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In January 2022, keen to do more to promote corporate social responsibility, Simply Doughnuts announced its membership of Sedex.

Sedex is a global, not-for-profit membership organisation that is home to one of the world’s largest collaborative platforms for sharing data on supply chains. It is used by more than 38,000 members in over 150 countries to manage performance around labour rights, health & safety, the environment and business ethics.

For over twelve years Sedex has been developing technology, tools and partnerships that enable many of the world’s leading brands and suppliers to monitor and report on responsible practices.

The organisation notes that “Being a member of Sedex is a sign of Simply Doughnuts’ willingness to share information and to use this information to help manage and improve ethical standards within the supply chain.”

Announcing the company’s membership, managing director Shiraz Master said: “Like many businesses, we want to succeed in more than just commercial terms. We want Simply Doughnuts to be a force for good; to operate responsibly and to support the movement towards more transparency and more ethical behaviour in supply chains. Becoming a member of Sedex takes us another big step in that direction.”

Here’s a short video message from everyone here at Simply Doughnuts.

On 14^th December, Preston Muslim Girls High School held an event designed to raise awareness of breast cancer. Staff and pupils wanted to do something to support the needs of people who are suffering from the disease and families that have been affected by it, and to support ongoing efforts to detect and treat it.

There are a reported 55,000 case of breast cancer annually, and over 11,000 deaths. Consequently, a week before the event, when one of the school’s teachers wrote to place an order for some doughnuts to be distributed on the day, we decided instead to donate them.

The donation helped the school in its efforts to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for the Pink Ribbon Foundation. The organisation is a trust that funds the work of cancer-related charities around the UK. More details about how to support its work can be found here.

A few short weeks before Christmas, we received a letter from Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service, asking if we would be able to support a forthcoming charitable event.

Station Manager Ian Nelson wrote to tell us about a drive-through Santa Experience that was to be held on 11^th December at Preston Fire Station. Organised by the Fire Service, The Prince’s Trust and the Fire Cadets, the event would provide a memorable outing for children with additional needs who might typically find it difficult to attend more traditional Santa’s Grottos.

Designed with Covid safety-measures in mind, the event would allow children to attend from the comfort of their cars. However, with Christmas trees, decorations, gift-wrapped parcels and coloured lights, the organisers were pulling out all the stops to make it as festive, fun and memorable as possible.

We were delighted to help, and agreed to supply 200 tubs of doughnuts to be handed out to visitors on the day.

The donation went down very well and, shortly after the event, the organisers sent us a selection of photos.

The event also featured a collection for the Fire Fighters Charity. The organisation supports the mental, physical and social needs of all serving and retired fighters and their dependants. Anyone wishing to support the charity can make a donation via its website or via a dedicated JustGiving page. The charity also raises funds via its online shop.

We were recently contacted by a clinical support worker at the Acute Neurology Unit at Salford Royal Foundation Trust. Part of NHS Northern Care Alliance, the unit supports patients with neurological conditions from across Greater Manchester.

Each year, staff like to give out a small collection of presents to patients who have to spend Christmas Day in the ward. Under normal conditions, staff raise funds for this via donations, raffles and proceeds from the ward’s tuck shop, but safety restrictions during the Covid pandemic made the usual approaches unworkable. Consequently, the team decided to contact potential supporters in the North West that might be willing to contribute something to these Christmas packs.

We were, of course, very happy to help. We have long been a keen supporter of the NHS and all its teams who do such valuable work. We therefore agreed to donate four cases of doughnuts – enough for every patient on the 30-bed ward, plus a few left over for the ANU staff to enjoy.

As the photo (above) shows, they went down very well…

On the evening of Wednesday 10th November 2021, our MD, Shiraz Master attended a royal reception at Windsor Castle, hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales.

The event took place to recognise the winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2020 and 2021. Simply Doughnuts won last year under the category of Innovation.

The evening was also attended by the Princess Royal, the Countess of Wessex, the Duke of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Princess Alexandra.

In more normal times, the reception for the 2020 winners would have taken place the same year but, given the risks associated with the Covid pandemic, the event was deferred until 2021. Consequently, the evening was attended by winners from both years.

“It was a real privilege to attend,” said Shiraz. “It was, of course, an honour to meet and talk to HRH The Prince of Wales, and in such impressive surroundings. It was also really good to get a chance to meet other award winners and learn how the title has changed their businesses.

“For us, the Queen’s Award for Enterprise has certainly opened many doors and helped us to display a credibility that is important to so many of our clients. Winning was a pivotal point in the company’s development, and the Awards event was a great opportunity to celebrate and to reflect on that.”

British retailers and distributors are facing significant commercial pressures this autumn. For one thing, there’s a marked shortage of HGV drivers that is hampering logistical operations and forcing up the associated labour costs. For another, the cost of fuel for road vehicles is rising sharply, adding further to businesses’ expenses.

In conjunction with this, energy prices are also skyrocketing. That’s affecting the cost of gas and space-heating, but it’s also driving up the cost of electricity. That means that every process that requires power is costing companies more.

However, clients who shift their purchasing towards longer-life products can help to offset both problems.

Long-Life Products and Transport Costs

Products with longer shelf lives typically require fewer (but often larger) deliveries. For example, a doughnut that lasts 30 days clearly doesn’t need to be re-supplied so often as a more conventional product that may last only two days before it grows stale. The long-life product can be supplied in larger batches, with longer gaps between deliveries.

Fewer deliveries means fewer road miles, lower fuel costs and fewer demands on HGV drivers, whose time can then be used more productively, making other essential rounds. Importantly, it also means fewer associated carbon emissions.

It can of course be argued that short-life products can be frozen. That’s true, but that brings its own challenges. First, it requires the use of more expensive (and scarcer) refrigerated vehicles. At a time like this, that in itself can give rise to bottlenecks in distribution and to gaps on retailers’ shelves.

Second, those refrigerated vehicles are considerably heavier and more energy-hungry. That means higher fuel costs and a more significant carbon footprint – both of which retailers are generally anxious to avoid.

Long-Life Products and Energy Costs

The impact of rising energy costs isn’t just felt on the roads, of course. Once delivered, frozen products must be kept frozen until they are required for sale. That puts additional demands on industrial freezers, in terms of both storage space and electrical power.

By contrast, products that can be kept and displayed at ambient temperatures make no such demands and incur no such additional costs.

The Waste-Minimisation Trend

Products with longer shelf lives unquestionably help to reduce waste but, given the current economic climate, customers aren’t just looking at the problems of waste product and waste packaging. Energy, fuel and labour resources are all important considerations and their costs are rising steadily, so waste minimisation is essential here, too.

Longer-life products offer distinct advantages in this regard and clients are increasingly recognising their advantages. And these advantages aren’t only limited to road miles and refrigeration. Obviating the need for freezing also obviates the need for the labour-intensive process of removal, thawing and preparing for display. Similarly, longer-life products require less frequent inspections and stock-rotation on the shelves.

In short, there is a clear commercial benefit in moving towards products with longer shelf lives, and rising costs are making the case even stronger.

On the evening of 21^st October 2021, members of the Simply Doughnuts team attended the Baking Industry Awards at the Royal Lancaster hotel in London. We had entered under the Team of the Year category and we were naturally delighted to be announced as the winners.

The Awards featured 13 categories in all, and had attracted finalists of all types and sizes, ranging from small independent bakeries to major multiples and exporters. Our operations manager, Evita Dambrauska, collected the award on behalf of Simply Doughnuts.

The entry process had required details of many different aspects of our work: our products, policies, history and operations. Amongst other topics, questions covered staff communications, reporting procedures, quality control, sustainability measures and our approach to innovation.

The event was presented by TV personality, dancer and author, Craig Revel Horwood. The hosts remarked upon the very high standard of entries and commented that the Awards themselves set out “to acknowledge the skills, creativity and business acumen of the thriving UK baking sector.”

Speaking after the announcement, Evita said: “I’m really pleased to accept this award on behalf of the whole Simply Doughnuts team. Communication, skills and teamwork are all at the heart of what we do. Many of our previous awards have been about products, innovation and sustainability, but this is an award that recognises the efforts that people make right across our organisation. It’s for everyone here, and there is something very special about that.”

The full list of winners can be seen here.

Note:

Simply Doughnuts would also like to extend its thanks to the awards judges and to the category sponsor, Unifiller. In particular, we’d like to thank the company’s sales manager Simon Lawton-Hayes, for all his help with the organisation and logistics. The evening went very well and the sponsors’ contributions did not go unnoticed.

Since the easing of lockdown restrictions, the Covid pandemic might not have captured quite so many headlines as it once did, but staff in the NHS continue to battle with it, and to help people with countless other health conditions, too.

That’s why, when we were approached recently by East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, we were more than happy to make a product donation to show our appreciation for their work.

We made the donation to the Staff Wellbeing Team, backing a project to support staff in the Emergency Department. The doughnuts went into “wellbeing bags”, which were given to staff to promote wellbeing, relaxation, self-care and time out.

As the Community Fundraiser for ELHT&Me (the official charity for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust) remarked: “Something as small as a sweet treat can be just the pick-me-up that teams who are working under extreme pressures may need.

“Your donation was a huge morale-boost for our hardworking colleagues during what has been an extremely difficult time.”

We are, of course, proud to support the NHS and to show recognition for its continuing, invaluable work.

On the night of 21st September, we were delighted to hear that, a little over a year since we began our relationship with Bobby’s Foods, the company had picked up the ‘Product Launch of the Year’ award at the 2021 Retail Industry Awards.

Bobby’s was named winner of the Grocery category in recognition of the success of its retail launch of our Classic Mini Ring Doughnuts, available in store under our special co-branding: “7 Mini Classics.”

The award was accepted by Bobby’s Foods National Sales Manager, John Lucas. Also attending were company Director Dave Suckling and Commercial Director Jon Platts.

We were thrilled by the news and we congratulate the Bobby’s team for a well-deserved win. We’re now looking forward to many years of continued partnership.

Many thanks to all those who voted.