2021 Influential Businesswoman Awards

70 Acquisition International - Influential Businesswoman Awards 2021 Artisan Dessert Business Innovator of the Year (New York): Leslie Polizzotto eslie Polizzotto is the co-founder and owner of The Doughnut Project, a hand-crafted doughnut shop in New York City that takes inspiration from food and cocktails for their unique doughnut flavors. Spanning from the Bacon Maple Bar (complete with a slab of bacon) to the vegan Cereal Milk Crunch, from the New Old Fashioned to the Peanut Butter & Jelly doughnut with Skippy brand peanut butter, there really is something to suit even the most niche tastes! Leslie is a former litigation attorney who took the leap from practicing law to become an entrepreneur. She now manages the daily operations and the business side for The Doughnut Project. Leslie explains, “Initially, I was reluctant to start my own business. I had always worked in a structured office environment and understood what was expected of me and what I needed to accomplish each day. Starting my own business was a situation where the stars aligned. My husband and I were traveling back and forth from Los Angeles and NYC a lot for business. I am a total foodie and knew that someday I wanted to be in the food industry.” While waiting to start her job in NYC, Leslie decided to take the leap stating, “Once I was on the journey to make The Doughnut Project a reality, the idea of going back to researching and writing memos and briefs in an office for 10 hours a day didn’t seem like the right decision. I was very fortunate to be able to give up a six-figure salary and take such a risk. Most people do not have that opportunity.” However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the business model. Pre-COVID, Leslie and her former business partner had stepped away from daily operations to focus on growing the brand. It had two locations open seven days a week and 25 employees. Leslie explains, “It was so stressful trying to keep two locations running smoothly, so in late March, when NYC was shut down due to the pandemic, we had to lay off all but one employee. We closed our second location, but we kept the original location up and running five days a week with limited hours. As a result, we became extremely busy, specifically on the weekends. People were looking for some form of normalcy during this challenging time and would drive from all over to get our doughnuts.” During this time, The Doughnut Project kept creating new and exciting weekend specials and posting on Instagram, bringing customers L back each weekend to get the latest doughnut. Leslie explains, “We realized many efficiencies with such a small team and made many improvements to how we operate. I now have three powerhouse female pastry chef employees who hustle as much as I do and care about our brand. We have a line wrapped around the corner on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the four of us crush it! The pandemic has been devastating to so many businesses, but it helped me get my business back to what I loved about it in the first place.” The Doughnut Project is different from other brands due to offering unique flavors and doing collaborations. Leslie explains, “Many of the brands who approach us to do collaborations are represented by PR firms with many connections which bring awareness to our brand. These PR firms will often get other clients to work with us, too, because the collaborations are such a success in terms of traction on social media. I can proudly say we have never paid one penny for marketing, advertising, or PR.” Overall, The Doughnut Project grows its customer base through collaborations and unique ‘weekend specials’ promoted on Instagram. Every weekend, The Doughnut Project attracts 40-50% new customers who come from as far as Connecticut, New Jersey, and Long Island to get the limited-edition doughnuts. Leslie explains, “Social media is critical to our business. We would not likely still be in business if it wasn’t for Instagram. We communicate daily to our customers through Instagram, includingwhat new seasonal flavors are being released, information about our collaborations and what the weekend special will be.” Leslie personally generates the content and handles the brand’s social media, which presently has over 153k organic followers. For now, The Doughnut Project is growing its brand nationally and internationally, and if it’s anything like the first time around, it will be a delicious success. The Doughnut Project is a handcrafted, small-batch doughnut shop in the West Village of Manhattan. The shop opened in October of 2015 and takes inspiration from food and cocktails to create its flavors. Recognized as Artisan Dessert Business Innovator of the Year, The Doughnut Project is led by co-founder Leslie Polizzotto. The all-female team’s creativity brings joy to customers from all over the world visiting this not-to-be-missed NYC destination. Aug21075 Company Name: The Doughnut Project Contact Name: Leslie Polizzotto Web Address: https://www.thedoughnutproject.com/