Doughnut brand opens on high street for the first time

A growing UK doughnut brand is today launching its first flagship store.

Project D is opening its new permanent store in Parliament Street, York, after a “unanimous team decision” was made about the city being perfect for the brand.

The independently owned firm was established in 2018. Its store will sell a wide selection of doughnuts, including the firm’s best-selling ‘Homer’, a pink-topped creation inspired by cartoon character Homer Simpson, alongside hand roasted premium roasted coffee and Project D merchandise such as hoodies and T-shirts.

Max Poynton, co-founder and marketing director, said: “We are so excited to be opening our first store in such a fantastic location in one of the UK’s most beautiful cities.

“York holds a special place in our hearts and has been one of the top areas for our online sales and pop-up events since we launched the company.”

Up until now, Project D has largely sold its treats as online deliveries and via kiosks and pop-up events around the UK.

Poynton co-founded Project D with his former school friends Matthew Bond and Jacob Watts.

The trio, who launched the business from a kitchen table, now employ staff at their purpose-built 11,000 sq ft bakery, which is capable of manufacturing up to 17 million doughnuts per year.

The new store in York city centre is at 10 Parliament Street, between HSBC and Vision Express.

Project D is expecting to open at least three more stores over the next six months, one of which will be at Meadowhall Shopping Centre, in Sheffield. Further new branches are set to follow next year.

The move into permanent retail sites was kick-started by a crowdfunding campaign earlier this year.

Bond, who is the business’s creative director, said: “The York opening is the culmination of everything we’ve been working towards for the past few years. We can’t wait to welcome our new customers.

“We set out to make the world’s best doughnuts, and we are absolutely confident that we’ve done just that.”