What Doughnotts does

Doughnotts (legally The Nottingham Doughnut Co. Limited) is a Nottingham-based artisan doughnut company founded in 2015 by co-founders Meg and Wade. The business operates six physical retail stores across the English Midlands — Nottingham (Old Market Square and West Bridgford), Beeston, Lincoln, East Midlands Designer Outlet (South Normanton), and West Midlands Designer Outlet (Cannock) — alongside a central production bakery at Queens Drive Industrial Estate, Nottingham, where all doughnuts are handmade fresh daily. The product range spans individual doughnuts (priced £4.00–£4.50 each), curated box sets of six (£25.00), mini boxes of nine (£18.00), Big Boys (~8-inch, serves 8, £20.00), Phat Boys (~10-inch, serves 12, £25.00–£35.00), Giant Number Doughnuts (£17.50) for birthdays, plus digital gift cards (£5–£40). Order-to-delivery operations run on Shopify with UK mainland delivery handled by Legion Express Logistics in partnership with DHL and APC, and free delivery is offered on orders of £50 or more.

The company operates a multi-channel go-to-market model combining direct-to-consumer retail (in-store, click & collect, UK mainland e-commerce delivery), wholesale/B2B supply to coffee shops, restaurants, venues, and supermarket partners including Co-Op, concession presence at Motorpoint Arena and Nottingham Forest's City Ground, a weddings and bespoke corporate service, and events/festival catering. In March 2026, Doughnotts secured a six-figure debt loan from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (processed via Maven Capital Partners, overseen by the British Business Bank) to formalise a franchise programme in partnership with Ashtons Franchise Consulting, refurbish stores to franchise standards, and expand into new UK regions. The company is privately held and founder-led, with no identified parent company and no disclosed headcount beyond the 11–50 employee band.

Name

Doughnotts

Legal name

The Nottingham Doughnut Co. Limited

Website

https://doughnottsofficial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Doughnotts is a Nottingham-based artisan doughnut retailer and wholesaler founded in 2015, operating six stores across the Midlands with UK-wide delivery, wholesale supply to Co-Op and major sports and entertainment venues, bespoke wedding and corporate services, and a developing franchise model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Bakery / Handmade Doughnuts

NAICS

Retail Bakeries (311811), Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181), Commercial Bakeries (311812), Baked Goods Retailers (445291)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Donut Shops (THAFAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pastry, Cakes & Desserts Wholesale (AFAIAFAB), DTC Bakery & Desserts Delivery (AFAIANAF), Premium/Artisanal Bakery Wholesale (AFAIAFAG)

Keywords

• Artisan doughnuts
• Handmade bakery
• Specialty dessert retail
• Vegan doughnuts
• Wedding catering

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Doughnut Sales: Direct sales of handmade artisan doughnuts through 6 physical store locations across the Midlands (Nottingham, Lincoln, Beeston, West Bridgford, East Midlands Designer Outlet, West Midlands Designer Outlet) and online delivery orders. Revenue generated through individual purchases, box sets, and specialty products.
2. Wholesale & B2B Supply: Wholesale supply of doughnuts to local cafés, restaurants, venues, and supermarket partners including Co-Op. Also includes bespoke, branded, and bulk doughnut orders for corporate events and celebrations.
3. Wedding & Events: Specialized wedding doughnut packages and event catering services, including doughnut wedding cakes, late-night mini doughnut snacks, and custom configurations for celebrations.
4. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards sold online in denominations of £5, £10, £30, and £40, redeemable for all products on the website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Doughnotts manufactures and retails handmade artisan doughnuts produced fresh daily at its central Nottingham bakery, selling approximately 70 SKUs of individual doughnuts, 6-piece box sets, 8-inch Big Boys, 10-inch Phat Boys, dual-flavor Half & Half supersized doughnuts, mini doughnut boxes, customizable giant number doughnuts, seasonal specialties, cookies and sundaes through six owned retail stores, an e-commerce website with UK mainland delivery, and click & collect. Beyond retail, the company supplies wholesale to cafes, restaurants, venues and supermarkets (including Co-Op), provides wedding and bespoke branded corporate doughnut packages, operates event catering, and is formalizing a franchise program for geographic expansion.

Product overview

Doughnotts is a Nottingham-based artisan doughnut company founded in 2015 that has grown from a kitchen start-up to a multi-store operator with six locations across the Midlands. The company offers a diverse portfolio of handmade fresh doughnuts through multiple sales channels including retail stores, online ordering with delivery across mainland UK, click & collect, wholesale to businesses, and events/catering services. The core product lineup centers on individual doughnuts (Glazed, Homer, Salted Caramel, Cookie Monster, Red Velvet, Death By Chocolate, Biscoff Crunch, White Chocolate Oreo Crunch, Cinnamon Scroll, and seasonal varieties) and specialty formats including Big Boys (8-inch supersized, serves 8), Phat Boys (10-inch giant supersized, serves 12), Half & Half (dual-flavor giant), Mini Doughnuts (boxes of 9), Giant Number Doughnuts (customizable number shapes), and Box Sets (curated 6-packs in varieties like Homer, Oreo, Biscoff, Vegan-Friendly, Wimbledon, Picnic, and Classics). Beyond standard retail, the company provides wedding doughnuts, bespoke branded doughnuts for corporate clients, wholesale supply to venues and retailers, franchise opportunities, and event catering services. The product ecosystem is powered by Shopify e-commerce platform with delivery handled by Legion Express Logistics in partnership with DHL and APC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Artisan Doughnuts Handmade fresh artisan doughnuts sold individually in over a dozen flavors including Glazed, Homer, Salted Caramel, Cookie Monster, Red Velvet, Death By Chocolate, Biscoff Crunch, White Chocolate Oreo Crunch, Cinnamon Scroll, Scoff It, and seasonal varieties at £4.00-£4.50 per doughnut, available across all six retail stores, online delivery, and wholesale.
• Box Sets (curated 6-packs) Curated collections of six doughnuts sold as a single £25 box, including signature sets (Homer Box, Oreo Box, Biscoff Box, Vegan-Friendly Favourites) and themed/seasonal sets (The Wimbledon Box, Vegan Picnic in the Park Box, Picnic in the Park Box, The Classics Box), designed for sharing, gifting, or themed occasions.
• Big Boys (8-inch supersized doughnuts) Oversized 8-inch doughnuts serving up to 8 portions, designed for sharing at gatherings, with a flavor range spanning Homer, Biscoff Crunch, Cookie Monster, Red Velvet, Death By Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Glazed, and White Chocolate Oreo Crunch at £20 each.
• Phat Boys (10-inch giant supersized doughnuts) Giant 10-inch supersized doughnuts serving up to 12 portions, available in 11 flavors (Glazed, Homer, Salted Caramel, Red Velvet, Cookie Monster, Death By Chocolate, Scoff It, Cookies & Dream, Cherry Bakewell, Weekend Billionaire, Bueno) targeted at large shared occasions and centrepiece presentations, priced at £35 each.
• Phat Boy Half & Half (dual-flavor supersized) Half & Half Phat Boy format combining two different flavor selections onto a single 10-inch supersized doughnut for customers seeking a combined flavor experience.
• Mini Doughnuts (boxes of 9) Bite-sized doughnuts sold in boxes of 9 (one flavor per box), available across 12 flavors including Glazed, Homer, Salted Caramel, Powdered Jam, Cookie Monster, Death By Chocolate, Red Velvet, Scoff It, Cookies & Dream, Cherry Bakewell, Weekend Billionaire, and Hazelnut Bueno, with standard boxes at £18.00 and Scoff It at £22.50.
• Giant Number Doughnuts Customizable number-shaped doughnuts for birthdays and milestones, available in 8 flavors (Glazed, Homer, Salted Caramel, Red Velvet, Cookie Monster, Death By Chocolate, Biscoff Crunch, White Chocolate Oreo Crunch) priced at £17.50 each.
• Specialty Cookies and Sundaes Specialty baked SKUs complementing the doughnut range, including the Biscoff Cookie Sandwich, seasonal Biscoff Sundae (accidentally vegan), Bueno Sundae (with Kinder Bueno), Eton Mess, Lemon Pavlova, and Caramel Oreo (accidentally vegan), offered as standalone items for individual purchase.
• Digital Gift Cards Digital gift cards sold online in £5, £10, £20, £30, and £40 denominations, redeemable across the full product range on the e-commerce site for 12 months from purchase as a gifting solution.
• Wedding Doughnut Packages Bespoke wedding catering packages offering doughnut wedding cakes, late-night mini doughnut snacks, and custom configurations for couples seeking unique alternatives to traditional wedding cakes, with a minimum 1-week order lead time.
• Bespoke Corporate and Branded Doughnuts Custom branded and bulk doughnut ordering service for corporate events, meetings, employee gifting, client gifting, and promotional campaigns, with customizable colors, company logos, and bulk quantities operated through a dedicated B2B contact page.
• Wholesale Doughnut Supply Recurring wholesale supply of handcrafted daily doughnuts to coffee shops, restaurants, venues, and retailers for resale to their own customers, with named partners including Co-Op, Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham Forest stadium (Official City Ground), Lincoln City FC, and multiple local cafes.
• Events and Markets Catering Event catering service for festivals, markets, and large public gatherings providing high-volume doughnut orders with vegan options and festival-ready packaging, capable of serving thousands of attendees nationwide.
• Franchise Program Formal franchise partnership program developed in collaboration with Ashtons Franchise Consulting, enabling entrepreneurs to open Doughnotts-branded stores with standardized franchise operations, training, and refurbishment support for geographic expansion into neighboring UK regions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Six-store operation across Midlands from kitchen start-up in 2015
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ashtons Franchise ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAshtons Franchise Consulting is the formal franchise development partner helping Doughnotts develop a structured franchise model. The partnership will enable standardized franchise operations and support geographic expansion into new regions.
• Legion Express LogisticscoreOthersLegion Express Logistics is Doughnotts' trusted logistics partner for UK mainland delivery, working with DHL and APC to get doughnuts to customers. Once orders leave the bakery, Legion Express handles delivery to ensure fresh products arrive at customers' doors.
• DHLminorOthersDHL is one of the delivery carriers used by Legion Express Logistics for UK mainland delivery operations.
• APCminorOthersAPC is one of the delivery carriers used by Legion Express Logistics for UK mainland delivery operations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cinnabon: Cinnabon is a global specialty baked-goods brand with mall and travel-hub locations, including UK sites. Comparable to Doughnotts as a premium single-product bakery brand targeting occasion-based purchases in high-footfall locations.
• Costa Coffee: Costa is the UK's largest coffee chain and a major bakery retail partner. Comparable to Doughnotts because the same UK coffee/foodservice partners (e.g. Co-Op, motorway services, arenas) that stock Costa's bakery items also evaluate Doughnotts' wholesale doughnut lines.
• Gail's Bakery: Gail's is a UK specialty bakery and café chain with multiple stores and DTC lines. Comparable as a premium UK bakery brand operating physical retail plus e-commerce, though product mix is broader than Doughnotts' doughnut-only focus.
• Dunkin': Dunkin' is a global doughnut and coffee chain with a small UK footprint. Comparable to Doughnotts as a specialty doughnut and coffee operator, but operates at significantly larger scale globally and competes primarily on convenience rather than artisan positioning.

Emerging players

• Donutelier: Donutelier is a London-based artisan doughnut brand with DTC and event supply. Comparable to Doughnotts as a smaller UK premium doughnut player with similar flavour-innovation and bespoke-event focus, though with a much smaller store footprint.
• Project Doughnut: Project Doughnut is a UK doughnut subscription and DTC brand. Comparable to Doughnotts as a UK-based doughnut brand competing in online and gifting occasions, though it operates without retail stores and relies on a subscription model.

Direct peers

• Bread Ahead: Bread Ahead is a UK artisan bakery known for doughnuts and sourdough, with multiple London sites and DTC e-commerce. Comparable to Doughnotts as a premium artisan baked-goods brand with strong venue presence and wholesale to foodservice.
• Crosstown Doughnuts: Crosstown is a London-based artisan doughnut brand and bakery with multiple stores and DTC delivery across the UK. Closest direct peer to Doughnotts in terms of handcrafted positioning, premium flavour innovation, and omnichannel distribution.
• Krispy Kreme UK: Krispy Kreme UK is the largest specialty doughnut chain operating in the United Kingdom with retail stores, hot doughnut theatres, and DTC delivery. Directly comparable to Doughnotts as a branded doughnut retailer with multichannel sales, though at materially larger scale.

Regional players

• Joe & The Juice: Joe & The Juice is a Danish-origin premium coffee and food brand with growing UK presence. Comparable as a premium lifestyle café/retail concept serving the same UK occasion-led customer, though primarily a coffee operator rather than a doughnut specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Doughnotts
• Instagraminstagram.com/doughnotts_official
• TikToktiktok.com/@doughnotts_official?lang=en
• Xx.com/doughnotts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/doughnotts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Doughnotts