Swindon bakers serve up sweet treat with new vegan doughnut

This week is National Doughnut Week, and to celebrate Swindon Doughnut makers Pipp & Co have launched a vegan doughnut to ensure plant-based food lovers don't miss out on their delicious treats.

The artisan bakery has added vegan mixed berry doughnuts to its range, in response to growing demand from customers looking for a plant-based alternative. With an estimated 2.5 million vegans in the UK (4.7 per cent of the adult population), and the numbers continuing to grow, Pipp & Co wanted to ensure they appealed to all markets.

The new vegan doughnut still meets the baker’s strict criteria of using only natural ingredients, with no artificial additives or preservatives. As with the rest of the range, there are no hydrogenated fats, no palm oils, or GMOs.

Importantly, Pipp & Co make all their own oat milk from scratch, giving them full control over quality and sourcing. This extra step reflects their hands-on approach and dedication to doing things the right way.

Mario Evangelista, who co-runs Pipp & Co with his wife Betina, said part of the reason for creating a vegan doughnut was to help with sustainability. He said: “Plant-based butter produces 82% less CO2 and uses 97% less water than regular butter. That really hit home. It’s such a simple swap, but it makes a big difference.”

Even the sugar dust on top of the doughnuts — a by-product of the berries Pipp & Co use — helps reduce waste and minimise environmental impact. As with all Pipp & Co products, the vegan doughnut is handmade using locally sourced British flour and natural ingredients, continuing their commitment to craft and quality.

Betina Evangelista said the vegan doughnut took a couple of months to develop. She said: “Customers are loving the vegan doughnut as it has no flavour difference to our existing well-loved products. We had to develop the product alongside our normal production, and went through several trials to arrive at a recipe we were confident in and proud of.

“We have replaced ingredients like fresh cream, eggs, and unsalted butter with vegan alternatives such as oat milk and vegan butter. We also used soya flour and oats in the formulation with some ingredients that remain consistent with our traditional recipe.”

Unlike many vegan doughnuts, which can be dry or overly dense, Pipp & Co’s vegan mixed berry doughnut maintains the same soft, rich texture as their traditional brioche-based originals, thanks to their careful 24-hour fermentation and three-stage proving process.

The new vegan doughnut is proving popular, even among non-vegans. In blind taste tests with the Pipp & Co team, 57% preferred the vegan version. Plans are now in the pipeline to add other vegan doughnuts to accompany the mixed berry option.

Pipp & Co, which produces more than 20,000 doughnuts a week from its Swindon factory, also opened their first café in Bristol last year, with plans for outlets in other locations in the future.

For more information, visit https://www.pipp.co/.