Donut manufacturers today are focused on providing retailers with products that not only taste great but also help their businesses thrive. 

Rich Products, Buffalo, NY, for example, offers fully finished donuts to help retailers combat ongoing labor challenges. The company also uses a formula that maintains freshness over ambient shelf life with icings and glazes that don’t dry out, allowing donuts to last longer.

“This delivers a great eating experience to consumers each time they engage compared to traditional donuts that dry out before they’re consumed,” said Deborah Andrews vice president, foodservice bakery marketing, Rich Products.

While buying fully or mostly finished baked goods has been a lifesaver for labor-strapped retailers, Chad Larson, vice president and chief executive officer of Mel-O-Cream, Springfield, Ill., noted there’s been resurgent demand for products that require a greater value add at the store level, such as frozen dough.

“All they get is the dough piece, and they proof, fry and finish at the store,” he said. “And that was a category we thought was dead because of the labor constraints.”

Larson attributed this resurgence in part to younger generations like millennials who demand fresher products with greater transparency. 

“That brings back to life products like frozen dough that nobody wanted to put the labor into,” he said. “But now they're saying they have to because it provides that fresh daily. It gives consumers the source where it’s made. They understand that it’s made fresh there.”

More retailers are also following the lead of boutique shops, Larson said, upscaling their donuts to increase consumer appeal and their price points. Simple additions like crushed Oreo cookies or decorative designs go a long way in consumers viewing a donut as a premium product, he noted.

“We’re seeing a trend where baked goods in general, especially donuts are getting more revenue per unit at the store level than they ever have in the past,” he said.

Mel-O-Cream meets with retail customers and provides training materials to help them upscale their donuts. 

“It's driving revenue through the sales at the store for minimal input,” he said. They're already doing the effort to finish the product, and with a little bit of effort, they can get more revenue.”

This article is an excerpt from the July 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Donuts, click here.