A Taranaki doughnut store with a “cult” following is on the market.
Knead Artisan Bakery, which opened its New Plymouth store in 2020, is up for sale, news announced online by owner Erin Benton (Ngāti Raukawa) on Saturday.
The move comes five years after the business was first cooked up, beginning in the kitchen of the Eltham home Benton shared with partner Aaron Coutts.
The popularity of their treats has endured ever since, with a line of people outside their Carrington St bakery during trading days not uncommon.
Earlier this month, on June 2, which was also International Donut Day, the bakery sold 1360 of its creations in just under four hours.
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ANDY MACDONALD/Stuff
Six staff work at the Carrington St store, which will remain open from Thursdays to Saturdays while it’s up for sale. (File photo)
In her online post, Benton said she and her whānau were ready to “start writing our new chapter”, after spending years juggling the burgeoning business and running a South Taranaki dairy farm, with raising two children and furthering her te reo Māori studies.
ANDY MACDONALD/Stuff
Knead owner Erin Benton has announced the sale of the business, which is all about doughnuts. (File photo)
Benton said she was proud of the business and what it had achieved.
Currently, six people are employed at the bakery, including a small management team.
“I can’t wait to see this business continue to thrive and expand into the future with such a solid foundation,” she said.
ANDY MACDONALD/Stuff
People waiting for a sweet fix outside the New Plymouth doughnut shop, which specialists in artisan treats with a changing menu of flavours. (File photo)
When Benton spoke to the Taranaki Daily News in April, she never referred to a sale being on the cards, when asked about the future of the business.
Reaction to the sale news, also posted online, congratulated Benton on the success of the bakery, which one said had achieved “cult” status in the community, as well as wishing her well for the future.
The store will remain open from Thursdays to Saturdays while it is on the market, with expressions of interests in the business being fielded by McDonald Real Estate.