Bashas’ announces 10 finalists for 10th annual Donut Flavor Craze Contest

PHOENIX — Five kids and five adults have been announced as the finalists for Bashas’ 10th Annual Donut Flavor Craze Contest.

The theme for this year’s contest was “Blast from the Past,” challenging Arizonans to create donut flavors inspired by the contest’s nine years of previous themes. Those themes include pop culture, wacky donuts flavors, sweet and savory, Arizona-themed, guilty pleasure, carnival flavors, global flavors and retro vs. future.

“We encouraged imaginations to run wild in dreaming up bold flavor combinations, and the culinary creativity came through,” Director of Communications and Public Affairs for Bashas’ Family of Stores Ashley Shick said in a press release.

“We received more donut flavor entries this year than any other year of our contest, which made it challenging to narrow it down to 10 finalists.”

The finalists are from a variety of Arizona cities including Buckeye, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Flagstaff, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Tempe, Tucson and Queen Creek.

Who are the finalists for the Donut Flavor Craze Contest?

The five kid finalists for the Donut Flavor Craze Contest include:

• Island Kiss Donut: A pineapple-filled donut with pineapple glaze and toasted coconut sprinkled on top. (Credence M., age 9, Buckeye)
• Desert Campfire Smore: A Long John donut that is covered with chocolate icing, drizzled with marshmallow crème and topped with graham cracker crumbs and mini marshmallows. (Miele K., age 13, Paradise Valley) 
• The “Wicked” Donut of Bashas’: Inspired by the movie and Broadway show, this Long John donut is one-half green icing topped with Oreo crumbles and one-half pink icing topped with coconut flakes. (Charlee Y., age 13, Scottsdale)
• A Latte Sugar: A buttercream-filled donut topped with chocolate-coffee frosting and drizzles with caramel and an espresso bean ganache. (Audrey S., age 13, Tucson)
• Chocolate Covered Pretzel: A donut covered in chocolate icing and sprinkled with chopped pretzels. (Braxton B., age 16, Queen Creek)

The five adult finalists submissions for the contest were:

• Peach Cobbler Crunch: A peach-vanilla-frosted donut that is topped with donut crumbs an cinnamon sugar. (Shaunna Serfin, Glendale)
• Donoli: A vanilla-frosted donut with filled with cinnamon-cream-cheese icing, sprinkled with crushed cannoli chips, chocolate chips and then drizzled with chocolate icing. (Elizabeth Bouck, Gilbert)
• Cookies and Milk for Santa: A white-frosted donut sprinkled with chocolate chips. (Janet Gunderson, Flagstaff)
• The Salty White Turtle: A vanilla donut dipped in white ganache, drizzles with caramel and then topped with broken pecans and sea salt. (Sheryl Keeme, Tempe)
• Coco Mocha Monkey Banana: A banana cream-filled donut that is iced with mocha chocolate and sprinkled with toasted coconut flakes. (Maya Gordon, Chandler)

When will the winners of the donut contest be selected?

Two winners, one kid and one adult, will be selected by a panel of local celebrity judges and then announced on National Donut Day which is Friday, June 6.

After, that the winning donuts will be available in Bashas’ locations across the state for a limited time during the month of June.

The winners will be named Bashas’ 2025 Donut Ambassadors as well as receive $500 in prizes including a Bashas’ gift card, fun family activities and a dozen donuts every month for a year.

The two runner-ups in both categories will receive a $50 grocery gift card, and the six other finalists will receive honorable mentions and a $20 grocery gift card.

National Donut Day was originally created to honor The Salvation Army’s service to soldiers during World War 1 when 250 volunteers known as the “Donut Lassies” made and hand-delivered donuts to the front lines.

In honor of the holiday, Bashas’ will be donating 10% of all donut sales on June 6 to the Salvation Army.

Related

Bashas' celebrates 90th anniversary by setting world record for largest doughnut mosaicDoughnut stop believing: Bashas' sets sights on Guinness record3 dead, 1 injured following Gilbert stabbing and officer-involved shootingCamelot Homes unveils boutique luxury community in PhoenixDave Ramsey says: Don’t let giving turn into debtConstruction begins on $20.1M medical office condominium development in Queen Creek