Firm that supplied doughnuts to Love Island announces sweet expansion

A Derby-based doughnut business is set to expand after signing a deal to remain permanently in the intu centre, with outlets in Burton, Loughborough and Warwick also planned.

Project D, which once supplied doughnuts for a Love Island after show party, will extend both its range and its footprint this year, starting with a 1.5 m extension of its intu Derby kiosk.

A temporary shop in Cooper’s Square in Burton will become a permanent fixture, while a weekly stand in the University of Derby’s Kedleston Road atrium will now open three days a week.

Further Project D kiosks will also be available in Loughborough University and Warwick University.

The company will create five new jobs as a result of its expansion, bringing its workforce up to 16.

The firm has previously been commissioned to create doughnuts for London Fashion Week, and once received an order from staff and residents at Windsor Castle.

Project D’s co-owner Jacob Watts said: “While we were always confident that our doughnuts were pretty special, we have been amazed at how popular Project D has become in just a year.

“In addition to the kiosks, we’ve been touring street food events and festivals around the Midlands, as well as fulfilling orders for corporate events and one-off commissions.

“Seeing the Love Island cast eating our doughnuts and finding ourselves at London Fashion Week was pretty surreal but hearing how much people across the UK loved our doughnuts was a dream come true.

“The high point was probably being commissioned to create 60 doughnuts for Windsor Castle by ASBC one of its contractors. We made them with royal crests on the top and while we’ll never know if the Queen tried them, we like to think Harry and Meghan might have shared one before they left!”