Description:

Doe Donuts is a specialty donut and coffee shop in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Established by best friends Shenine Dube and Grace Tauber, it has evolved over nearly 10 years — from experimenting in a tiny flat kitchen to a bustling Grey Lynn store and a new outpost in Commercial Bay.

Renowned for its Cook Island-style donuts, Doe Donuts has gained a cult following for its decadent creations. The ever-changing weekly specials are inspired by its founders’ Pasifika roots and their childhood memories of nostalgic Kiwiana flavours.

Doe stands for ‘Donuts Over Everything’. More than a tagline, it’s a reflection of its founders' passion for what they do. This labour of love has evolved from a side hustle to a full-time business and with it, the need to establish a digital presence to match.

Our job was to create a website as appealing as the treats that fill Doe’s cabinets. Simple to navigate and easy to use, a goal was to improve the ordering process on both sides of the experience.

Longtime fan? Hungry newcomer? Corporate marketing? Special event? The site needed to make it effortless for anyone to elevate their day with Doe — no matter how big or small the order.

As the saying goes: You eat with your eyes first. The site is a visual feast, plucking inspiration straight from Doe’s brick-and-mortar shop.

Landing on the homepage, Doe’s signature hot pink (which is found on everything from the coffee machine to the delivery van) acts as a welcome mat. The Pasifika heritage of Shenine and Grace is threaded throughout, with the tropical palette and island-inspired illustrations — the hand drawn quality also mirrors the handmade approach to their baking.

A collaboration with photographer Kate Francis Battersby sees plinths display the donuts like a work of art, with cross section shots taking you inside every delicious detail. The photos are overlaid on top of the text, a play on the promise of ‘Donuts Over Everything’. From the font to the colours to the imagery — everything is bold. Just like Doe.

A pain point for the Doe team was its online ordering system. It was not fit for purpose and created a bottleneck. Customers couldn’t customise their orders to reflect Doe’s offering and processing orders had to be done manually. It was a huge drain on the staff's precious time.

After thorough research, it was clear to us there was nothing on the market that could solve these problems while offering an enjoyable experience for users. Our solution was to create a custom ordering system — engineering a ‘create your own box’ experience.

The result is a smooth, intuitive way to place and process orders on both sides of the retail experience. Whether you’re buying a box to treat yourself or organising custom donuts for a marketing event, the process is seamless.

Doe.co.nz is the next chapter in Doe Donut’s story — offering an irresistible destination for sweet tooths and representing Doe’s brand with every click and scroll.