Nodo Donuts’ Kate Williams on building a business and designing uniforms that get noticed.

If you’re a regular patron of the Brisbane brunch scene, chances are you’ve heard of Nodo Donuts, the gluten-free café that’s become renowned for their doughnuts and elevated brunch menu. We’ve had the pleasure of working with owner Kate Williams from the beginning of her journey as a market stall holder to owning three cafes across the city. We chatted to Kate about the growth she’s achieved in just four years and how developing a great uniform design has helped broadcast the Nodo brand.

Can you tell us how the Nodo Donuts business started?

We started the business about four years ago at the local Jan Powers Markets [where] I used to bake doughnuts fresh each day. [From the markets] we [started getting] a lot of attention from cafes, so we went into the wholesale market. [We] then decided we wanted to get back to being customer facing, so we opened our first cafe/bakery here in Newstead.

Why gluten-free?

When I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease, I decided that I wanted to create something that was fun. I wanted to put the fun back into gluten-free baking and I thought doughnuts were a perfect start.

Can you tell us a bit about how you’ve grown over the years?

So, we started with [the] Newstead [café] and then we opened a smaller grab-and-go style cafe in the city where we offer grab-and-go food, coffee and of course our baked doughnuts. And about six months ago we opened our third location, a cafe in Camp Hill.

Tell us about the uniform design you’re wearing.

I love these shirts. they’re simple, they’ve got our Nodo logo and we love our fun little slogan on the back ‘you’re beautiful’ that’s been our slogan since the start.

Why did you choose the slogan ‘you’re beautiful’?

[We chose] ‘you’re beautiful’ because it’s positive. We wanted to create a really positive business and it’s something [that] catches people’s attention when you’re walking in front of them.

How did you come up with the design?

I worked with a designer to get the design and collaborated with The Print Bar on the placement of [the prints and] how the shirts would look as a final product.

How has having this branding and these uniforms been a benefit to your business?

At work it’s fantastic because people can identify who the staff members are. But not only that, [the t-shirts are] great to carry our brand outside of the cafe when we’re walking down the streets. A lot of people will stop and say, “oh do you work at Nodo?” So, it’s really great branding.

Thinking of printing uniforms, merchandise or accessories for your business? Check out our wide range of products including t-shirts, polos, caps and totes.