Bear Hut Brownies, located on Chapel Street in Stafford, will close for the final time on 8 June. Owner Laura Mansell announced on Facebook that the independent bakery would be closing, citing energy and ingredient price hikes as being the main cause.
Mansell stated in the social media post “…the cost of living crisis, energy prices, egg shortages followed by price increases, and now the cocoa crisis, all of which affect us”.
Mansell also expressed that the closure is due in part to the birth of her “miracle baby”.
Over the last four years, Mansell and her partner, Leo Ward, had led Bear Hut Brownies through an extremely challenging period for the hospitality industry.
The bakery first opened in June 2020, after Mansell started getting requests for orders of brownies. At the time, she had been volunteering at a hut in Milford.
As a result of constant energy hikes and ingredient price changes, Mansell was forced to regularly increase the price of her brownies to keep the business going.
The chocolate used by the bakery had increased in price by 50% between 2020 and 2024.
This year, the cocoa industry is in crisis due to crop losses and a resulting cocoa bean shortage. As a result of this, the price of chocolate is expected to soar.
