June 2, 2017
National Donut Day 2017 is on June 2. Here’s a summary about what some donut companies are doing to celebrate. The following details are excerpts the companies’ press releases:
Dunkin’ Donuts
As donut lovers ring in National Donut Day this year on Friday, June 2, Dunkin’ Donuts is once again sweetening the celebration, heralding the holiday by offering guests a free classic donut of their choice (while supplies last) with the purchase of any beverage. The offer is good all day on June 2 in store and through On-the-Go Mobile Ordering at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide.Dunkin’ Donuts is also celebrating National Donut Day with two new donut varieties featuring fun and colorful new sprinkle toppings. The Vanilla Cake Batter Donut features vanilla-flavored cake batter filling, frosted with chocolate icing and topped with confetti sprinkles, while the Dunkin’ Donuts Sprinkles Donut is frosted with white icing and topped with pink and orange sprinkles shaped like the brand’s iconic “DD” logo. Both are also available for a limited time at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide.
For National Donut Day, Dunkin’ Donuts is bringing the delight of donuts to its social communities with days of donut-themed content to celebrate the sweetest holiday of the year:
- AI meets donuts, as Dunkin’ Donuts will become the first brand to enter into the world of Microsoft’s latest entertainment AI chatbot, Zo. On National Donut Day, friends can celebrate the holiday by texting “donut” to Zo on Facebook Messenger and Kik to find out “What Donut Are You?,” based on research from behavioral food expert and founder of Food-ology, You Are How You Eat®, Juliet A. Boghossian.
- Dunkin’ Donuts also worked with Juliet, an expert in how your food choices and habits reveal who you are, to create a fun infographic allowing donut lovers to find out what their favorite donut says about their personality, plus the perfect beverage to pair with it. The infographic is available on the Dunkin’ Donuts blog here: news.dunkindonuts.com/blog/whats-your-donut-personality.
- Dunkin’ Donuts will become the first brand to launch real-time video stickers on Kik, the popular messaging app for teens. Launching with three selfie filters available on June 2 on Android, Dunkin’ fans can ‘eat’ donuts mid-call or enjoy an endless stream of sprinkles ‘fed’ right into their mouth.
- On June 2, Dunkin’ Donuts will also be launching downloadable sticker packs on Kik and Tango, another leading messaging app. Snaps, the first end-to-end marketing platform for brands in mobile messaging developed the stickers for Dunkin’ Donuts. Dunkin’ Donuts is also working with Snaps to keep its own emoji keyboard and iMessage sticker packs fresh for the holiday, changing all custom emojis and iMessage stickers to just delicious donuts, and updating its iMessage Card Builder so that fans can build personalized, virtual National Donut Day greeting cards right on their iPhone.
- On June 2, Dunkin’ Donuts fans can turn themselves into a donut with a special brand Snapchat Lens celebrating the holiday, available everywhere nationwide. Additionally, fans can share their love of donuts with friends and followers with a special National Donut Day Snapchat Geofilter, available all day in or around all Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide.
- For the first time, Dunkin’ Donuts will also be integrating real-time donut flavor social conversation into digital menu boards to create a Donut Conversation Leaderboard in select stores. On National Donut Day, guests will be able to see which donut varieties are favorites based on social conversation from Instagram & Twitter—updating in real-time.
National Donut Day was originally established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to honor women who served donuts to soldiers during World War I. The holiday is traditionally celebrated on the first Friday of June. Dunkin’ Donuts has been serving guests signature donuts for 67 years. Dunkin’ Donuts is the #1 retailer of donuts in America, and sells 2.7 billion donuts and MUNCHKINS® donut hole treats annually worldwide. Within the United States, Dunkin’ Donuts offers more than 70 varieties of donuts, including beloved flavors such as Boston Kreme, Glazed, Chocolate Glazed Cake and Chocolate Frosted. Additionally, some Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants also feature regional favorites like the Sour Cream Donut in Chicago, and the Peanut Stick in upstate New York.
Entenmann’s
Entenmann’s Bakery, a division of Bimbo Bakeries USA, brightened the day of thousands of donut fans as they celebrated National Donut Day in the heart of New York City’s Times Square along with the world famous Harlem Globetrotters. The donut-filled party was jam-packed with games, performances by the Globetrotters and, of course, delicious Entenmann’s Donuts.
“Being able to celebrate donuts with our fans in the heart of New York City, where Entenmann’s got its start 119 years ago, is truly amazing,” said Lorraine Hale, Senior Director of Marketing for Entenmann’s Bakery, part of Bimbo Bakeries USA. “This National Donut Day celebration is a tradition we look forward to continuing for years to come.”
At the event, the brand also showcased its newest specialty line, Entenmann’s Donut Shoppe Donuts. The new product, featuring a colorful new top iced coating and sprinkle topping, debuted at retailers in the Northeast, Metro and Midwest regions this past April.
Entenmann’s® Donuts fans who could not attend the New York event still have an opportunity to join in on the fun by entering the “Win Free Donuts for a Year” sweepstakes. Consumers can enter into the sweepstakes until July 15 the following ways:
- Post a public photo or video on Instagram, Twitter or on the Entenmann’s Facebook page using #PassShootGive and #entry
- Fill out a simple submission form via entenmanns.com/nationaldonutday or on the Entenmann’s Facebook page
Shipley Do-Nuts
Shipley Do-Nuts will offer all customers one free glazed do-nut on Friday, June 2, 2017, in honor of National Do-Nut Day. This offer will be valid at participating locations from 5 am to 12 pm. Shipley Do-Nuts will once again partner with The Salvation Army of Houston and donate a portion of the day’s sales back to the organization. The Salvation Army started National Do-Nut Day during the Great Depression as a way to raise funds and bring awareness to their social services programs.
“We are very excited to partner with The Salvation Army again this year. Their mission of assisting the community is very much in line with our core values as a brand,” says President, Lawrence Shipley, III.
Since 1936, the Shipley family donut recipe has withstood the test of time. With more than 60 varieties of delicious do-nuts, pastries, and kolaches made fresh daily and served hot, it’s this same simple concept that has continued to bring back multiple generations of loyal customers. Shipley Do-Nuts originated in Houston, Texas where it still maintains its offices and production facility. Today, Shipley Do-Nuts is under the leadership of Lawrence Shipley, III and is rapidly expanding with 285 locations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The company has plans to reach 400 stores by 2022.