Company : Offbeat Donuts

Number of Stores : 7

Number of Employees : 55

Years in Existence: 4.5

1 – What made you choose CBE as your EPoS supplier?

CBE is an established business with an excellent track record of customer support and innovation in Ireland and abroad. We had looked at a number of different POS operating systems, we wanted a strong foodservice POS software solution that would cover sales, production and deliveries across multiple sites and I was very impressed with the capabilities of the PixelPoint solution that CBE presented to me.

2 – What are the main trends you are observing within your industry?

Foodservice and hospitality is a very difficult sector at the moment, but what I would say is that people are more interested in their food than ever before, where it is from, how it is produced and the product quality. They want to participate with experts to increase their knowledge, be excited about their food and be involved in as much of the creation process as possible.

We have seen an increase in traditional bakery products in recent years, such as artisan and sour dough breads and there are some fantastic local bakeries opening all around Ireland. Our objective with Offbeat Donuts is to bring a Patisserie style experience to the market, with donuts as a light airy pastry carrier. It offers consumers an individual hand held dessert and we offer recipes to appeal to all tastes from traditional favorites like Apple Crumble, Lemon Meringue, Toffee Apple, Blackforest, Strawberries and Crème to favorite chocolates like Kinder Bueno, Nutella, Ferrero Rocher and Crunchie and fun recipes like Unicorn donuts, Sprinkles and Cookies and Crème.

We chose the treat category, somewhat against the trend for healthy food, but in my opinion, life is about balance and choices and people will always want a treat. Our mission is not just to make the freshest and most imaginative donuts in the market it is to bring small moments of magic into people’s lives.

3 – Can you describe what a typical working day looks like for you?

I like to get up at about 7.00am and take our dog for a quick walk. I work from the office at home in the mornings unless I have a meeting and go into meet the team in the stores from 11.00am onwards. I have a quick catch up with each of the store managers in the evenings from 6.30pm to 8.00pm.

4 – What do you love about your job?

I love to see the customers excitement; it might be the first time they have seen an Offbeat Donuts outlet or the first time they have tasted our donuts or a new donut recipe. It is just great to see that smile or surprise, we try our best to make the experience a moment of joy or magic for our customers.

5 – What do you feel is your greatest strength?

I think that it is important to be an expert at what you do, there are a lot of competitor offers in the market and consumers are more knowledgeable than ever before. I had worked in the bakery sector for 25 years before opening Offbeat Donuts and we work very hard to make sure that we continue to be innovative and the best at what we do.

6 – How do you think your employees would describe you?

We are very much a family orientated business and we have a friendly culture, but I am always challenging us to see how we could be better. So, they might say I am always pushing.

7 – What job role within your company would you be terrible at?

Cost savings.

8 – What is the most heartwarming thing you have ever seen an employee do for a customer?

We have had many notes and messages from customers about our staff but a regular one is where they notice that someone is feeling low or sad and they take the time to talk to them and give them their purchase of a donut or coffee free to cheer them up. Small things can make a big difference.

9 – How do you relax after a hard day at work?

We live near to the beach and going for a walk on the beach is a great way to clear the head.

10 – Finally, if you could have lunch with one person, who would it be, and why?

Barack Obama – I think what he has achieved as the first black president of the USA was fantastic. He is a great orator and seems to have an innate ability to see what is important and communicate it in terms that people can relate to. I would be very interested to hear his views on what is happening in America at the moment.