Fuel costs have been extremely volatile since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, with no clear end to the conflict in sight, we’re doing all we can do minimise journeys and the consequent costs of fuel.

This is important to our retail clients. The better we can insulate ourselves against the rising cost of diesel and petrol, the more we can protect our customers against cost-driven price increases. We have been achieving this in a number of ways.

First, we are continuing to streamline our supply chain network, prioritising local suppliers and buying in bulk wherever possible. This yields immediate savings on road miles. For example, by buying our flour from Stockport (in our native North West) rather than from London, we have reduced one-way road journeys by over 130 miles. Similarly, by sourcing cardboard from Burnley rather than the Midlands, we save over 80 miles per trip. We have applied the same principle to many other commodities: jam, cooking oil, packaging, label printing etc.

Road-mile reductions are obviously the most effective way to reduce fuel costs, so we have also investigated other ways to achieve this. We have chosen to work with just a single logistics partner rather than with multiple regional haulage companies and this has enabled us, and our chosen supplier, to plan journeys much more efficiently. Round trips, sometimes calling in on more than one supplier, have further reduced the distances our materials have to travel, and virtually eliminated journeys on which vehicles travel empty.

It’s also important to note that our doughnuts can be transported at ambient temperatures in ordinary trucks, which are lighter and considerably more fuel-efficient than refrigerated lorries. Moreover, because the products last much longer than ordinary doughnuts, they also require fewer regular deliveries. These factors also help to reduce fuel consumption and help use to keep our costs down.

Finally, of course, these various steps and product characteristics aren’t just good news from a cost perspective; they also help us – and the retailers we serve – to make progress towards our respective net zero targets.

For more information about the steps we’re taking to improve resource efficiency throughout our operations, please see our Sustainability in Action page.