2025 US Donut Inspiration Guide by dawnfoods7

INSPIRATION guide

Find Your Donut Inspiration!

Pages 3 - 7: Classics

From jelly and creme filled to glazed old fashioned varieties, classic donuts remain the top favorites among consumers.

Pages 8 - 16: Seasonal

Seasonal changes present the perfect opportunity to introduce limited-time offerings and flavors that capture the essence of each time of year.

Pages 17 - 25: Decadent

These trending 'loaded' donuts feature high-quality finishes like fillings, icings, glazes, and extra toppings could also pass for dessert.

There's Plenty of Reasons to Celebrate with Donuts!

• Paczki Day - February/March

• National Donut Day - First Friday of June

• International Jelly-Filled Donut Day - June 8

• National Just Because Day - August 27th

• Eat an extra Dessert Day - September 4

• National Cream-Filled Donut Day - September 14

• National Donut Month - October

• Buy a Doughnut Day - October 30

For more All-idays to celebrate with donuts go to dawnfoods.com/celebrate-all-idays

Classic Donuts

Classic donuts are tried and true favorites consumers expect to find in bakery cases. They should be the cornerstone of your donut offerings as 70% of customers will likely find their favorite among them.

Glazed Yeast Rings, Pershings and Old Fashioneds are ever popular as well as filled varieties such as Bavarian Crème, Jelly Donuts, and Filled Long Johns.

Raspberry Filled Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Dawn Raspberry Filled Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Dawn Blueberry Filled Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Creme Filled

Chocolate Boston Creme Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Boston Creme Pie Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Old Fashioned

Sour Cream Old Fashioned Donuts

VIEW RECIPE

Lemon Poppy Seed Old Fashioned Donuts

VIEW RECIPE

Glazed Old Fashioned Donuts

VIEW RECIPE

Seasonal

Seasonal donuts sell well because consumers celebrate the changing seasons through flavor trends like Pumpkin Spice. Donuts offer plenty of opportunities for introducing seasonal flavors like apple, pumpkin, lemon, and blueberry.

Grab consumer attention by getting creative with decorative icings and toppings for fun and festive holidays associated with a seasonal time of year like Saint Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras or Halloween.

65 of consumers were motivated to visit an operator specifically to order a seasonal offering in the past month.†

† Source: Datassential Consumer Preferences, 2024

RECIPE

Fruity Spring Donuts VIEW RECIPE

St. Paddy’s Day Donuts VIEW

King Cake Donuts

VIEW RECIPE

Easter Egg Bismarks

VIEW RECIPE

Glitter Pride Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Rainbow Pride Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Patriotic Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Pumpkin Pie Cake Donuts

VIEW RECIPE

Caramel Apple Donuts

VIEW RECIPE

Dia De Los Muertos Donuts

VIEW RECIPE

Trick or Treat Donuts

VIEW RECIPE

Snowscape Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Chocolate Gingerbread Donuts VIEW RECIPE

Decadent

While not an everyday choice, decadent donuts that look like desserts offer an escape, a permissible indulgence and consumers want to treat themselves! More than half of your customers are willing to pay $5 for one decadent donut – it’s true!

Take a childhood-favorite treat like s'mores and adapt it to a donut format. Feature this as your decadent donut for a limited time at a higher price point (3x the price of a glazed donut), and measure the results. How big was the appetite for decadent donuts?