Annie Vainshtein

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SLO Donut Co. and Uber have teamed up to help students conquer finals week.

Students can order half a dozen doughnuts and two cups of coffee without even getting up — Uber will hand deliver for $10.

The promotion will run from 9 p.m to 12 a.m this Sunday and Monday, March 15 and 16. Students may only purchase via the Uber app, and deliveries are kept to a maximum five-mile radius of SLO Donut Co.

SLO Donut Co. marketer Amy Bolger said the partnered promotion was finalized this past Thursday morning, and the focus now is to “get it out as quickly as possible to as many people as possible.”

Central Coast Marketing Manager Andy Iro said SLO Donut Co. was chosen because of its popularity with locals.

“Uber sat down with drivers in San Luis Obispo and asked them what company has a clientele that largely appeals to college students, or one that would be a good fit,” he said. “[SLO Donut Co.] was one that came up.”

Iro said he has high hopes for the promotion. With the right amount of marketing, the results should show.

“It’s a fun way to connect to the community and show the diversity of our app,” he said.

Uber, an app-controlled company that relies on crowd-sourcing drivers, runs promotions like this in attempts to build recognition in areas where people don’t use Uber often, Bolger said.

As for finals week, Bolger said SLO Donut Co. doesn’t see a big spike in doughnut sales, even though the shop is constantly full.

“Late at night, as Starbucks is closing, we see a lot of people looking for a place to study but leaving because there are no tables,” she said.

This sparked the idea to run the promotion during finals week.

“Students can get their [SLO Donut Co.] fix without it interrupting their studying,” she said.

SLO Donut Co. employee and geology freshman Maxwell McCollum said space in the doughnut shop is an issue, but that the promotion would hopefully bridge the gap for students intent on having a successful finals week.

“I think it’s a really good program,” he said. “We already have a giant volume of kids coming in, and we actually lose business from kids coming in trying to study but leaving because there’s no space, so it’s kind of cool that we can do this.”

The delivery radius was bigger at first, but a second look at the logistics shrunk it back to 5 miles.

Environmental engineering sophomore Ali Odabashian lives within walking distance of SLO Donut Co., but said it sounded like a great idea.

“I could definitely see myself on campus needing [doughnuts],” she said.

Purchase for the promotion will be available exclusively through the Uber app, which will have a flash ad during the hours of delivery.