Nobody can ignore donuts, especially the freshly made ones whose aroma makes consumers suddenly absent-minded when it comes to eating healthy. Despite all the emphasis on nutrition and wellness, donut sales have been persistently resilient, and it’s easy to see why.

Some 56% of consumers purchase donuts at least once a month, noted Rich Products’ donut consumer survey in May 2024. Most consumers (86%) like or love them, according to Datassential data published by Rich Products.

Fueling this demand is a host of factors that are also guiding how wholesale bakeries need to manage their production processes.

“Unique flavors and high-quality ingredients are becoming more popular,” observed Nick Magistrelli, vice president of sales, Rademaker USA. “Bakers are using organic ingredients and experimenting with creative toppings and fillings. Often, these trends don’t impact the upfront process, but the changes occur downstream in the process after the donuts are fried and cooled.”

Innovation is fueling purchases as consumers seek their seasonal pumpkin spice favorites or those square donuts that add a different dimension to this category.

“We’re seeing slight derivations in donuts such as mini yeast-raised rings in a lot of new shapes and a lot of filled products,” said David Moline, president, Moline Machinery. “We’re definitely seeing fully finished products growing in the US market on the yeast-raised donut side more than the production of ready-to-finish products.”

Paul Molyneux, sales manager, Belshaw Adamatic Bakery Group, has noticed an upsurge in donut volume through the convenience channel. Many of these donuts are produced fresh in local or regional commissaries.

“We’ve seen a lot of movement where companies have gone into full production mode and have installed new lines in production facilities to supply their stores,” he pointed out.

Decorating trends are equally dynamic, stated Ty Sarajian, president, Axis Automation.

“Bakeries are experimenting with more elaborate and visually compelling toppings from vibrant sugar patterns to festive designs like Christmas trees rendered in edible glitter,” he said. “Equipment that enables quick, precise topping application and multi-color drizzle patterns allows bakers to craft donuts that look as good as they taste.”

Even baked donuts, in addition to fried ones, have seen a significant global growth, especially across Asia and North America, noted Scott McCally, president of Auto-Bake Serpentine, a Middleby Bakery company.

“There are many benefits to baked versus fried donuts, including a longer shelf life and ambient formulations for retail sales,” he said. “These are decorated and injected with one or multiple flavors, producing a creative twist on traditional donuts while increasing appeal with fewer calories in most cases. Optionally, the Auto-Bake technology can bake with steam assistance to produce a very soft and moist mouthfeel, further enhancing the quality of the product without the need for minor ingredient additions.”

He mentioned that the symmetry and volume of donuts enhance their consumer appeal but that attaining those attributes is not always easy to accomplish.

“Auto-Bake has two technologies to address each of these challenges,” McCally said. “Steam assistance in baked donuts improves both symmetry and crumb structure. Vacuum cooling technology maximizes donut volume whereas traditional cooling often produces an imperfect shape and structure. Vacuum cooling also can be used to consistently hit the product’s ideal water-activity target.”

For donut makers, there’s no lack of innovation driving the market. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The solution is to discover better ways to manage the production of such a wide variety of these tantalizing treats in the most efficient and affordable manner.

This article is an excerpt from the December 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Donut Processingclick here.