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Share your donut, and you become the most popular person in your school! Yes, that is true; sharing your donut is still the best way to make friends anywhere in America. Jelly-filled, glazed or sprinkle-topped, Donut is America’s favorite snack! 

We will talk about the most popular donut brand logos in America, but first, let us look into how it all began!

Donuts History

Dutch settlers brought “olykoek” with them to New York. The olykoek or oily cake closely resembled the modern-day doughnuts but did not have the ring shape.

In 1809, Washington Irving published a book called A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. You can find interesting facts about doughnuts in the book. Irving, mentions: “Sometimes the table was graced with immense apple-pies, or saucers full of preserved peaches and pears; but it was always sure to boast of an enormous dish of balls off sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat, and called dough-nuts, or olykoeks: a delicious kind of cake, at present scarce known in this city, excepting the genuine Dutch families.”

Donut Varieties

From South Africa to India to Japan, there are different varieties of donuts available. You may be surprised to know of the various ingredients used to make these regional varieties.

In Nepal, there is a variety called Sel Roti, a ring-shaped doughnut made of rice. An-doughnut is a Japanese variety that is made up of azuki bean paste. The South African variety is known as the koeksister and is made of different syrups and coconut. You may be surprised to know of an Indian variety called balushahi, a sweet pastry that is similar to the American doughnut.

10 Most Popular Donut Brand Logos in America for Creative Inspiration

Lamar’s Donuts

Founded by Ray LaMar in 1960, LaMar’s Donuts and Coffee has been described by Zagat Survey as “extraordinary; fit for kings.” LaMar’s is best known for handmade doughnuts and homegrown coffee.

Ray began testing success just as soon as he had launched the shop. Driven by the success, Ray and his wife decided to open a chain of restaurants. Today, LaMar’s is available in five states, including Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

The popular donut brand has also received many awards, some of which include:

• Colorado’s Best Food and Beverage Brand, 2014.
• Best Donut Shop by Feast Magazine, 2016.
• Best Restaurant in Denver and Kansas by Zomato.com, 2016.

One of the main highlights of LaMar’s is the way donuts are made. Ray, the founder of the famous shop, makes the donuts himself by rolling, mixing and cutting the dough and then deep-frying them. Ray has been making these great donuts since the shop’s foundation to the present day.

LaMar’s wordmark has been executed in blue on a white background. The logo evokes a sense of trust, professionalism and loyalty.

Dunkin Donuts

Founded by William Rosenberg in 1950, Dunkin Donuts is an American multinational donut and coffee company. One of the largest American Donut chains in the world, Dunkin Donuts is located in 42 countries across 12,900 locations.

The American donut giant is known for its donuts, Munchkin donut holes, bagels and coffee.

Rosenberg’s idea for the restaurant came after he realized that coffee and donuts were the most popular items at construction sites and factories. In 1948, he founded the Open Kettle, which produced some of the best donuts in the area. However, in 1950 he changed the name to Dunkin Donuts.

In 2019, Dunkin Donuts rebranded itself to keep up with modern times. The company is now known as Dunkin’ and uses a simple wordmark. While the old logo included Donuts and a coffee mug, the new design simply uses Dunkin’ in orange and pink. The color palette portrays youthful energy, happiness, playfulness, excitement and warmth.

Top Pot Donuts

Founded by brothers Michael and Mark Klebeck, Top Pot Doughnuts is amongst the best donut-serving restaurants in America. Top Pot began its journey in 2002 in Capitol Hill and quickly grabbed the attention of the people.

An article published on foodandwine.com mentions:

“Some of the best doughnuts in the Northwest can be found in this two-story flagship beneath the Monorail. Top Pot’s oversize rings and fritters come in flavors like Valley Girl lemon–and some have decorative flourishes like ‘feather boas,’ made from icing topped with shredded coconut.”

During his visit in 2010 in Seattle, former US president Barack Obama and Senator Patty Murray stopped by at Top Pot Doughnuts. Photos of the US president stopping for doughnuts went viral on the net.

The Top Pot Doughnuts logo looks perfect for the popular restaurant. The silhouette of a man with a hammer in the middle of a black circle symbolizes the hard work put behind making some of the best handmade donuts in the US.

Shipley Do-Nuts

Headquartered in Northside, Houston, Shipley Do-Nuts has over 300 franchises spread over Southern American states such as Colorado, Texas, Houston, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Mississippi. In 1936, Lawrence Shipley began Shipley Do-Nuts by creating his unique recipe.

Fun fact: Lawrence hand-crafted the doughnuts and served them hot during the day. “When they bite into that hot doughnut, it will bring them back every time,” he believed.

The current logo of Shipley Do-Nuts is a figure of a donut, which is symbolic of the hot crispy snacks served by the company.

Daylight Donuts

Tommy and Lucille Day started a small business in 1954. The Tulsa-based couple prepared the doughnut mix in the morning and sold them in the afternoon. They mostly ran the business from the trunk of their car.

By 1960, the business had grown enough for the Days to build a 20,000 square foot workspace. By the time Days retired, they had built over 200 stores.

In 2011, the Joplin tornado destroyed the Daylight Donuts’ original location. The original location has been shifted to 2316 S. Main Street.

The Daylight Donuts visual identity uses a yellow and blue color palette. The logo symbolizes playfulness, energy, cheer, professionalism and warmth.

Winchell’s Donuts House

Founded in Temple City, California, in 1948, Winchell’s Donuts is a globally recognized brand. Apart from owning over 170 states on US soil, Winchell’s is available in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Japan.While it’s true that Winchell’s witnessed a degree of success, it failed to maintain it over the years.

An article titled The Rise and Fall of Winchell’s Donut, mentions: “But the expansion might have been too fast. By 1980, a lot of Winchell’s locations became unprofitable and had to be closed down. It is not clear what prompted the wave of store closures. I suspect it might have been the result of the rising competition from brands such as Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donut. It might also have been the result of consumers shifting to healthier food options.”

Winchell’s visual identity is made up of a donut on a yellow triangle with the wordmark right below it. The logo symbolizes a restaurant where donuts are available round the clock.  

Honey Dew Donuts

Richard J. Bowen founded Honey Dew Donuts in 1973. The Massachusetts-based coffeehouse is famous for donuts and breakfast items.

Richard, from a very early age, understood what went into the making of good donuts. He worked with his father in a local store where he watched him make donuts. After he graduated in 1965, he was enlisted in the army and relocated to Germany as a mechanic and a donut baker.

The Honey Dew wordmark in red portrays passion, energy and love—perfect for the donut brand.

Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons, the largest quick-service restaurant chain in Canada, is famous for its donuts, hamburgers, bagels, coffee, hot chocolate and tea. Apart from Canada, where it was founded, Tim Hortons is available in countries such as the United Kingdom, China, Thailand, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the USA.

Fun fact: Tim Hortons, the Canadian hockey player, along with Jim Charade, founded the company.

The red wordmark is among the most recognized icons in the world. The visual identity portrays passion, love and positive energy.

Krispy Kreme

Vernon Rudolph formed Krispy Kreme in 1937. However, he worked with his uncle Ishmael Armstrong before establishing his company.  Ishmael owned a small shop in Paducah, where he sold a variety of goods among which was its very popular donuts.

Fun fact: The exact donut recipe remains a mystery to date.

The 80-year-old company only changed its visual identity twice; however, the two logos are identical.  The logo appears to be hand-drawn; but, the font appears very close to Futura Bold. The red and green color palette portrays nature, health and love.

Yum Yum Donuts

The California-based Yum-Yum Donuts was founded in 1971 by Phillip C. Holland. In 2004, Yum-Yum bought Winchell’s Donuts. Today, Yum-Yum Donuts is the largest privately owned chain of restaurants in the US.

The slurp smiley between Yum-Yum symbolizes the tasty donuts that one may expect from the restaurant.

Conclusion

With a current market size of $7.3 billion, the donut industry in America is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.4% by 2027. The figures get more surprising: The US makes more than 10 billion doughnuts every year, and more are being manufactured as we speak. Donuts—sweet and tasty snacks that can lift and brighten your day is more than just delicious food: it’s an experience! These top-selling donut brands across America have great-looking logos just like the donuts they sell. Be it the ever-attractive Dunkin wordmark or the creative Tim Hortons emblem, there is a lot you learn from these iconic brand logos.