Author: Emily Anderton

June – we’re here for ya! We’ve got plenty going on this summer with lots of events, markets and festivals. Here’s where you can find us in June, slingin’ brownies and other delicious treats. Did someone say vegan brownie sundaes…? Read on to find out where you can indulge this month…

Bath – Frome – Manchester

We’re back in Bath, kicking the month off at Bath Vegan Festival on Saturday 4th June. Followed by the glorious Frome Independent Market on Sunday 5th.

As always, bring a box or bag to take your brownies away in and we’ll knock 50p off your order total.

Later on in the month we’re pitching up for the whole weekend at Outbreak Festival. This one’s up in Manchester and celebrates music, skating, art and culture. There will be tonnes of other tasty vegan food stalls too. What more could you want? We are IN.

We’re mixing things up for Outbreak Festival. As well as all your fave Dark Matters brownies, we’re setting up a vegan brownie sundae bar! It’s gonna be full on brownie, fudgy, chocolatey decadence.

It’s also Outbreak’s 10th anniversary, so we’re expecting big things. You can see the line up here, and click here to get tickets.

We’re constantly updating our calendar and adding new events all the time. So make sure you follow us on Instagram and Facebook to be the first to know where to find us! You can also scroll down to the bottom of this post and enter your email address to subscribe to hear about Dark Matters news, offers and competitions.

June Events

Saturday 4th June 2022 – Bath Vegan Festival
The Pavillion, Bath, 10.30am-4.30pm

Sunday 5th June 2022 – The Frome Independent
Frome Town Centre, 10am-3pm

Friday 24th-Sunday 26th June 2022 – Outbreak Festival
Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester – All Weekend!

As you know, you can order your brownies on our website any time, day or night. But Gemma ruddy LOVES getting out of the cabin/bakery and seeing your gorgeous mugs in real life. Fortunately, we’ve got a load of events and markets lined up in May, so come say HAY if you’re in the area. And get your vegan brownie fix while you’re at it.

Event Locations

Below you can find dates, places and times for all of our events this month. You can find us all over the South and South West of England, slinging brownies left right and centre. If you’re in or near any of the following places, you’re in luck: Frome, Lyme Regis, Dorchester, Portsmouth, Newbury, Clevedon and Salisbury.

Make sure you visit one of these fabulous markets if you get a chance. We’re trading alongside some of the BEST makers, bakers, chefs and traders around. It’s such a fun day out, and you can do it all while munching on your fave dark chocolate brownies.

Can’t wait to see ya! Don’t forget to bring along a box or bag for your Bs and we’ll knock 50p off your total.

If you want to stay up to date on all the latest Dark Matters goss – events, brownies, competitions, offers – scroll down and sign up to our newsletter why don’tcha.

May Markets & Events

Sunday 1st May 2022 – The Frome Independent
Frome Town Centre, 10am-3pm

Saturday 7th May 2022 – eat:Lyme Regis
Marine Parade, Lyme Regis, 10am-4pm

Sunday 8th May 2022 – Dorchester Vegan Market
Maumbury Rings, Dorchester, 10am-4pm

Saturday 14th May 2022 – Portsmouth Vegan Festival
Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth, 10.30am-4pm

Sunday 15th May 2022 – Newbury Vegan Market
Market Place, Newbury, 10am-3pm

Saturday 21st May 2022 – eat:Clevedon
Alexandra Gardens, Clevedon, 10am-4pm

Sunday 22nd May 2022 – Salisbury Vegan Fair
Market Place, Salisbury, 10.30am-4pm

We’ve had a bunch of new arrivals after the bloody gorgeous little shout out from Kiri Pritchard-McLean on Ed Gamble and James Acaster’s Off Menu podcast. POPPADOMS OR BREAD???

Scroll down and have a listen to Kiri’s Off Menu episode, or click here to download the transcript (episode 145).

So anyway, I thought I’d say HIYA and introduce myself to all the newbies ?

I’m Gemma, a Norf Landan native. I’ve run Dark Matters since May 2013 – 10 years next year! We’ve been 100% vegan for the last five years. It all started down by the sea in Dorset. I now run things from a log cabin in Bristol which is the best city in the world. FACT.

You’ll find me slinging Bs at events all over the country. You can also order our brownies for UK delivery here on our website and we’re stocked in a handful of sexy shops and cafes ?

When not baking/packing/trading/washing up/avoiding paperwork I’ll most likely have my nose in some weird book (veganspacecakes on Good Reads ?). I’m a little nature goblin – running, hiking or cold water swimming. You can often find me drinking all the beers and getting kicked in the face in a stinky mosh pit. Current ADHD obsession is with anything esoteric. I spent Easter weekend making a set of Anglo-Saxon runes and reading about Chaos Magic cos I’m a laugh ?

Lush to have you here! Business is reyt tough at the moment so this boost came at exactly the right time (thank u Kiri ??). We had a little unexpected flood of orders so I’ll be working this weekend on getting these baked, packed and out on Monday. Honestly thank you so much for the support and kind words, it means the world ?

LUV YA – Gem x

Listen to the Off Menu podcast – Ep 145: Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Temple Quay Market – Bristol
Thursday 21st April
11.30am-2pm

You’ll find us smack bang in the middle of Temple Quay business quarter for the Temple Quay Market next week – Thursday 21st April 2022.

There’s a butt load of totally delicious food on offer from lots of local traders. There’s always a good variety of vegan options – including your fave Dark Matters brownies ?

We’ll be there from 11.30am until 2pm, but would definitely advise getting down early to avoid the lunch time rush. You don’t want to miss out on a brownie or two (or three).

As always, for being such great eco warriors, if you bring your own box or bag for your brownies, we’ll knock a whopping 50p off your order total. 

Check out the Temple Quay Market Facebook page for event updates, and you can see what other foods you can feast on while you’re at it.

If you want to keep track on where you can find Dark Matters dishing out the best vegan brownies, keep an eye on our website and social media! ? You can also scroll down to sign up for DM news, events, offers and updates…

P.S. Have you ordered your Half Halloween Special Edition Brownie Box yet?? There’s only a few left up for grabs, so make sure you don’t miss out. It’s an Easter egg free zone. Instead you’ll find tonnes of spooky treats to help tide you over until Spooky Season.

You’ll find a full rundown of what’s included in that link – and not an Easter egg in sight.

? Everything is 100% vegan, always and forever! ?

Spring forward, we want fall back ? It’s Dark Matters’ Half-Halloween Special Box!

In case you missed it our Half-Halloween/Equinox Special Edition Box is online! We’re putting the finishing touches to this box of delights, and you can expect your delivery in mid-April. And there’s not an Easter egg in sight.

You can order yours online NOW while we’ve still got a few remaining! But don’t hang about, our Half-Halloween special is limited edition. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Here’s a little teaser of what you’ll receive. We’ll keep you Halloween Kweens posted with contents updates below, and on our Instagram.

? BOX INCLUDES: [Full contents TBA as things are confirmed – if you’ve had our Special boxes before you know you’re in for a treat!? Worth over £26 individually]

?5x PUMPKIN KING TRUFFLE BALLS
Sweet, fudgy and spiced in all the right ways

?1x ‘CAMPFIRE’ BROOKIE
Cinnamon Cookie Base > Toasted Maple Marshmallow Brownie Top

?1x ‘GRAVE ENCOUNTERS’ BROWNIE
Fudgy White Choc and Marshmallow Chunk Brownie with Vegan Mylk Choc Cornflake Cake Top and White Choc Tombstone

?’RELAX SWEET DEMON’ CORPSE PAINT SHEET FACEMASK
by the amazing VE Cosmetics (vegan and cruelty free, obvs!)

?️SEXY SPOOKY SPECIAL EXTRA #2: ????

?’EQUINOX’ EXCLUSIVE PRINT AND POEM
by goth daddy extraordinaire MISERY GUTS

? SOUR SKULLS
Our Gem’s very fave tooth-rottingly tangy vegan sweets

? SPOOPY SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Dedicated Dark Matters Playlist to get you into the Half-Halloween camp goth party mood

If you’d like a personalised message included let us know on the checkout’s comments box! ?

? Everything is 100% vegan, always and forever! ?

Want to be first to hear about the weird and wonderful ideas and offerings from Gem’s brain/bakery? Sign up below to receive news, updates, offers and vaguely relevant gifs…

We’ve been trading at The Frome Independent for blimmin’ yonks now. This event gets pride of place in our diary (first Sunday of the month from March-December) every single year. In fact, bar the odd storm or global pandemic, I don’t think we’ve missed a market since we started!

So we’ve cobbled together a little list of some of our favourite stalls and traders. There is a LOT of delicious vegan food available. Plus there’s a butt load of amazing craftspeople, designers and makers.

For the full rundown on Frome traders, click here. If you want to find out our faves, read on…

Vegan Food

Get Pickled Somerset
Fabulous ferements, pleasing pickles and crazy condiments! Think carrot top pesto, spicy banana ketchup, beet kraut. All plant based and earth friendly.

Tibetan Memories
Plant based, home cooked food doesn’t come much better than offerings from Tibetan Memories. Try the Namdi’s momos (Tibetan dumplings) – you will not be disappointed.

Soy Ahoy
Creators and suppliers of organic, handmade vegan meat substitutes – for pirates and non pirates alike!

Bath Culture House
Fabulously fermented vegan food and drink – you may have already heard us raving about this lot. Self-professed fermentation nerds! Selling cultured cheases, kimchi, sauerkrauts and kombucha.

Cococaravan
Stroudie chocolatiers Cococaravan have been making totally delicious vegan chocolate for almost 10 years. It’s all ethically sourced and not too sweet. Perfection!

Designers / Makers

Wolfe Academy
Sustainability is key for Wolfe Academy, and we’re so here for it. An independent clothing brand selling ethical and organic clothing and accessories. Comfy sweatshirts, woolly hats, super soft t-shirts – it’s all aimed at people who love life outdoors (or cosying up on the sofa too…)

Hibi Botanics
Vegan and cruelty free skin and hair care! All high performance and low waste. Basically all the good stuff – it’s natural, it’s pure and (just like our brownies) there’s no palm oil included. We love their gorgeous products and their eco, ethical vibes too.

Brownies!

So you’ll find us slinging our brownies at the lovely folks in Frome alongside all these wonderful people! Bring your own box or bag to take your brownies away in and we’ll knock 50p off your total.

Pop it in your diary – the first Sunday of every month from March to December, 10am-3pm.

Our vegan Hazelnut Praline brownies (AKA The Ambassador) are now available to order online! OOOFT! Would you just look at that fat brownie stack?

We’ve been whipping up these bad boys for a while now, and they always go down well at markets. So we’ve added these hazelnutty beasts to our full time roster and they’re now available to buy online for delivery anywhere in the UK.

These nutty brownies are stuffed full of toasted hazelnuts as well as chunks of praline and generous handfuls of vegan mylk chocolate.

The praline (or  ‘gianduja’ if you’re feelin’ fancy) is a chocolate made from hazelnuts. A true match made in brownie heaven.

We’ve also made these brownies using  Doves Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour which means even more people can enjoy them!

Get your hazelnut praline fix with The Ambassador, and check out all the other nutty brownies in our online shop.

The offerings from our kitchen are always evolving. Seen something you like on our stall at a market that’s not online yet? Let us know! Got any flavour suggestions? We’d love to hear from you!

You can also subscribe to our newsletter below to get our latest updates and offers straight to your inbox.

Subscribe and save! Our new brownie subscription has landed, and will help make sure you never run out of brownies again!

This is the ideal gift for someone who can’t get enough brownies. And of course we fully endorse gifting brownies straight back to yourself and getting your own regular supply.

Sign up and you’ll receive the following discounts:

• 3 month subscription = 10% off your brownies
• 6 month subscription = 15% off your brownies
• 12 month subscription = 15% off your brownies PLUS a free Dark Matters Tote Bag

The beauty of this subscription is that you control the frequency. You can order your subscription, claim your discount on your brownies and then redeem them all straight away! You can also spread out your orders to keep a steady supply coming. The choice is yours.

One month = box of 6 brownies, and you can choose from a 3, 6 or 12 month subscription. We’ll then send you 3, 6 or 12 vouchers (by post or email – up to you!) and you can redeem them whenever you like during their active period.

Vouchers will expire 3, 6 or 12 months (depending on which you’ve selected) from the first time you redeem them. Your first voucher must be redeemed within six months of purchase.

When you submit your voucher to us, we’ll send out your brownies! This will be a box of our Baker’s Choice brownies, but if you’d rather have 6 brownies of 1 particular flavour, let us know and we’ll be happy to amend.

Any questions, feel free to get in touch 🙂

Wondering where you can buy Dark Matters brownies? Of course you know you can order them them right here in our online shop. You can also pop along to any of our events and markets to get your fix in person!

But did you know we’ve also got a lovely list of stockists? Here’s a quick rundown of some of the places you can get your mitts on our brownies IRL…

SHOPS & STOCKISTS

Black Cactus Cafe [Blandford, Dorset]
A lovely independent cafe in Blandford serving killer toasties and bangin’ brownies.

Flipside Plant-Based Food [Farringdon, East London]
Plantbased burgers, fries, shakes, salads – and brownies! 

Food By Sumear [Bristol/Online]
Vegan cheese crafted by a total pro – Sumear makes and sells amazing vegan cheese, plus a few other tasty treats. 

Just Desserts [Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset]
Eat in or take away – or get it delivered! Just Desserts sells a whole range of sweet treats. 

Lunch’d [Dorset local delivery]
Tasty, healthy food delivered locally in Dorset. Get lunch delivered, and whack a brownie on your order while you’re at it!

Margheritas [Deal, Kent]
An Italian deli, restaurant and bar with tonnes of tasty plant based options.

Plant Power Vegan Cafe [Plymouth, Devon]
100% vegan-owned, independent cafe in Plymouth city centre. A gorgeous family-run cafe serving tea, coffee, cakes, sandwiches and, of course, brownies.

Scoop Wholefoods [Bristol & Bath branches]
A zero waste shop selling amazing things for your belly and doing amazing things for our planet.

South West Coast Refills [Weymouth, Dorset]
Another fantastic refill shop, promoting zero waste and wonderful, eco friendly products! 

Storm in a Teacup Coffeehouse [Swansea Market, Wales]
“Providers of great social lubricants” and Dark Matters brownies! Find them nestled in Swansea Market.

Vegan Vend [Various Locations,  Bristol]
Vegan vending machines! These beauties are dotted around Bristol, stocked full of tasty vegan food.

Wild Thyme [Southsea, Hampshire]
Wholesome, healthy goodness in the heart of Southsea. Get your wholefoods (and brownies) in the shop, or you can order for local delivery.

If you’ve bought your Dark Matters vegan brownies you might be wondering how long they will keep. Firstly, let us applaud your self control. Personally, I get a brownie and it lasts minutes. But maybe you’ve bought a bigger box, or maybe you’re buying for an occasion and want to make sure they’ll last.

We bake all of our brownies fresh. If you’re buying from a market they will have been baked 1-2 days beforehand. We bake all of our website orders as we process them. We don’t have shelves full of brownies sitting around going stale waiting to be picked, packed and delivered. So when your brownie arrives, it’s as fresh and fudgy as it can possibly be!

Vegan brownies shelf life

If you place an order online, we’ll bake your brownies fresh and send them via DHL courier. Once dispatched they’ll arrive within one to two days, and will then keep for five to seven days, depending on how they are stored.

If you’re buying your brownies at our markets, this is also the case. Your brownies will have a five to seven day shelf life depending on the conditions they’re kept in.

How do I store my vegan brownies?

You can extend the shelf life of your brownies by keeping them in an airtight container in the fridge.

Extend the shelf life even further by popping them in the freezer! All of our brownies are freezer friendly, so you can keep a steady supply on ice.

How long do vegan brownies keep in the freezer?

Maybe this is just me, but if you keep your brownies in the freezer it’s pretty likely that you’ll eat them way before they have a chance to go off. You can keep your brownies in the freezer for up to three months, but the longer they’re in there, the more risk there is for them to lose a bit of flavour. After this they’re defo still safe to eat, but give them a zap in the microwave and douse in custard or ice cream to make the most of them.

Contact us

If you’re ordering online for a special occasion or a specific date a little while away – feel free to get in touch! We can discuss dates with you to ensure your brownies are arriving as fresh as possible.