Home to Duck Donuts, the coastal plain of North Carolina boasts a thriving donut scene. Many of the nation’s largest chains began in North Carolina, and each region has a strong preference and is loyal to their brand. This research project served to examine the trends and outliers within donut culture in North Carolina.
While the coastal plain only received 3.9% of responses, there was a strong leaning towards Duck Donuts. 27%, or nine people, preferred Duck Donuts, while 51%, or seventeen people, did not list a preference at all. Before conducting research on Duck Donuts, I assumed their cakes were yeast risen, like Krispy Kreme. I made this inference because Krispy Kreme was also born in North Carolina, and there is a strong loyalty to both Krispy Kreme and Duck Donuts across the state.
However, after looking on the Duck Donuts website, it appears that their donuts are cake based, like Dunkin Donuts, which typically is preferred by Northerners. In our survey 27%, or nine people, preferred cake based donuts and 72%, or 24 people, preferred yeast raised. This data is contradictory because many people enjoy Duck Donuts as well as yeast raised donuts. This makes me question whether the respondents know the difference between cake based and yeast raised donuts. If the survey were to be conducted again, I would recommend rewording this question to make sure all respondents understand what is being asked.
Despite the discrepancies, our results show that donut culture is very prominent in the coastal region of North Carolina.