Hurts Donut Company in Tempe is selling ‘Tide Pod’ treats

PHOENIX — Hurts Donut Company in Tempe is taking advantage of the recent “Tide Pod challenge” by creating a doughnut that resembles the infamous pods.

“We just did it as a safe alternative to a ‘Tide Pod challenge’ and we were only going to do it for a day,” said Walter Montante, co-owner of Hurts Donut Company.

For Montante and the business, the gimmick stuck.

“We started getting requests for it. People started ordering it by the dozens,” said Montante. “We just stumbled on to something and there’s people who it kind of resonated with them.”

Not everyone is treating the challenge with as whimsical of an approach as Hurts Donuts.

Proctor & Gamble has been vigilant in trying to end the viral challenge, which has caused a major spike in sending teenagers to poison control centers across the nation over the first few weeks of the new year.

The company has released a 20-second video of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski deterring viewers from eating the detergent pods.

For Hurts, as long as the demand is there, the company will continue to offer the Tide Pod doughnut, which makes light of the dangerous challenge.

They are not the only ones to take advantage of the viral “Tide Pod challenge.” A doughnut shop in North Carolina has also exploited the dangerous viral trend creating a Tide Pod doughnut of its own.

“It just started off as a safe alternative, a goof,” said Montante. “We will do it as long as its wanted and when its not wanted anymore it will go away like many of our other products.”

Unlike real Tide Pods, the doughnuts are safe to consume.

“Unless you’re a diabetic,” said Montante.

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