Do You Know Why Local Doughnut Shops Use Pink Boxes? Packaging and products go hand in hand. The pink doughnut box is no different. Here's how it made its debut. In the 1970s, a Cambodian emigrant named Ted Ngoy eventually settle in La Habra, California. It was there that he opened his first doughnut shop, and quickly built a donut empire. He recruited fellow Cambodians. Hundreds of visa applications were eventually sponsored by Ngoy's shops. In time, however, he racked up a lot of gambling debts. To offset costs, he asked his supplier, Westco, if they had any cheaper boxes available. The company had the pink boxes lying around, taking up valuable space. Word of the cheaper, popular boxes spread quickly and the rest, as they say, is history.