Donut brand Drumroll adds fuel to ‘rocket ship year’ with $3m in capital from 7 Mile Brands

The brand offers a line of clean-label refrigerated donuts, available in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry glazes, that contain 10 grams of protein, 8 grams of net carbs and 1 gram of sugar per package of three miniature donuts. The products also are gluten-free and cost between $2.99 and $3.99 per package.

A single-serve package of six Hostess chocolate-frosted Donettes contains 3 grams of protein, 27 grams of sugar, and 46 grams of total carbs.

“We see Drumroll snacks as a platform for better-for-you baked goods. ... Imagine a Hostess or Grupo Bimbo but taking the best products in those brands and making them better-for-you and healthy and incorporating a lot of new age and modern dietary trends,” said Ryan Brothers, co-founder of Drumroll. 

Drumroll gears up for Sprouts, Whole Foods with capital, proven track-record

In 2019, former investor bankers turned CPG-founders Hassan Safieddine and Brothers took a "leap of faith" to start Drumroll, after the two co-workers bonded over athletics and healthy office snacks, the two co-founders shared.

Since its launch, the brand has grown to approximately 3,500 stores, including select Albertsons, HEB, Kroger, Target, Wegmans, Shoprite and other stores, with the donut brand tripling its retail footprint in the last year, the two added.

With the capital influx​, the company is now professionalizing, including expanding the Drumroll team, as the company gears up to make a bigger push into retail channels, namely nationwide natural channels in 2025, Brothers explained.

"We have some exciting innovation that we are looking to release in 2025. ... And then the big thing for us is — and it makes a lot of sense in what we have seen from the data and the velocities — would be getting into Sprouts and Whole Foods,” he elaborated.

Better-for-you snacks push into the refrigerated section

Drumroll is differentiating itself from other national sweet baked good brands by formulating it without preservatives, Brothers explained. Other brands like Mid-Day Squares, Deux​ and others are similarly creating cleaner label indulgences by using refrigeration instead of preservatives.

Researchers called into question several commonly used preservatives for damaging gut health and leading to several adverse health outcomes. A University of Chicago study from earlier this year found that nisin​, a preservative used in products like cheese and dipping sauces, was linked to weakened gut microbiome.

“The reason why we went the refrigerated route is you do not have to use artificial preservatives. ... Then, the other component is that you get to have this fresh-baked-goods feel for a longer duration of time. Our products taste the same as they do on day one right when they are finished being made and the same [as on] day 180. You really get to preserve this indulgent fresh baked feel for a longer duration of time without having to use additive preservatives,” Brothers said.

While logistics required to ship refrigerated goods are more complex and cost more, the company is focusing on optimizing elsewhere in its manufacturing process to offset the expenses associated with refrigeration, Brothers explained.

“You have to find other ways to optimize from a costing perspective. For us, a big component is how efficient can we be when we produce the product. And then another thing that we spend a lot of time on is getting the highest quality ingredients for the best prices. Those are the two areas where we focus a lot of time and effort to be able to provide that value and maybe absorb a little bit more of the additive costs from a refrigeration perspective,” he elaborated.