History


Old Paradise Donuts Logos


Man making Paradise Donuts, historic The story of the Paradise Donut Corporation starts in the days of the great depression. This was before it was even called Paradise.  The original recipe was developed in a bakery in a small town in Missouri. In the early 1930's the bakery along with the recipe, was traded for an apple orchard outside of Marshal, Missouri. The new owners of the bakery began to use the recipe and started producing these light & fluffy treats. They were hot, delicious, and economical. The bakery had doubled in size and had people coming from all around to try these tasty treats.


People making Paradise Donuts, historic Throughout many years of the bakery's success, other bakeries tried to aquire the recipe. The owners would not bestow the recipe with other bakeries. As time passed, the family shared the recipe with a young apprentice named John O'Neil. In the early 1950's, John and his wife decided to open a shop in Neosho, Missouri using the recipe. John declared the taste and quality of the product was "next to heaven" with a light and fluffy taste.  They created an angel as their logo for their new store. The shop was sold two years later to move to New Mexico. After a few years, they moved back to Lee's Summit to establish another store. Very quickly after their success in Lee's Summit, they opened a second location in Pleasant Hill. With opening several stores around Missouri, and with many bakeries & donut shops inquiring about the mix, they decided to start formulating a pre-form mix to sell. Their business started with very meek roots by providing local bakeries and cafe's with a quality mix. By the late 1950's the mix was given the name "Paradise Mix".


Man and historic Paradise Donut shop In the 1960's Robert Kent Hoskins, a graduate of the Chicago Bakers Institute, acquired the mix company and officially registered the company in 1967. As the company grew, the company was moved to his home town of Sedilia, Mo. The company was expanding throughout Missouri and Kansas. Mr. Hoskins added a small fleet of trucks and a large mix facility to handle the growth.



Paradise Donuts Semi In 2001, M.L.I. a privately owned company, purchased the Paradise Donut Corporation and set out to create a new level of excellence for the company. In looking to improve on the marketing, products, and distribution the Paradise Donut Corporation created a program that blends the expertise of the company with a proven concept and the best tasting product in the industry.   This makes an unbeatable program for the customer's success. With the new program, the company has had phenomenal growth with great things planned for the future. Paradise Donuts is continuing to increase their presence in the donut industry. Paradise Donuts is one of the fastest growing donut opportunities in the U.S. today. The product and concept is proven and the service of the company is unbeatable. Paradise Donuts only sees the donut and bakery industry becoming stronger. Paradise Donuts has penetrated the market of major donut chains and is dominating the mid-west markets and expansion to other markets has proven just as well. The company plans on opening 500 more stores in the next decade.