National Doughnut Day 2013

National Doughnut Day takes place on the first Friday of June every year in the United States. This event dates all the way back to 1938 when the Salvation Army organised a fundraising initiative both to help the needy in Chicago and honour women that served doughnuts to soldiers during the First World War.

That tradition continued during the Second World War when female Red Cross volunteers distributed doughnuts to soldiers, eventually being referred to as “Doughnut Dollies”. Interestingly, American prisoners of war held at Son Tay prison camp during the Vietnam War successfully tricked their North Vietnamese guards into believing National Doughnut Day coincided with the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. To their delight, the emaciated prisoners received doughnuts from their captors!

Today, Americans love their doughnuts, and this love is spreading worldwide at a rapid pace. Indeed, the industry employs approximately 141,000 people and generates a whopping $12 billion each year.

Dunkin Donuts has grown to become the main player in the US doughnut market, competing with Krispy Kreme and Starbucks, among others. Every year, an estimated 2.3 billion doughnuts are sold at Dunkin Donuts’ 10,000 outlets across the world to five million customers. Americans alone drink 1.5 billion cups of Dunkin coffee annually – that’s enough to fill 22 football stadiums!

National Doughnut Day is becoming increasingly popular in the United States and around the rest of the world. Free doughnut giveaways will happen at Dunkin Donuts, along with its primary competitors, Krispy Kreme and LaMar's Donuts. Offers such as “one free doughnut with any beverage” will become common sight not just in the United States but many other countries on National Doughnut Day. Awareness is at an all time high thanks to increased mobile advertising and social media marketing.