What is better than a fresh donut? From the humble glazed circle donut to filled and topped specialty donuts offering a variety of flavors, colors and textures, there’s a treat available to satisfy any sweet craving. They come in a wide variety of sizes and price points and can be bought solo, by the dozen or in bags and variety packs. And they are only growing in stature, coming off a stellar year.

“2024 was a very strong year for donuts in both the perimeter and the center store bakery,” said Anne-Marie Roerink, president, 210 Analytics. “When combining center store and perimeter donuts in the grocery stores such as supermarkets, supercenters, hard discounters and club stores, we’re looking at nearly $3 billion in sales.”

Both center store and perimeter sales hit the growth trifecta, with gains in dollars, units and volume in 2024, which says a lot about the popularity of donuts, she added.

“Certainly, donut manufacturers need to be credited for their tremendous innovative spirit,” Roerink said. “This includes the typical innovation of new flavors, but also playing into new dayparts, new usage occasions, new packaging types, donut-inspired new product offerings altogether and leveraging social media.”

When adding convenience stores to the numbers, sales rise to nearly $3.9 billion for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 29, 2024, according to Circana OmniMarket Integrated Fresh. However, after several strong years, consumer focus on price and promotions led to sales declines in the convenience channel, Roerink said. Those numbers show a 1.9% dip in center store dollar sales and a 4.4% decline in unit sales, while perimeter donut sales rose 3.5% and unit sales fell 1.9%. 

Although many consumers tend to stick with their favorite flavors and donut types, some are looking for the newest offerings that bring the excitement, which includes new varieties and formats.

“Donuts check the box on fun and nostalgia,” said Kelsey Olsen, food and drink reports analyst, Mintel. “Nearly two in three millennials report purchasing donuts from the in-store bakery, and 64% of parents with children under 18 report purchasing — showcasing donut’s heavy relevance as a kid-friendly treat.”

But donut makers have ample opportunity to showcase the adult-friendly appeal of donuts with options that appeal to smaller households like smaller pack sizes and miniature portions. She said that includes “products that lean further into nostalgia, and perhaps even explorative flavors that draw in younger adults and nonparents whose engagement with donuts is an untapped space without the influence of children.”

DonutworryBehappy (DNWBH), which is part of La Lorraine Bakery Group USA, Holicong, Pa., started out 2025 launching an additional flavor to the company’s four-pack filled-donut line, Biscoff Cocoamazing. The company, which offers a fully finished thaw-and-sell donut program, makes donuts with no artificial flavors or colors.

“After launching the donut Berry White, Caramazing, Belgiyummi, Strawjelly Jam and the Coconutty, we partnered with Biscoff to launch a Biscoff cookie butter-filled donut topped with Belgian chocolate and Biscoff cookie crunch,” said Pieter Hullaert, business development North America, DNWBH. “Our international assortment offers a wide variety of colors, combinations and flavors, with new innovations added each year to enhance it.”

Some of the largest donut chains in the country are known for their limited-time offers and collaborations. For instance, Charlotte, NC-based Krispy Kreme promotions over the past year have included celebrating an eclipse with Oreos, teaming up with Dr Pepper to help kick off football season and starting 2025 with Pop-Tarts-inspired donuts.

“Pop-Tarts aren’t just for the toaster — they can infuse culinary creativity to delight consumers,” said Jessica Waller, general manager, Chicago-based Kellanova Away From Home. “Krispy Kreme has done an incredible job bringing this opportunity to life, combining their iconic donuts with the beloved flavors of Pop-Tarts to create a truly one-of-a-kind experience for fans of both brands.”

Among some of the recent offerings from Dunkin’, Canton, Mass., over the past year are a Watermelon Burst Donut coated in red sugar and filled with watermelon-flavored jelly, a Chocolate Whoopie Pie Specialty Donut on the winter menu featuring a glazed chocolate cake donut filled with whipped vanilla-flavored icing, and fan favorite Cookie Butter Donut, which was brought back for the Christmas holidays.

“We have an incredible culinary team that constantly explores new flavors and concepts, leveraging trends, customer insights and in-market testing to make sure we’re delivering what our guests crave,” a Dunkin’ spokesperson said.

And yet, many customers tend to stick with their tried-and-true favorites when choosing donuts.

“Consumers generally eat the donut they love,” said Chad Larson, vice president and chief operating officer, Mel-O-Cream Donuts International Inc., Springfield, Ill. “Year in, year out, No. 1 bestsellers are the standard ring donut because you can put glaze on it, you can ice them in white chocolate, you can church them up and get more value out of the ring, but the standard favorites are just what you’d expect: long johns, filled shells and the ring donuts are No. 1.”

However, he said they have certain flavors that are offered seasonally and do well, like pumpkin and apple in the fall and a snickerdoodle donut at Christmas.

“We sell a lot of paczkis for a very small window of time,” he said. “It’s like an overfilled Polish-style shell donut. In certain regions of the United States, where there’s historically a Polish population, they become very popular for a very short window right before Lent. So leading up to Fat Tuesday, that’s a big item. We make a lot of cases in a very short window.”

Dunkin’ has several popular seasonal donuts, including pumpkin cake in the fall and brownie batter donuts around Valentine’s Day, a flavor that customers have requested that it become part of the regular menu.

Several donut flavors are popular among consumers, including powdered sugar, glazed and assorted donuts, while the flavors showing some of the greatest growth include apple cider — although that flavor is still relatively small in sales — glazed and cream/custard-filled, said Dawn Aho, principal of client insights, bakery vertical at Circana.

“Full-sized donuts, by far, have the largest dollar share in both center store and perimeter,” she added. “All segments within center store are showing dollar sales declines while all segments in perimeter are showing slight dollar sales gains, with the exception of donut holes. The perimeter donut section may afford consumers more perceived choice than center store as the perimeter includes fixed and random weight items, so consumers can decide how many donuts they wish to purchase, and they aren’t tied to a predetermined number of donuts.”

Olsen said she’s noticed an emergence of flavors that up the indulgence and bring an element of nostalgia like cinnamon bun, cookie dough, confetti and s’mores.

“We’re also seeing growth to flavors that balance the sweet with a bit of savory like salt/salted products, items with pretzels and the use of seeds — like sesame seed, poppy seed — and herbs to bring a more elevated flavor profile,” she added.

This article is an excerpt from the March 2025 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Donuts, click here.