- [Narrator] If you know doughnuts, you know
the pink doughnut box, especially if you're familiar
with Southern California, which has hundreds of
doughnut shops,
most with the pink boxes.
But while you may recognize the box,
you may not know it's central to a story
about chasing the American dream.
The pink box phenomenon all started with a man named Ted.
Ted Ngoy came to California as a Cambodian refugee
in the 1970s.
He got into the donut business and became the owner
of dozens of shops.
Ted sponsored other refugees and taught them the business
and helped them open their own shops.
Since Ted used the pink boxes, so did everybody else.
Ted became known as the Doughnut King.
- My name is Mayly Tao and I am the Doughnut Princess
of L.A.
- [Narrator] The Doughnut Princess's great uncle,
the one and only Doughnut King, Ted Ngoy.
He taught Mayly's parents the business in the 1980s
and they started this shop.
Mayly took it over a few years ago.
And beyond Mayly, Ted's legacy lives on through,
you guessed it, those pink boxes.
- When we came to L.A., my parents owned a doughnut shop
for 26 years.
We use the pink doughnut boxes.
In the Asian community, red is a lucky color,
so therefore, using the pink box,
it's no coincidence about it.
- The pink box is overwhelmingly the favorite
of the doughnut shop industry.
- [Narrator] That's Len Bell, he should know.
His company manufacturers about 12 to 15 million
doughnut boxes every year.
- Cheers!
- [Narrator] While the pink boxes are still
an iconic part of the doughnut landscape,
owners are putting a new spin on things.
Mayly makes some of the same doughnuts
her parents used to make, but like everything,
times are a changin'.
- When I took the business over from my parents,
they were using the generic pink boxes
that you see everywhere, but our doughnuts were not generic,
and I needed to reflect that upon our new,
upgraded boxes.
- [Narrator] And what does your mom think about that, Mayly?
- [Mayly] My mom does not really approve of the new boxes.
They're a little bit more expensive,
and it's not really what she's used to,
but I think it's a sign of new doughnut times.
- [Narrator] Yum, sounds delicious.