking and frosting happens is in Marol. From there, each morning the dispatch vehicle carries the delicately crafted artistic cakes, pastries and brownies to various outlets in the city.

When Brownie Point was launched with a whole lot of challenges, the idea was to introduce something new and different for dessert lovers of the city. "That was how we brought in our variety of brownies. But we didn't want to stop there. We wanted to continue introducing new products to our customers over the time," Chef Manish says. A similar challenge was faced when they first brought in cheesecakes as part of the offerings. Customers weren't sure of what it was and whether they would like it. The idea of the popular Amul cheese made them believe that a this is a savoury cake, not a sweet dessert, perhaps something they won't like. But Brownie Point had secured an identity as a place where new, interesting and irresistible desserts were introduced. It had become easier to convince people to try a new product. Today in the day and age of the internet, everyone is very well informed and are more keen on trying something new. Says Chef Manish, "With each year at Brownie Point, we introduced new products that everyone loved eating and we enjoyed creating."

Today as you enter the store, you are greeted into a beautiful world of desserts. You see an array of brownies, cakes, pastries, cupcakes, cake popsicles, cheesecakes and oh so many varieties of desserts, waiting to be picked up to be a part of your special occasion. Brownies alone come in a variety that makes it difficult for you to choose. Or may be not, because when you see the Overloaded Chocolate Brownie, you know you've found your favourite one!

Meet the creator, Manish Khanna, Founder and Head Chef of Brownie Point. His interests and curiosities have always been in the kitchen. He jovially says, "I am a Punjabi at heart. I love food, it is in my genes. And what I love more is feeding people." He has worked with several big hotels before launching Brownie Point, but interestingly, none of those stints have been in the kitchen. ìService ensured good tips, and that is what I had to focus on at that stage in life," he says. The struggle was real, as opening up a venture of his own demanded a good amount of capital to be invested. Getting the word out was difficult and selling one cake was a marked achievement in the early phase of the business. But his determination was stronger than the figures of the bank accounts. Perseverance brought him and Brownie Point to a place where 29 outlets are constantly a-buzz with customers, admiring the artistic designs of cakes. Slump hour, what's that?

"We live in exciting times. Customers come in all the time to place orders for special cakes. Our vertical cakes are most coveted and can be the charm of any party," Chef says as he shows us, displayed at the store, many of these creative cakes as realistically crafted models. But there is only so much space for showcasing those. What caught our attention was a whole wall covered with photographs, tempting ones, of beautifully crafted cakes. There were customised cakes for all occasions. Birthday parties, weddings, baby showers, sports victories, graduations, farewells and what not! Afterall, a cake is the best way to celebrate any occasion. We also noticed a small soft board hidden behind the photos that had spilled way beyond the limit of the board. "Why the tiny board over there, Chef?" We ask Manish with curiosity.

He chuckles, "This little soft board was meant to have some pictures to give customers an idea of the customisation we offered. We also had an album with hundreds of more pictures that customers could sit and flip through. But we noticed that they preferred quickly going through the display rather than seeing the whole album. A lot of beautiful creative options thus got hidden away in those albums. We wanted all those options to be seen out there, for customers to know that they have many, many to choose from, not just the few that fit on the board. Gradually, we started pasting the pictures directly on the walls, adding more rows and columns of pictures beyond this small board. Now the wall is full, and there are still more varieties and designs we can do, customised to the occasion and preferences."

We love it! We propose an entire wall filled with beautiful pictures of cakes, even custom-made wallpaper we suggest with a snigger!