Rodeo Doughnuts, which has 13 sites across London and the south, is investing £100k to open its first location in Manchester this autumn.
The investment marks the first steps of an expansion plan which could see the brand open at least 10 sites in Liverpool, Leeds, York, and Manchester over the next three years alongside a few others in the south. The business has already secured a second site in Manchester which should be open before Christmas and is “actively looking” for a third.
Rodeo Doughnuts owner Tom Anderson said he considers “the bakery scene in Manchester to be the best in the UK” and a place he’s wanted to open a store for a long time.
The first Manchester site is expected to open at the end of October in the city’s Stevenson Square. It will become the brand’s northern flagship store serving up its signature range of doughnuts, including gluten-free and vegan options, alongside coffee and other hot drinks as well as cookies.
There are six core flavours of doughnuts – including Ice Ice Bae Bae with vanilla glaze and buttercream topped with chocolate chip cookie dough and dark chocolate, as well as Bruno Mars which has chocolate hazelnut buttercream, chocolate glaze, wafer, and Kinder Bueno on top – as well as a rotating menu of seasonal specials. Autumn flavours include pumpkin spice and apple pie, known as Pumpkin Spice Season and Miss American Pie, respectively.
The development team is led by creative chef Emily Pendrey-Smith who joined the business three years ago. “Emily joined us just short of three years ago and has helped us drive Rodeo forward,” Anderson added.
Rodeo’s products are manufactured at a site in Reading, Berkshire with a dedicated production unit for its gluten-free line-up of baked doughnuts. They have helped increase online revenue for the business by around 30% since their introduction.
The aforementioned cookies and coffee are also recent addition to the Rodeo Doughnuts menu.
“Customers used to enquire about hot beverages and other baked goods,” explained Anderson. “Being able to increase the average order value has helped us invest more in ongoing product development and make this northern expansion a reality. We will continue to expand our product range by listening to customer demands, currently we’re delving into brownies and plans for more baked products are in the pipeline.”
The existing Rodeo Doughnut sites were previously operated as Doughnut Time sites. However, franchise operator Doughnut Time Germany acquired the UK rights for the brand late last year, they were rebranded.
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