From Davao to Manila: This homegrown Filipino bakeshop serves donuts in local flavors

MANILA, Philippines – Donuts may arguably be one of the top merienda choices for Filipinos. You’ve likely munched on a few glazed or bavarian cream donuts from international chains to satisfy your mid-afternoon cravings, but “dough” you care for some donuts with Filipino-inspired flavors from homegrown Filipino brand P. Donuts? 

Hailing from Davao, P. Donuts serves freshly-baked donuts with flavors inspired by local delicacies such as ube, pastillas, and banana cue. This Filipino-owned donut chain recently expanded from Mindanao to Luzon with relatively new branches in Malate, Manila and Cubao, Quezon City to allow more Filipinos to enjoy their novelty donuts. 

Not your ordinary donut chain

P. Donuts is a spin-off of Davao-based bakery chain Panadero Bakeshop, which has been in the bread industry for more than 20 years, serving classic Filipino bread and cakes like pandesal, ensaymada, ube custard cake, and yema cake. The inspiration behind the creation of the donut shop stemmed from the observation that most donut chains present in the Philippines are actually international brands. 

“At the heart of P. Donuts is our vision of establishing a homegrown Filipino brand for the Filipino people to enjoy,” P. Donuts told Rappler. “At the same time, we are here to ensure that our product quality stays at par with international donut brands.”

P. Donuts first opened in Davao in 2022. There are currently two branches in Davao City: one in NHA Buhangin and another in Toril. Seeing an opportunity to expand the brand, P. Donuts launched its first Metro Manila branch at UP PGH University Tower 3, Malate, Manila in January.

With no official meaning for the “P” in their name, P. Donuts has left many guessing what it could possibly stand for. 

For Luzon Business Unit Head Mr. Adel Gabriel, the “P” can stand for “Pilipino” and “pambansa,” owing to the fact that it is a 100% Filipino-owned and Filipino-inspired brand with mostly local suppliers. It can also stand for “pangmasa” since their donuts “cater to the palate of our kababayan” so anyone can enjoy them. Expanding the brand, they also explore opportunities that provide employment for Filipinos so the “P” can stand for “Pamilyang Filipino” as well. 

“We look forward to serve our kababayans, and [allow] P. Donuts to be their place of residence,” Mr. Adel explained. For now, the “P” is up for many interpretations, with the top guess being P for Papa P! 

Veteran actor Piolo Pascual – also (fittingly) known as Papa P – is himself an organic fan, who teamed up with the owners behind P. Donuts.

The donut joint’s claim to fame are Papa P’s favorite Milky Cheese Donuts that went viral on Tiktok for its sugary powder coating and stretchy cheese filling. 

With its rising popularity, P. Donuts opened another branch in May at Spark Place, Cubao, Quezon City to cater to a wider market. They plan to open many more stores in Luzon in the next couple of years. 

“When we brought this to Manila, we were fortunate because the response was overwhelming, and it gives us more inspiration to do things better for the customers,” Mr. Adel shared. “One of those [things] is to have more stores for the consumers to buy their favorite P. Donuts.”

Donuts for everyone

P. Donuts has several flavors to choose from that you donut want to miss out on! Some of the popular flavors include the Milky Cheese (P40/piece), Glazed (P15/piece), and Choco Banana (P30) donuts. They also offer other classic flavors, pegged as “All-Star” donuts, such as Alcapone (P35/piece), Boston Kreme (P40/piece), Classic Bavarian (P25/piece), Oreo (P35/piece), S’mores (P40/piece), and Strawberry Sprinkles (P25/piece). The All-Star box costs P190 for all six classic flavors. 

If you feel like exploring your adventurous side, the “Mega Star” lineup comprises their uniquely Filipino flavors for P230 per box of all six flavors. 

Coated with chocolate sauce and topped with chewy bits of coconut flakes, the ChoCoNut donut is the epitome of indulgence. Biting into this one, I was pleasantly surprised by the coconut jam filling – it was decadent yet not too overpowering that you can no longer taste the chocolate. The ChoCoNut donut is P35 per piece. 

The Banana-Q donut resembles a Bavarian donut with its smooth and creamy banana filling, and the sweet outer coating reminds me of the melted sugar in crème brûlées. I went bananas over this flavor because of the filling’s rich taste of the yellow fruit! The Banana-Q donut is P40 per piece.

The only one shaped like a conventional donut, the Pastillas flavor is perfect for those looking for simple flavors because of its mild milky taste, thanks to the crumbled up pastillas. It also has a good balance of textures: the bread is soft and fluffy but the crumbs still give you a bit of a crunch. The Pastillas donut is P35 per piece.

The Choco Yema donut is covered with a glossy chocolate sauce, topped with yema frosting that reminds me of the sweet and buttery taste of toffee. While I think that they could be more generous with the yema topping as the chocolate tends to overpower its flavor, this is still a good treat for chocoholics looking for a simple sugar fix. The Choco Yema donut is P40 per piece.

The Mango Crunch’s dried mango bits that garnish the glazed donut has a strong tangy taste. The donut is also sprinkled with chopped nuts and oozes with a creamy mango filling. If you’re biased towards sour flavors, this will be the one to satisfy your cravings! The Mango Crunch donut is P40 per piece. 

And last but not least: the Ube Macapuno bursts with different textures and Filipino flavors. The ube glaze is dense, the toasted coconut flakes are chewy, and the macapuno added on the top center has a silky yet firm texture. The Ube Macapuno is P35 per piece.

Both Metro Manila branches of P. Donuts are open from 8 am to 10 pm from Monday to Sunday. For more information, you can check out their Instagram and Facebook. – Rappler.com

Cheska Lingad is a Rappler intern.