Brisbane-based Brooklyn Donuts is spearheading expansion into New South Wales with its first Sydney store.

The outlet at Castle Towers in the Hills district is the first interstate store for the four-year-old business.

It has nine stores in Queensland, eight of them franchised, with one franchisee owning two stores.

This year Brooklyn Donuts will open in Miranda, Sydney, and in Canberra, with a Liverpool store scheduled for early 2024.

Brooklyn Donuts first NSW store kicks off expansion

Co-founder Dennis Chen told Franchise Executives, “We really want to grow into a national brand. Next year our focus will be on New South Wales, we want to open between eight and 10 in Sydney.

“There is huge potential for this segment and I don’t see any other brand who can do what we do. Brooklyn Donuts is all about gourmet flavour within a scalable business model.”

Chen and business partner Adam Sharvell conceived the gourmet donut concept as an alternative to the fast food super-sweet options.

“We don’t focus on sugar, we focus on real ingredients like a Belgian chocolate glaze, or a cream custard home-cooked with milk and cream,” Chen said.

Backed by an investor, the pair have built a central kitchen facility. The donuts are precooked and snap frozen and then freshly oven-baked in-store.

Chen said the business is keen to develop collaborations with well-known food brands.

“We have new flavours every quarter and we are always looking for new ideas. Our speciality is a filled donut, with home-cooked cream custard. We have our own cheese cream frosting and have a New York cheesecake flavour too.

The donuts cost between $5.50 and $6.50.

Chen, a former food franchisee, and Sharvell, an ex-Hungry Jacks area manager, have appointed former Soul Origin executive Chris Mavris as chief operating officer, and Minu Kaneshakarnar, formerly with The Cheesecake Shop, as marketing manager.

This story was originally published on Franchise Executives.