Toowoomba doughnut business ‘frustrated’ after being rejected for Food and Wine Festival in favour of out-of-town vendor

It’s a Toowoomba small business that employs residents and gives to city charities. But this doughnut company has been rejected for the lucrative Carnival of Flowers in favour of one from out of town.

SNUBBED: OMG Decadent Donuts, made up of crew members (from left) Rob Sampson, Selena Park, Robert Gillis, Sarah Dwyer, Jana Park and Robert Gillis, has been rejected for a stall at this year's Food and Wine Festival.

A Toowoomba doughnut business has been left fuming after its application to showcase at the lucrative Carnival of Flowers in favour of an out-of-town vendor.

OMG Decadent Donuts Darling Downs owners Rob Sampson and Robert Gillis, who set up the business late last year with a pop-up stall model, will not be present at the popular Food and Wine Festival in September.

Mr Sampson said OMG, which was based off a licence from a national company, met all the criteria the council set to hold a stall at the event.

“It’s not a franchise model — we don’t pay commissions or report income to OMG Australia,” he said.

“We read the terms and conditions, and they said you couldn’t be a franchise so we made it clear in our application that we weren’t.”

But the pair, who employs two residents and regularly donates to city charities like Lifeline Darling Downs, received a rejection letter last month.

Mr Sampson said the council argued it was indeed a franchise, because there were OMG shops in other states.

“I reached out to councillor James O’Shea and he did some digging and he had (a council officer) call me and he said that I was rejected because they deemed me to be a franchise,” he said.

“They moved the goal posts, because we’re not a franchise.”

The sting of rejection was made worse after Mr Sampson found out a different doughnut seller based well outside the region had been invited.

“It’s a huge slap in the face (because) we actively support our community (through charities),” he said.

“To be told that my money isn’t good enough but they’ll take money from somewhere else, I’m extremely frustrated.”

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl said the decision needed to be reviewed, arguing the council was knocking back a business that kept the vast majority of its money in the region.

“If there is a local supplier who can provide great doughnuts, why not support local?” he said.

“The Chamber is not opposed to council getting the best people, but if there are locals who have a great product or service, then why are they rejecting them?

“We’ve had a member raise concerns and we’re standing up for them, because we don’t understand why they’d overlook a local supplier.”

In response, Mr O’Shea said OMG was rejected because its product was not unique to southern Queensland.

“To ensure the event remains unique and provides attendees with a point of difference, this event has been carefully curated to support small business owners that have individual offerings that can’t be found in multiple locations,” he said.

“OMG is listed as a licenced business with more than 40 locations throughout Australia.

“As such, this vendor was not selected for this particular event however council would like to work with the business on other ways it can still be involved with the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers and other events throughout the year.

“As this is one of our flagship events each year there is always high demand for the limited spots available.”