Donutology owner Andrew Cameron is no stranger to the donut world. The Lansing, Kansas native had previously built a reputation in the Midwest with his Daylight Donuts stores. After opening six of them throughout Kansas, the donut virtuoso was looking for a new challenge.
That’s when he came up with the idea for an interactive donut experience. Billed as a “modern donut laboratory,” Donutology in Kansas City, Missouri encourages its customers to discover their unique “donut gene” by experimenting with toppings served from glass beakers.
“Currently, the donut shop is pretty passive. I wanted to go interactive, to where you could pick out exactly the donut you want. We have over 42,000 varieties you can choose from, and you can get them fresh all day long, versus a traditional donut shop where you go in and whatever’s in the case is what you get,” Cameron says.
Donutology went with the science theme at its shop because of the experimentation factor of having so many flavor combinations from which customers can choose. It also happens to be one of Cameron’s favorite subjects. He and his wife Meghan believe that it has an incredibly important influence in our lives. They even participate in education outreach, hosting story times with local libraries to give children more opportunities at STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.
That is not the only local partnership Donutology participates in; as a matter of fact, it works with several businesses in the Kansas City area to strengthen the community. The shop partners with local coffee company The Roasterie for its local blend of barista-prepared coffee drinks, it makes its famous Donutology Donut Milkshakes with Kansas City’s Belfonte Ice Cream, it includes Shatto Milk Company’s milk on the menu, and it even has its donut boxes produced locally.
Another important partnership, with merchandising becoming a key aspect of retail bakery business, is Donutology’s affiliation with local t-shirt company Charlie Hustle. The partnership has resulted in some truly unique t-shirt designs which feature the familiar KC heart logo that residents have come to know well, adorned with sprinkles corresponding with Donutology’s logo colors. Other designs from Charlie Hustle include a shirt that says “Donut Kill My Vibe” and one saluting Donutology’s recent experiment with its now famous Space Donut.
