How many people would be willing to work for seven years in a doughnut shop, just for a shot at joining the company’s corporate team? Masaaki Nakamura did. After spending almost a decade of his life in a Mister Donut outlet selling doughnuts, the 53-year-old eventually rose the ranks to become the section chief of overseas development.In 2003, he created the Pon De Ring, which ended up being Mister Donut’s most famous and Instagrammable offering.
Even till today, every Mister Donut employee is required to work on the shop floor before they are assessed for corporate roles. “If you don’t understand how the shop works, you can never perform well in other functions like procurement and PR,” Masaaki noted.The challenge he faced as a new Mister Donut hire was also the uncertainty; there was no fixed timeframe where he could expect to be promoted to a desk at the air-conditioned HQ.
During his time as a shop employee, he trained as a chef where he learnt how to make all the doughnuts on the menu. Around 2003, Duskin wanted to introduce exclusive doughnuts for the Japanese market. “For almost 40 years, Mister Donut has been selling original items from the US. Japan didn’t have any signature items, so we wanted a Japanese mainstay,” Masaaki recounted.The company ran surveys with customers to find out what doughnuts they wanted.
Instead of individual orbs, Mister Donut made it into a classic doughnut shape by joining the balls to form a garland. “Right on the first day of sales, it flew off the shelves. We ran out of ingredients!” Masaaki shared.