Dunkin' Donuts Announces a Dozen Finalists for the 'Create Dunkin's Next Donut' Contest

CANTON, Mass., April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- It's time to judge the donuts! Today, Dunkin' Donuts, America's all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, announced the 12 finalists in the "Create Dunkin's Next Donut" contest who will compete for the chance to win a $12,000 grand prize and have their donut creation sold in participating Dunkin' Donuts restaurants throughout the country. Nearly 90,000 people channeled their imagination and inspiration to submit their personal donut masterpiece for Dunkin' Donuts' second annual contest. People can vote for their favorite finalist online beginning today through May 3 at www.dunkindonuts.com/donut.

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This year's lucky dozen includes:

• "Cop Cake" – A cake donut with chocolate icing, topped with white sprinkles and chopped Reese's® Peanut Butter Cups (Chris Schinnerer, Clackamas, OR)
• "Full Moon" – A cheesecake kreme-filled donut with white icing, topped with shredded coconut and Hershey®'s Vanilla shavings (Pat Cooper, Ponte Verde Beach, FL)
• "I Like You a Latte" – A chocolate cake donut with maple icing, topped with white and chocolate sprinkles (Rosemary Burian, Joliet, IL)
• "Let Freedom 'Ring'" – A blueberry cake donut with white icing, topped with red and blue sprinkles (Jack Turchetta, Cranston, RI)
• "Mango Fandango" – A berry mango-filled glazed donut, topped with pink and orange sprinkles (Rachel Llanes, Miami, FL)
• "Monkey-See Monkey-Donut" – A bananas foster-filled donut with chocolate icing, topped with Reese's® Peanut Butter Cup shavings (Rachel Davis, Sharon, MA)
• "Mornin' Paper" – A chocolate butter kreme-filled donut with white icing, topped with chocolate sprinkles (Catherine Kunkle, Pittsburgh, PA)
• "Much A Do About Nut Things" – A chocolate cake donut with peanut butter icing, topped with shredded coconut and chopped roasted almonds (Stefanie Schwalb, New York, NY)
• "Nut N' Fancy" – A peanut butter-filled donut with chocolate icing, topped with Reese's® Peanut Butter Cup shavings and whole Reese's® Pieces candies (Lisa Burns, Medford, NJ)
• "Pumpkin to Pie-n For" – A pumpkin cake donut with maple icing, topped with Hershey®'s Cinnamon Chips shavings and graham cracker crunch (Kelly Rice, Orlando, FL)
• "S'morgasbord" – A marshmallow-filled donut with chocolate icing, topped with graham cracker crunch (Chris Wiley, Medford, MA)
• "Snack-o-Lantern" – A pumpkin cake donut with maple icing, topped with Hershey®'s Cinnamon Chips shavings (Jennifer Hayes, Hardwick, MA)

Finalists were selected based on the following criteria: use of ingredients in donut combination, donut name and donut story. To learn more about the inspiration behind each donut, visit www.dunkindonuts.com/donut.

Each finalist wins $1,200 and a year's supply of donuts. They will also travel to Dunkin' Donuts University in Braintree, Massachusetts courtesy of JetBlue Airways, the official airline partner of the contest, to compete in a bake-off before Dunkin' Donuts' culinary team and company leaders. The winning donut will be selected based on the outcome of the bake-off and America's online public voting.  The grand prize winner of the "Create Dunkin's Next Donut" contest will be unveiled on National Donut Day, Friday, June 4, 2010.

"As we celebrate our 60th birthday, the overwhelming positive response to the 'Create Dunkin's Next Donut' contest highlights the passion people have shown for our brand since 1950 and the moments of happiness and delight our donuts create every day," said John Costello, Chief Global Customer and Marketing Officer at Dunkin' Brands. "We salute our dozen finalists and thank everyone who participated in the contest for their creativity and originality, and we look forward to seeing which donut is named the grand prize winner."

Dunkin' Donuts is the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world, selling more than 900 million donuts and Munchkins™ donut hole treats and one billion cups of hot and iced coffee and every year. Today, there are more than 6,500 restaurants in 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and more than 2,600 international restaurants in 29 countries.

About Dunkin' Donuts

Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite every day, all-day stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the regular/decaf coffee, iced coffee, hot flavored coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories, and the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for four years running. The company has more than 9,000 restaurants in 30 countries worldwide. In 2009, Dunkin' Donuts' global system-wide sales more than $5.6 billion. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Dunkin' Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands, Inc. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

SOURCE Dunkin' Donuts