Derbyshire-based Project D poised to announce Sheffield store opening

The launch of the much-anticipated flagship store in Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre follows the recent opening of Project D stores in York city centre and, last week, in Nottingham’s Victoria Centre.

It is part of the UK’s fastest growing doughnut brand’s drive to open high street and out-of-town retail stores across the UK to complement its existing online shop and pop-up events.

The grand openings of the stores in York and Nottingham saw customers queue in their droves to take advantage of a bumper 500-doughnut giveaway – which will be repeated at Meadowhall.

Located next to the M&S outlet at Meadowhall, Project D’s new 500 sq. ft. store will be packing a sugary punch with its launch. As well as selling doughnuts, the store will be stocked with a range of cool Project D merchandise for sale, such as hoodies and T-shirts, as well as coffee.

Max Poynton, co-founder and marketing director for Project D, said: “This is a really cool doughnut shop. It’s been so exciting to work on these amazing interior designs. People won’t be able to help being drawn to it.

“We chose Meadowhall as the venue for this flagship store partly because out-of-town shopping centres are flourishing - and we’ve already built a loyal base of customers in the Sheffield area.

“Our aim is to make our doughnuts and coffee more accessible, so they can be enjoyed by even more people. We’ll also be selling Project D-branded clothing and really cool accessories, as well as a wide range of seasonal products.”

Work on the new bright-pink branded store has been closely monitored by sweet-toothed shoppers while the refurbishment has been carried out.

Business has boomed for the baker since the firm was launched five years ago by ex-school friends Max Poynton, Matt Bond and Jacob Watts.

Max said that the opening of the Sheffield store represented the continuation of the company’s ‘jam-packed’ success story, despite having been forced to roll back and delay its ambitious retail outlet plans due to Covid.

“We had three stores prior to the pandemic but our plan for retail expansion was abruptly cut short,” he said. “Now that business has boomed through online sales and pop-up events, our retail expansion plan is even bigger than before.”

Other retail store openings are currently being planned in cities across the UK, with announcements expected to be made in the near future.

“This is the future of Project D,” added Max. “And we are massively excited by the prospect.”

For further information and to visit Project D’s online store, visit www.projectdoughnut.co.uk.