Europe’s first-ever vegan doughnut chain, Brammibal’s, opened its third location last month, taking over space formerly occupied by a Starbucks in Berlin.
Brammibal’s was founded as a pop-up business in 2015 by Jessica Jeworutzski and Bram van Monfort with the mission of bringing high-quality doughnuts to Berlin. The couple had been selling its vegan doughnuts at markets throughout the year and, encouraged by the success, decided to open what would be Europe’s first completely vegan doughnut shop in May 2016.
Brammibal’s now has three locations throughout the German capital. According to Forbes, the newest shop is less than 250 metres away from major competitor Dunkin’ Donuts. But, van Monfort and Joworutski are confident in their businesses’s potential for success, encouraged by the fact that two German Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owners filed for bankruptcy last year due to a lack of profit.
Brammibal’s offers six standard flavours, including Boston Cream, Cinnamon Sugar, Chocolate Peanut Fudge, and others, as well as seasonal offerings. Autumn flavours include Pumpkin Spice & Cream Cheese, Rosehip Jam, Choc Pretzel, and more. The shop makes its vegan doughnuts daily at its central bakery using only “high quality” plant-based ingredients.
“We don’t use preservatives in our dough and make everything fresh by hand every day,” Jeworutzki explained. “We strive for authenticity and transparency in our branding and social media and communicate what we stand for. Obviously we also care about veganism and sustainability and are very upfront about it.”
Jeworutzki also feels it is important for Brammibal’s to give back to the community. The couple donates roughly €2,000 monthly from sales of its vegan charity doughnut.
“I believe that acknowledging our social responsibility as a business is really important because a lot of people nowadays prefer supporting brands they can feel good about,” she continued.
According to van Monfort, before Brammibal’s, there was a large gap in the European market for vegan doughnuts. UK-based doughnut chain, Crosstown Doughnuts, now operates three vegan-only locations but offers both traditional and plant-based at its shops. Vegan-friendly chain, Doughnut Time, regularly offers options free from animal ingredients as well.
Image Credit: Brammibal’s Donuts
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This post was last modified on December 15, 2020 6:34 am