Houston-based Shipley Do-Nuts, one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing donut brands, continued to gain momentum in the second half of the year, posting its 15th consecutive quarter of positive sales, growing unit count to 360 stores and adding restaurant industry marketing leader Laurie Curtis to its executive team.
Curtis, who joined Shipley in September as senior vice president of marketing, brings more than 25 years of national brand marketing experience to the executive leadership team. She most recently served as CMO at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux and previously was vice president of marketing and menu innovation for Denny’s. Her additional brand experience includes leadership roles with TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut and Domino’s.
At Shipley, Curtis is responsible for all aspects of marketing, communication, culinary and product innovation strategy.
“Laurie joins Shipley at a dynamic time as we begin to lean more heavily into product innovation and digital sales to drive our growth, which is happening faster than ever in our 88-year history,” said Shipley CEO Flynn Dekker. “Her strong background in product development will help us continue to generate even more awareness about the Shipley brand and excitement around our menu as we enter markets across the country.”
In Q3, Shipley delivered the most successful product launch in company history. Egg & Cheese kolaches, in three varieties — Egg & Cheese; Sausage, Egg & Cheese; and Jalapeno, Sausage, Egg & Cheese — launched as LTOs on July 1, 2024, and quickly became a guest favorite, breaking sales records week after week. As a result, the Egg & Cheese lineup is now on Shipley’s permanent menu, with another variety, Bacon, Egg & Cheese, introduced as an LTO through Dec. 31, 2024.
In addition to the growing menu, Shipley also added four new stores in Q3. The company is on track to achieve back-to-back years with record openings and has added more than 100 units to its development pipeline.
To support its future expansion, Shipley recently moved into a new 15,000-square-foot Houston headquarters with space for its growing corporate team.