Fast-growing doughnut brand bags prestigious NFL gig
Derbyshire doughnut brand Project D is on the fast-track to becoming a major player on the UK bakery scene after bagging a mouth-watering deal to provide sweet treats at a Wembley National Football League (NFL) game last month.
The company sold 9,000 doughnuts at the Jacksonville Jaguars v Denver Broncos clash on 30 October, which was attended by a sell-out crowd of 86,000.
The firm – fresh from scooping the Online Bakery Business of the Year title at the Baking Industry Awards – first impressed bosses at Wembley concessions operator Delaware North when it sold its wares at the England v USA Women’s international football friendly earlier in the month.
The NFL gig saw the firm take 18 of its own staff and five agency hires to the iconic London venue.
The team sold doughnuts for four-and-a-half hours across three floors of the stadium.
Angela Allen, events manager at Project D, said: “It was a massive operation. This was the first time we’ve ever been given an opportunity to trade at Wembley by Delaware.
“The women’s international friendly was a trial run – but it was nothing in comparison to this. It was such a long trade window.”
Allen, who moved to Project D from Derby County FC, added that the game was “the biggest achievement” of her career.
Project D was established in 2018 by childhood friends Max Poynton, Matthew Bond and Jacob Watts. The company has grown rapidly and now employs over 100 people.
Operations director Poynton said the firm was hoping to do “a few more” events at Wembley over the next year.
The deal follows a string of successes for the firm, including launching a concession unit at Treat Kitchen in Nottingham’s Victoria Centre and selling protein doughnuts at the NEC in Birmingham.
