Author: Robin Gregson

To commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, the country’s longest-reigning monarch, we have introduced new, special edition packaging for some of our best-known products.

Pictured, for example, is the new-edition label for our popular Classic Mini Rings, temporarily re-styled as our “Jubilee Mini Rings.”

“We’ve enjoyed introducing the new Jubilee packaging,” said Simply Doughnuts managing director, Shiraz Master. “As the recipient of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2020, we feel a definite connection with Her Majesty the Queen and we’re keen to play a part in celebrating her amazing achievement. No British monarch has reigned for longer. This is the first time in history that the country has witnessed a Platinum Jubilee, so it’s a genuine once-in-a-lifetime occasion.”

The special edition packaging should start to appear in supermarkets and other retail venues throughout May.

On 27^th April, we received notification from The Grocer Gold Awards that Simply Doughnuts had been shortlisted as a finalist in the Waste Not Want Not category.

The award celebrates companies that have made important progress in reducing waste – whether that waste takes the form of food, ingredients or other materials, or commodities such as energy and water. In all these areas, we have made great strides this year.

Amongst others, our achievements have included diverting 100% of waste from landfill, reducing waste dough, using less water, and saving energy through the use of more efficient heating and lighting systems in the factory and offices. We’ve also reduced road miles by a considerable margin and introduced new initiatives with our supply chain partners that involve using bulk reusable containers.

The entry process was rigorous. We were quizzed about our company-wide waste-reduction strategy, the thinking behind it, the actual solutions we’ve employed and how the plan was executed. We also provided a quantitative analysis of our many waste-saving efforts, and details of our plans for the future.

“We’re delighted to be a finalist in this category,” said company MD, Shiraz Master. “We’ve made big investments and we really have worked incredibly hard to cut waste very successfully across the whole company. To have those efforts recognised is really important, and all the more so because we’re in such impressive company. Other finalists include major retailers like Tesco and Iceland – companies that are pressing forward with really ambitious resource-efficiency projects of their own.”

The Grocer Gold Awards will be held on Tuesday 14^th June 2022at the Guildhall in London.

We may only be a few months into it, but 2022 is proving to be a big year for Simply Doughnuts. For example, we’ve recently opened up a number of important new export markets, including Germany and several Gulf states. And interestingly, the opportunities aren’t just restricted to major supermarkets, distributors and wholesalers.

A potentially exciting new sector for us is the cinema concessions market. We’re seeing growing interest here – and with good reason. Supplied in convenient re-closable cartons, our fresh doughnuts are low on mess, great for sharing and ideally suited to the needs of hungry movie-goers.

Commercially, too, they’re very well suited to the needs of cinema-based food retailers. As ever, their long shelf-lives are a big advantage. They minimise food-waste risks and, because they require neither refrigeration nor heating on-site, they enable retailers to make valuable savings on energy and staff time. They can be displayed at ambient conditions and require minimal preparation; making them a simple “pick up and buy” option.

Helpfully, the cartons also fit very neatly into the cup-holders that many cinema chains fit to their seating, so they could hardly be better suited to the demands of the market.

It’s a market we’re actively looking to develop so watch this space for further news.

On 31st March 2022, Insider Media announced that Simply Doughnuts had made the finals of the Made in the North West manufacturing awards 2022.

We have been shortlisted in the Sustainable / Ethical Manufacturer Award category, on the strength of our waste-saving innovations and investments, and our efforts to create training and employment opportunities for people within the region.

Insider editor Simon Keegan congratulated all the shortlisted companies and said: “Manufacturing is pivotal to the North West economy, and the region’s manufacturers remain among the most innovative and dynamic in the world.”

Responding, Simply Doughnuts’ managing director said: “I’m very pleased that we’ve been shortlisted for our efforts in terms of ethics and sustainability. These are subjects that we take extremely seriously, and we’ve made important progress in both areas over the last 12 months.

“We’ve continued our R&D efforts regarding extending shelf lives and we’re now achieving around 34 days with our improved processes. We’ve also found ways to produce less waste-water during production, to reduce in-house energy consumption, and to reduce the road-miles involved in our inbound and outbound logistics. By working with our waste management contractor, we’ve also managed to divert 100% of waste from landfill.

“On the ethical side, we’re continuing to work on publicly-funded projects that promote employability skills; we’re creating work experience placements, helping people with mock interviews and actively recruiting people through DWP schemes in order to help them get a first foot on the career ladder. We’ve also recently become members of Sedex, an organisation that helps companies to improve their performance in terms of labour rights, health & safety, the environment and business ethics.” (See separate news article.)

The Awards are now in their tenth year. The final will be held on Thursday 5th May at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester.

Lancashire-based Farleys Solicitors LLP are regular supporters of worthy causes and on Friday 11 March, they held a St. Patrick’s Days event to raise funds for Cash for Kids. As part of their planning for the event, they had previously contacted us and asked if we would be able to support them by providing prizes for the auction or raffle.

We were happy to help and duly provided two boxes of doughnuts, which reportedly “went down a treat.”

The event went very well and, in all, raised £6,500 for the charity. The Farleys Team wrote to say:

“This is by far a record-breaking total. The funds will be going straight to Cash for Kids to help them continue with the vital support they offer to disadvantaged children in Lancashire. With the current cost of living crisis, it cannot be understated the impact these funds will have.”

Cash for Kids is a grant-giving charity based in the UK. It seeks to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people who may have additional needs, or who may be affected by poverty, illness or neglect.

The charity wrote to Farleys, noting:

Cash for Kids asked us to pass this message on:

“This (donation) means we can directly support 182 children and their families through our emergency fund helping them to put food on the table and heat their homes.

“To all the guests, thank you so much for supporting our charity and helping to support disadvantaged children and young people in our local area. The money raised cannot happen without you and your kindness.”

The rising costs of fuel and energy have been big news lately, and all the indicators suggest that prices are only going to get higher in the months ahead. For retailers, this presents a problem in terms of pricing and profitability, but it’s a problem that long shelf-lives can help to solve.

Refrigeration Costs

Our products achieve their 30-day shelf-lives at ambient temperatures. They don’t need refrigeration or freezing at any stage. This immediately removes one significant source of expense – i.e. the electrical energy required to keep products cold.

A report in 2020 by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation estimated that “The refrigeration systems in a supermarket account for between 30% and 60% of the electricity consumption, whereas lighting accounts for between 15% and 25%.” Clearly, then, by reducing the need for refrigeration, retailers could make sizeable savings on their energy costs.

Associated with this is a saving on staff time and labour costs. Simply Doughnuts’ products can be taken straight from the delivery vehicle and displayed on the retail shelf. They require no extra time for freezing, thawing, preparation or frequent stock-rotation.

Transport Costs

The saving here is twofold. First, longer shelf-life products can be delivered less often but in larger quantities, a capability that greatly reduces the number of delivery journeys required. That in itself yields a large saving on road miles, vehicle emissions and fuel costs.

The second saving arises from the fact that refrigerated vehicles are heavier and less fuel-efficient than ordinary vehicles that deliver product at ambient temperatures. A study by Brunel University’s Centre for Energy and Built Environment Research has estimated that using refrigerated vehicles consumes, on average, an extra 2 litres of fuel per hour. It reports that “the fuel consumption of the refrigeration unit will be approximately 8% of the total fuel consumption of the refrigerated vehicle.”

A Specialist Supply Chain

Looking at the whole-lifecycle impacts of our products, another benefit arises from the fact that we prioritise local and regional suppliers wherever possible. (For example, we source packaging from Greater Manchester rather than overseas.) In this way, we minimise the road-miles associated with production and, consequently, our products are better insulated against price increases driven by rising fuel costs.

Please see our For Retailers page and our Sustainability in Action page for more details of waste-saving and energy-efficiency benefits.

As you may have noticed, we have given the Simply Doughnuts website an overhaul. It went live on 1^st March 2022.

Our aim was to create a site that better reflected our uniqueness, and our increasing scale and capacity. We also wanted it to give a clearer sense of our ethos. As a result, we now have dedicated pages that explain the benefits that retailers can expect from our long-life products, our work in international markets, and our ongoing efforts to minimise waste.

The new site also showcases a recent change in our corporate branding. We hope you’ll agree that the new colours, graphics and photography give a better impression of our products and modernity.

We’ll be expanding the site in the coming months, with new stories, case studies, new product launches and more, so please remember to keep checking back in with us.