Brammibal's Donuts

Brammibal's Donuts is a German vegan doughnut and café brand founded in 2015 by Jessica Jeworutzki and Bram van Montfort. The business began with the founders selling plant-based doughnuts at markets and events before opening its first permanent shop in 2016. It subsequently developed into a multi-location café chain concentrated in Berlin, with additional locations in Hamburg; the referenced Wikipedia account describes thirteen cafés in total. The brand's central proposition is a fully vegan doughnut range presented through specialist retail cafés rather than as a niche health-food product. Its menu combines a core group of eight recurring doughnut varieties with changing seasonal or otherwise limited specials. In addition to the regular range, Brammibal's offers a charity doughnut whose proceeds are partly directed to a different charity each month. Coffee and other café drinks complement the doughnuts, making the shops suitable for sit-down visits as well as takeaway purchases. Brammibal's growth was funded through a combination of community finance and personal borrowing. A 2015 crowdfunding campaign did not reach the amount needed to open a shop, but the founders later financed expansion through another crowdfunding effort, an ecological bank, and a loan from van Montfort's father. This financing history reflects the brand's independent, small-business origins and its emphasis on gradual physical expansion. The founders brought different backgrounds to the venture: van Montfort had previously been a musician in a band, while Jeworutzki had worked as a hospital nurse. Their shift into food retail positioned Brammibal's within Berlin's prominent vegan and alternative-food scene. The brand has also benefited from a visually distinctive product style and strong social-media appeal; the cafés and doughnuts have been described as popular with Instagram users. Media reception has been generally positive but not uniform. Exberliner named Brammibal's Berlin's vegan sensation of the year in 2016. In 2021, Berliner Zeitung reviewer Tina Hütterl praised the doughnuts very highly, writing that they were comparable to non-vegan doughnuts in taste and appearance. A later 2022 Berliner Zeitung review by Manuel Almeida Vergara was more critical, judging the flavour less favourably than Dunkin' Donuts. Brammibal's is therefore best understood as a specialist vegan bakery-and-café chain with a strong Berlin identity, a growing German urban footprint, and a product strategy built around recurring classics, rotating specials, coffee, and charitable monthly offerings.

Brammibal's Donuts was established in 2015 by Jessica Jeworutzki and Bram van Montfort. Before operating a permanent retail site, the couple sold vegan doughnuts at markets and events. This early format allowed them to test demand and build recognition without immediately committing to a full café operation. A crowdfunding campaign launched in 2015 failed to collect enough money to open a shop, but the business continued and eventually secured a mixture of crowdfunding, ecological-bank financing, and a loan from van Montfort's father. The first permanent Brammibal's doughnut shop opened in 2016. The opening marked the transition from a market-based food project to a branded café business. The company developed around a focused product category—vegan doughnuts—while adding coffee and other café drinks to support a broader hospitality format. Its retail identity was reinforced by colourful, highly visual doughnuts and a rotating menu that gave customers reasons to return. The menu is organized around eight recurring classic doughnuts and a changing selection of specials. The brand also offers one charity doughnut, with part of the proceeds assigned to a different charity each month. This creates a recurring social-impact feature within the product range while also introducing a changing item for customers. The cafés became associated with Berlin's vegan food culture and attracted attention from social-media users, particularly because the products were visually suited to sharing online. Brammibal's expanded beyond its initial shop into a chain of cafés in Berlin and Hamburg. The available reference describes thirteen locations in total and characterizes the company as the first vegan doughnut chain of its kind in Europe. The business has remained centered on the German market rather than presenting itself as a globally distributed packaged-food brand. Its physical network, café service, and made-for-display doughnuts are central to its identity. The founders' prior careers were outside conventional bakery management. Van Montfort had been a musician in a band, and Jeworutzki had worked as a hospital nurse. Their entrepreneurial transition helped give the company an independent and personal character. Financing through community participation, an ecological bank, and family lending also distinguished its expansion from the typical venture-backed growth model, at least according to the available account. Public reception has included both strong praise and criticism. In 2016, Exberliner described Brammibal's as Berlin's vegan sensation of the year. In 2021, Berliner Zeitung reviewer Tina Hütterl praised the doughnuts as exceptionally good and considered them effectively indistinguishable from non-vegan alternatives in taste. In 2022, however, Manuel Almeida Vergara of Berliner Zeitung found their taste inferior to Dunkin' Donuts. These differing assessments illustrate the brand's position in a competitive indulgence category: its vegan credentials and appearance are important strengths, but flavour judgments remain subjective and comparison with established mainstream doughnut chains is unavoidable.

1. 2016First permanent shop opens

   The brand moved from temporary market and event sales into its first permanent doughnut café.

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2. 2015Brammibal's Donuts founded

   Jessica Jeworutzki and Bram van Montfort founded the vegan doughnut business and began selling at markets and events.

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3. 2015Initial crowdfunding campaign falls short

   The first reported crowdfunding campaign did not raise enough money to open a permanent shop.

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4. Expansion to Berlin and Hamburg café locations

   Brammibal's developed into a thirteen-café chain operating in Berlin and Hamburg, according to the referenced account.

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A specialist vegan doughnut café chain combining indulgent plant-based doughnuts, coffee-shop hospitality, visually distinctive products, and recurring charitable offers.

• Classic vegan doughnutsBakery

  The core menu consists of eight recurring vegan doughnut varieties. These classics provide the stable foundation of the range and are sold alongside rotating specials. The brand presents them as indulgent café products rather than as a restricted-diet substitute, with visual presentation playing an important role in the customer experience.

• Seasonal and rotating specialsBakery

  Brammibal's supplements its recurring classics with changing special doughnuts. The specials create menu variety and allow the cafés to refresh their offer over time, although the available reference does not specify individual flavours or launch dates.

• Charity doughnutSocial-impact bakery offering

  A designated charity doughnut is included in the range, with part of its proceeds donated to a different charity each month. The monthly rotation gives the product both a charitable purpose and a changing place within the menu.

• Coffee and café drinksCoffeehouse beverages

  The doughnut cafés serve coffee drinks and other café beverages alongside the bakery range. Drinks broaden the business beyond doughnut takeaway and support the brand's role as a sit-down café destination in Berlin and Hamburg.

• Monthly charity doughnut

  Germany

  Brammibal's offers a charity doughnut whose proceeds are partly directed to a different charity each month. The available reference does not identify the participating charities or provide a start date.

  Outcome. The initiative is presented as an ongoing component of the product range.

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• 2016Launch of the first permanent caféProduct launch

  The business had previously sold doughnuts at markets and events and needed a fixed retail location to expand its café model.

  What changed. The founders opened Brammibal's first permanent doughnut shop.

  Aftermath. The brand grew into a chain of vegan cafés in Berlin and Hamburg.

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• 2015Continue after an unsuccessful initial crowdfunding campaignStrategy

  The founders' first crowdfunding campaign did not reach the amount required to open a permanent shop.

  What changed. Brammibal's pursued additional financing through crowdfunding, an ecological bank, and a loan from Bram van Montfort's father.

  Aftermath. The company opened its first permanent shop in 2016 and later expanded into a multi-location café chain.

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• 2022Berliner Zeitung publishes a more critical comparison with Dunkin' Donuts

  Reviewer Manuel Almeida Vergara judged Brammibal's doughnuts less favourably in taste than those sold by Dunkin' Donuts.

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• 2021Berliner Zeitung gives Brammibal's doughnuts an enthusiastic review

  Reviewer Tina Hütterl praised the doughnuts' taste and appearance, saying they compared favourably with conventional doughnuts.

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• 2016Brammibal's Donuts opens its first permanent doughnut shop

  After initially selling at markets and events, the founders opened the brand's first permanent doughnut shop.

  Product launch
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• 2016Brammibal's named Berlin's vegan sensation of the year

  Exberliner recognized Brammibal's as a notable vegan food business in Berlin.

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1. Brammibal's Donuts