CELEBRITY TO MENTOR FIRM
A POPULAR doughnut firm which had to shut its kiosk in Burton due to lockdown says its sales have flourished thanks to selling its sweet treats online.
Project D, launched in 2018 by childhood friends Max Poynton, Matthew Bond and Jacob Watts, was forced to close its popular kiosks in Derby’s Intu centre and Burton’s Coopers Square shopping centre and saw its events marketplace wiped out during the pandemic.
But the trio were determined the firm would continue and quickly switched the business to an online operation in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and has nor looked back.
The icing on the cake has been Project D being named a winner in the Lloyds Bank Small Business of 2020 awards after growing its annual turnover by 300 per cent last year. It also has big plans, including opening a shop in London when the pandemic allows.
The award is in recognition of how quickly and efficiently the firm introduced new distribution channels and changed its selling methods in response to the pandemic.
For winning the award, the business gets a mentoring session with celebrity chef and Dragons’ Den alumni Levi Roots, the creator of Reggae Reggae Sauce, which is set to give the pals valuable insight and support to h grow their business in the year ahead.
After buying eggs from a local farmer to launch a local egg delivery service, Project D realised it could run pop-up stands outdoors selling its treats. It even extended range due to the huge demand at the pop up stands. It also expanded its home delivery service rapidly, with the tasty treats gaining recognition for putting a smile on people’s faces during lockdown, said a Project D spokesman.
The business, which started out by selling doughnuts at food events and festivals across the Midlands, has recently relocated to a significantly bigger 11,000 sq ft bakery in Derby.
Its team is operating round-theclock to keep up with rapidly increasing customer demand, while also ensuring that every doughnut sold is freshly baked.
Project D has also recently opened a distribution centre in Leeds to help better serve customers in the north of the UK. And it has set its sights on conquering the London market, with ambitions to open a shop in the capital later this year, once consumer footfall returns to the capital.
The business currently employs 55 people but is looking to recruit 100 additional staff this year.
Max said: “At the start of lockdown we sat down to work out what on earth we were going to do to make sure Project D didn’t become another victim of the pandemic. Little did we know then that the crisis would present us with so many opportunities.
“We quickly ramped up our online offering so our die-hard doughnuts fans could still enjoy our products at home, and it’s gone from there - the surge in appetite we’ve seen has been incredible.
“We’re hoping Levi will take a good look at what we’re already doing and offer some guidance on how to scale a business, and what more we can do to improve our model in general.”
Project D has a rotating range of 250 doughnut flavours, which it delivers directly people’s doorsteps to homes from Yorkshire to Milton Keynes, and via its pop-up stands around the country.
The business has even made doughnuts for a Love Island aftershow party, London Fashion Week and has supplied its tasty treats to staff at Windsor Castle. Its top selling product is the ‘Bad boy Biscoff’, which has a caramel base and blended Lotus Biscoff crumb.
Gareth Oakley, managing director of business banking at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Project D epitomises the spirit and determination that we’ve seen from a legion of small businesses right across the country, who have met – and overcome – the extraordinary challenges of 2020.
“These awards recognise the significant advancements made by fledging firms in the most unpredictable and tumultuous of markets and also shine a spotlight on the heart-warming contributions they’ve made to their local communities.”