Simply Doughnuts' three-year benchmarking study demonstrates significant commercial and sustainability advantages

Simply Doughnuts has completed a data-driven benchmarking exercise that quantifies the waste reduction benefits of extended shelf-life doughnuts. The results show waste rates more than 30 times lower than category averages.

The company compiled retailer feedback over three years to compare waste scores for its products against industry benchmarks. The findings reveal substantial differences in pre-consumer food waste between extended shelf-life and traditional fresh doughnuts.

Industry Context

The latest WRAP data, published in July 2025 in the "UK Food Waste & Food Surplus – Key Facts" report, shows that bakery goods generate waste of approximately 11% by weight. Retailer feedback indicates that in-store bakery departments typically experience waste rates of up to 12%, with even top performers struggling to achieve scores below 2% due to short shelf-lives and product perishability.

The doughnuts category faces particular challenges, with waste scores averaging between 20% and 21% by weight.

Simply Doughnuts Performance

Simply Doughnuts' pre-consumer waste scores, as reported by retailers, have remained well below 1%. For 2025 to date, retailer feedback indicates an average of 0.61%. The three-year average stands at just under 0.4%.

Not all pre-consumer waste results from expiry dates. Damaged packaging during transit or in-store handling also contributes to waste figures. When isolating only expiry-related waste from 2023 to 2025, the data shows products reaching expiry account for 0.25% of waste, whilst products sold through 'reduced to clear' promotions approaching expiry represent 0.13%. Combined, total expiry-related waste stands at 0.38%.

Comparative Analysis

The benchmarking exercise reveals that Simply Doughnuts' waste scores are more than three times better than the 2% benchmark achieved by top-performing bakery departments. They are over 18 times better than the 11% industry average for baked goods and more than 30 times better than the 20-21% category average for fresh doughnuts.

Commercial and Sustainability Implications

Lower waste translates to reduced disposal costs, fewer markdown promotions, and improved profit margins for retailers. Extended shelf-life also provides operational flexibility in ordering and delivery scheduling.

The waste reduction aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.1b, which aims to halve per capita food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030 whilst reducing losses throughout production and supply chains. Retailers facing pressure to demonstrate progress towards net zero targets and cost reduction may find these figures relevant to product selection decisions.

Data compiled from retailer feedback collected by Simply Doughnuts from 2023 through 2025, compared against WRAP industry statistics and retailer-reported category averages.