Now you can get your teeth into ‘designer’ doughnuts
NOTTINGHAM company Doughnotts opens its newest branch tomorrow at one of the region’s busiest shopping centres.
The sweet treats will be sold from a kiosk at East Midlands Designer Outlet just over the Nottinghamshire/derbyshire border in South Normanton.
Production has hit around 20,000 handmade doughnuts each week, despite rising costs forcing a price increase to £2.50 for a standard and £3.50 for a premium doughnut.
The new kiosk, just outside the Food Court, opens at 9am with competitions and giveaways including merchandise and vouchers.
Doughnuts will be on sale seven days a week from 9am to 9pm.
Sweettoothed customers can indulge in Red Velvet, Bueno, Cherry Bakewell, Twixy Business (a Twix submerged in caramel), and Weekend Billionaire (a chocolate, caramel and shortbread combo). And there’s plenty of vegan staples such as Oreo and Biscoff, and specials too. Co-founder Wade Smith said: “We are buzzing about it. We were in talks a couple of years ago but we weren’t a seven-day operation at that time.
“The opportunity arose and it’s a good option for us. There will be 18 flavours and probably 65-70 per cent are vegan.”
The company has shops in Nottingham city centre, Beeston, Lincoln and Leicester selling the generously-sized treats. It also offers nationwide delivery so Scottish and Welsh doughnut lovers can have a box from Notts arrive on their doorstop. Another kiosk will be opening at Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre by the end of the year.
Like every other business in hospitality, the impact of Covid and rising costs – including a £35,000 energy bill – has forced Doughnotts to pass on the increase to customers.
Wade said: “It’s a very different climate.
“We’ve had to adapt so much of the business. It has been harder. Every single business you speak to in hospitality has said the same.
“We had to put a little bit on the price of our doughnuts. We buy raw ingredients and make everything from scratch.
“You can walk into Costa and buy a brownie and pay about £3 and no one bats an eyelid... it’s because of the brand.
“People don’t understand that smaller independent businesses like us have to work so much harder to compete with these big companies.
“You’re facing rising costs so you’re forced to increase the price of the product, that then puts people off as they’re so used to paying your price point, so that then means you have less customers. It’s just a vicious circle.
“It’s not all negative. We still love it and we’re growing. We’re doing OK but we were doing better before.
“I think that’s what’s forcing us to grow. If we can do that now, then one day people’s spending habits will be different and it will get back to normal.”