Derbyshire bakery sensation Project D has seen its website jammed with orders after launching a limited-edition range of colossal heart-shaped doughnuts.
The firm, which has previously made sweet treats for the Love Island cast, NFL and British Airways, launched its Love Heart Mega Doughnuts last month and has since been inundated with orders from lovebirds across the UK.
The giant doughnuts, filled and topped with a variety of tasty ingredients, took the nation by storm after a TikTok video featuring Project D’s creative director Matt Bond preparing a Love Heart Mega Doughnut went viral.
Now, with the video receiving six million views, the company has declared the Love Hearts its best-selling product ever.
Available in nine different varieties of fillings and toppings, the Love Hearts include the Buenissemo, which is pumped full of Nutella, Percy’s Paradise, which is topped with pink icing and Percy Pigs, and the vegan Bad Boy’s, covered with salted caramel and topped with Lotus Biscoff biscuits.
Max Poynton, operations director for Project D, said: “The response to our Love Heart doughnuts has been phenomenal. This is our best-selling range of all time.
“We spent quite a lot of time planning this range and the content to go with it, so to see the sheer amount of views and likes we’ve had online is just amazing.
“We were so stunned initially to see so many orders coming through – it actually caused our website to crash in the first few days.”
Matt Bond’s video presentation, which led some commentators to liken his deep voice to Thor actor Chris Hemsworth, shows him filling a Buenissemo doughnut with Nutella, topping it with white chocolate and other tasty ingredients, then taking a huge bite from the enormous dessert.
It has spurred the imagination of romantics across the UK, with one woman leaving a comment saying: “If my partner bought me this we’d be talkin (sic) marriage.” Another woman said: “I don’t know if I’m in love with the doughnut or your voice.”
Despite the astronomical take-up, Max said the Love Heart Mega Doughnuts – for sale at just £15 each - would be available to order online right up to Valentine’s Day on February 14.
The range also includes a vegan Nothing But Love version, the Choc Fudge Brownie, It’s Not Terry’s, made with white chocolate, and the rainbow Pride doughnut. The team has also included a heart-shaped version of its best-selling Homer doughnut, complete with pink-coloured white chocolate and sprinkles, and a Crazy For You doughnut, with Dairy Milk and caramel.
The jumbo treats, which are delivered in Project D’s familiar pink-branded boxes, are designed to be broken in two, ideally to share with friends, family, or your better half.
Due to the level of interest, Project D set about determining which parts of the UK were the most romantic in terms of Love Heart sales.
Manchester is currently topping the list, closely followed by Leeds, with the firm’s hometown of Derby scoring third in the passion stakes. Birmingham is proving to be the fourth most romantic city, with lovers from Liverpool in fifth.
“We’ve had orders from all over the UK, from Glasgow to Bristol and London to Cardiff, so we thought it would be interesting to see which city was the most romantic according to our orders,” said Max. “Congratulations to Manchester, though Leeds, Derby, Birmingham, Liverpool – and a few others – are running close behind, so the positions could change.”
Max added: “Not many people could manage a whole Love Heart in one sitting – so this is one occasion when a broken heart is probably a good thing!”
The award-winning firm, which prides itself on producing ‘the world’s best doughnuts’, has launched scores of creative designs since it was founded by former school friends Max Poynton, Matt Bond and Jacob Watts in 2018.
Project D has collaborated with numerous well-known brands during its short lifetime, including Amazon, Brewdog, Sainsbury’s and Coca-Cola.
It now employs more than 120 staff and produces more than 50,000 doughnuts each week at its bakery in Derby.
For online orders and further information about the company, visit www.projectdoughnut.co.uk.