Meadowhall: Project D doughnuts to open with 500-doughnut giveaway at Sheffield shopping centre

A UK doughnut sensation is opening a flagship store in Meadowhall before Christmas promising ‘a bumper 500-doughnut giveaway’.

Project D is predicting huge queues when it opens on Saturday, December 9, at 9am after the stunt attracted ‘droves of customers’ at launches in York and Nottingham.

The doughnuts will be given away on a first come, first served basis.

Located next to Marks and Spencer, the Sheffield store will also sell Project D merchandise, 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 bright-pink branded store has been closely monitored by sweet-toothed shoppers while the refurbishment has been carried out. 

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

Max said the Sheffield store represented the continuation of the company’s ‘jam-packed’ success story, despite having been forced to delay its expansion 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 soon, he added.