On 10th October, Insider Media named Simply Doughnuts as a finalist in the Northern International Trade Awards 2025. We are one of the contenders for the title of ‘International Company of the Year’ (in the sub-£10m category).
The announcement followed a written submission and a presentation to a panel of judges. Central to our nomination was our continued expansion in overseas markets – exports having almost tripled since 2022. Judges also asked about our record of continuous innovation, recent investments in quality and manufacturing capacity, and our latest new product development work.
The full list of finalists can be seen here. The winners will be announced at a special awards dinner on 4th December, at Hotel Football in Manchester.
Some doughnuts were sold; others were used as raffle prizes
In early September, the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice contacted us, asking for a contribution to support its 2025 Dragon Boat Race. There, a team of staff and volunteers planned to take a stall and sell doughnuts as part of their fund-raising efforts.
Given the great value of the Hospice’s work, we were delighted to donate a supply of Classic Mini Ring Doughnuts, which were reportedly very well received.
The Dragon Boat Race was held at Pugneys Country Park in Wakefield. Open to competing teams of 16 paddlers each, it featured a series of 200m races in brightly decorated boats. Despite heavy rain, the event provided a memorable spectacle that also helped to raise funds and to boost awareness of the charity’s role and its important work.
The Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice operates across West Yorkshire, providing support for children with life-limiting conditions and, importantly, giving support to their families too. The charity has helped over a thousand people over the last year alone. This has included 107 children aged between 0 and 5; a further 74 aged 6 to 12; and 50 aged 13 or above.
In it, the charity’s chief executive Gareth Pierce notes: “Forget Me Not is so much more than a place where children come to die. It’s where families come to live. From the moment they receive a life-shortening diagnosis for their child, we’re there – helping them make the most of every moment.”
The Hospice receives excellent reviews from those whom it supports, but public funding sources are very limited, so it is highly reliant on donations from individuals and businesses.
Gareth Pierce explains: “We’re incredibly proud of the difference we’ve made – but the reality is, we still receive only a small portion of our funding from the government… That’s why we continue to rely on the support of our community – through monthly giving, corporate partnerships, fundraising or gifts in wills.”
Anyone wishing to support the organisation’s work can find out more here.
Dragon boat racersKeeping dry under the fundraising stall tent
On 20 August, the manufacturers’ organisation, Make UK, confirmed that Simply Doughnuts was a finalist in three categories of its annual Manufacturing Awards.
We have been shortlisted by Make UK for the following regional awards:
Developing Future Talent
Business Growth and Strategy
The Manufacturing Impact Award
In 2024, we were a runner up in the Innovation category in the same awards programme.
This year’s winners will be announced at the North West regional dinner, which will be held on Thursday 23 October at Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort, Burnley.
Interestingly, this is the same night as the finals of the Baking Industry Awards in London, where we will be hoping to be named the ‘Team of the Year’.
The organisers wrote to the various finalists, stating:
“Our judges have scoured hundreds of brilliant applications… Competition to make the next stage has been fierce, and the quality of the entries has been higher than ever.”
On 8 August, the hosts of the Baking Industry Awards named Simply Doughnuts as a finalist in the ‘Team of the Year’ category.
As a past winner of this award (2021) we are looking forward to attending the finals on 23 October at the Royal Lancaster in London.
Our shortlisting follows a judges’ visit to our factory last month, where we were able to show the panel members our processes, and explain relevant issues such as our quality assurance systems, industry accreditations and staff development programme.
The Baking Industry Awards are in their 38th year and they exist to celebrate excellence, innovation, and dedication across the industry.
The standard of entries has reportedly been particularly high this year. Addressing the newly announced finalists, the organisers wrote:
“Congratulations on being shortlisted as a finalist in the 2025 Baking Industry Awards. Out of a highly competitive field of entries, you have risen to the top through our rigorous judging process and now you’re officially one of the best in British baking!
“This is no small feat, as our expert judges reviewed hundreds of entries in one of the most competitive years yet. Your hard work, creativity, and passion really stood out!”
Simply Doughnuts is proud to announce the launch of its new range of Protein Doughnuts.
They are available in a choice of three flavours:
Cookies & Cream
Hazelnut Swirl
Triple Choc
They are individually wrapped and offer shelf-lives of 9 months in ambient conditions. As with all our products, their longevity greatly reduces retailers’ risks of waste-related losses.
Importantly, our Protein Doughnuts are baked rather than fried, and they contain no added sugar. The Triple Choc flavour has a Nutri-Score rating of A while the others have a rating of B. None of them exceeds the HFSS threshold, meaning that retailers should face fewer restrictions in terms of product promotions and placement.
Responding to a growing consumer preference for foods containing more protein and less sugar, each of the three variants contains 11.25 g of protein per doughnut.
They are suitable for vegetarians, free from palm oil and GM ingredients, and available to retailers in shelf-ready trays containing 8 individual packs. Their packaging is fully recyclable and they are VAT-exempt.
Nutri-Score is intended to be a user-friendly summary of the nutritional data shown on food packaging. Its ratings range from ‘A’ (denoting healthier foods) to ‘E’ (denoting foods containing more fat, salt and/or sugar.) Our Protein Doughnuts achieve a rating of A or B. An ‘A’ rating is awarded to foods with a score of -1 or below. A rating of ‘B’ is awarded on scores of between 0 and 2.
The UK Government notes that products that are high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) should be subject to restrictions on their promotions and placement in retail stores. These include restrictions on “volume price (for example, multibuy offers such as ‘buy one get one free’) and location, both online and in store.” The restriction of HFSS products by location came into force on 1 October 2022. The restriction of HFSS products by volume price will come into force on 1 October 2025. Our Protein Doughnuts are not classified as HFSS products and are therefore not subject to such restrictions.
In July, we made another of our ‘doughnations’ – this time in support of St Gabriel’s CoE Primary School in Blackburn.
As part of its end-of-term activities, the school planned to put on a summer show and to organise a raffle for fundraising. We duly provided a supply of Classic Mini Ring Doughnuts, which proved to be a great success.
After the event, we received a kind message from the organisers, who said they wanted “to express our thanks for your kind donation of doughnuts to our school. It was much appreciated. We used 3 boxes towards raffle prizes and saved a box to share between the year 6 children for all their hard work on their school production. I can say they enjoyed them very much!”
A short while ago we made another of our charity ‘doughnations’ – this time in support of Eden Boys’ School in Bolton. The school planned to hold a family fun day to raise money for the Blackburn-based Shine charity, and the UK Food Poverty & Education programme.
The event took place before the end of the summer term and featured a variety of stalls, activities and entertainments. These included a chocolate fountain, dessert stall and tuck shop, where our doughnuts were a big hit.
The Shine charity aims to transform the life chances of children, young people and their families, particularly in areas of disadvantage and deprivation. It collaborates with schools and youth groups, and encourages them to play a positive role in their local communities, with children, young people, staff and volunteers working together to support those in need.
At the end of National Doughnuts Week (10 to 18 May), we received a heart-warming ‘thank you’ message from Daytrippers in Bolton. We had supported the charity’s weekend fundraising event by providing free doughnuts for its raffle and tombola.
Daytrippers is a volunteer-led organisation that organises accessible trips for families with children who have disabilities. Working with the Rotary Club of Turton and three other local charities, it hosted a charity concert at Bolton Parish Church on 17 May.
The event was a big success. The organisers wrote to us afterwards to say: “We has a fantastic day and made £400 for the four charities. The doughnuts went down a storm thanks to your very kind donation.”
Simply Doughnuts has been named as a finalist in the 2025 Be Inspired Business Awards – also known as the BIBAs. We have been shortlisted in two categories: the “Innovative Business of the Year” and the “Small Business of the Year.”
Led by the North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, the BIBAs are regarded as the most prestigious awards in our native Lancashire, and winning requires not just a compelling application but success in two further stages.
One is the interview stage, which our board members attended on 15th May at Preston North End’s Deepdale Stadium. Here, judges quizzed us on our R&D and new product development work, and countless other important aspects of our operations.
Next come two factory visits – one by each panel of judges. Those will take place in June, and they will give staff the opportunity to explain recent investments, key processes and what’s required to maintain our AA quality rating from BRC Global Standards.
The final stage will the awards evening itself, at which we’ll learn whether or not we’ve managed to win one of the awards. This will take place on Friday 19th September 2025 at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. More details can be found on the BIBAs website.
In April, we were contacted by a housing and wellbeing assistant from Great Places Housing Group – a not-for-profit body that provides affordable homes throughout the North West and parts of Yorkshire.
The organisation is a partner on a project that provides housing for vulnerable women in Blackburn, and with Easter approaching, we were asked if we would donate some doughnuts to bring the residents some seasonal cheer.
The organisers wrote to us to say that the products had gone down very well, attracting numerous compliments on their texture and flavour. They concluded the email: “Thank you again for the donations; it made a sweeter Easter for the ladies in the project.”
