Bestsellers: The glazed doughnut that's stood the test of time

Wednesday, 1 July 2026

Kitchen manager Sanoe De Caires reckons the glazed donuts are an age-old favourite.

Mamas Donuts, 67 Duke Street, Frankton

From car boot to booming business - Mamas Donuts are some of the best around and have been satisfying sweet tooths for two decades now.

The doughnut business isn’t just about sweet treats though, for co-owners Rachael Jaunay and Rebecca Cowley, it’s about inspiring other mamas like themselves to start their own business. They often run dough nights, which bring together business women to share their stories.

The pair from Temple View started the business in 2006 looking for some extra pocket money and sold doughnuts to college kids outside what was Church College. Within three years, they opened their first caravan in Tamahere and in 2012 they opened their kitchen doors.

Kitchen manager Sanoe De Caires says Mamas Donuts is a supportive and inspiring place to work, especially for mamas.

They still have three caravans around the city, frequent Cambridge Farmer’s Market and have the shop on Duke St as well as ones in Hawkes Bay and Tauranga.

Sanoe DeCaires has recently taken over the kitchen manager role at the Hamilton store and reckons the environment is an amazing place as a fellow mama of eight kids.

The favourite place to gather is around the dough table at work, where they ‘talk story’. L-R Manasseh Cowley, Ropata Turangi-Joseph, Naima Makata, Maia Ellington, Sanoe De Caires and Israel Smith.

“It just fits into my mama lifestyle really well and the fact that we are open only part of the week is great so I can be at home when I need to be.

“What I love most is being at the dough table. Like, that’s just where we talk and in Hawaii we call that talk story, where anything and everything is on the table. If you need therapy, we’re here, if you need someone to tell you off, we’re here.”

The best selling doughnut is the glazed doughnuts.

Originally from Hawaii, she had previously worked at smoothie joints and in other hospitality businesses and loved the “vibe” of chatting to people. The downside of working there was that she ate at least three doughnuts a day.

She estimated that they were making a minimum of 1500 doughnuts a day, and double that on Saturdays. Other than a mixer, all of their doughnuts are made by hand, so you could “feel the love in them”, DeCaires reckoned.

DeCaires grew up on cinnabon and her contribution to the shop has been growing their cinnamon roll range.

Kitchen manager Sanoe DeCaires has focused on growing their volume of cinnamon rolls.

Tell us about the bestseller:

She reckoned the favourite would have to be the glazed doughnuts because “everybody loves a classic”.

Why is it so appealing?

Kitchen manager Sanoe DeCaires’ favourite doughnuts is the jelly tip.

“I think what people like about it is that you can get an original glaze and you can take it home and pop it in the fridge. The next day, throw them in your waffle iron and you’ve got another sweet treat. You can do anything with the glazed.”

Who buys them?

She said the glazed was popular with everyone and they’d sell at least a couple hundred a day. Surprisingly, she had noticed that kids would often choose the glazed doughnuts over their sweeter options.

How much?

What’s your favourite?

Her current favourite would be the jelly tip flavour because it’s filled with chocolatey cream and jelly.