Bonuts, crookies & duffins: The bakery hybrid trend that keeps evolving

Philadelphia Cream Cheese has reignited the mashup game with the debut of the bonut – a hybrid of bagel and doughnut – proving the appetite for bakery crossovers is anything but stale.

The mashup movement began with the cronut. In 2013, New York pastry chef Dominique Ansel’s croissant-doughnut hybrid created four-hour queues, black market resales and a viral storm that introduced the world to the idea that baked goods could go Frankenstein and still be fabulous.

Twelve years later, mashups like the cruffin, brookie, croffle and now the bonut have evolved from novelty to near-necessity in a bakery brand’s innovation toolkit.

Sweet meets savoury

Philadelphia Cream Cheese unveiled the bonut on National Donut Day (6 June) in collaboration with Toronto’s College Street Bagels and Montreal’s Fairmount Bagel. The concept is simple but effective: a whole uncut bagel shaped like a doughnut and slathered in the brand’s newest sweet cream cheese SKUs: Blueberry and Pineapple.

“With flavour being our fans’ number one purchase driver, we knew we had a real opportunity to do something fun and bold,” said Brian Neumann, head of Brand & Creativity at Kraft Heinz Canada. “The bonut lets us reimagine the bagel in a way that’s not only playful but also challenges expectations. It’s about showing consumers there’s no single ‘right’ way to enjoy cream cheese – it can be fresh, fruity and even a little outrageous.”

According to NielsenIQ data, while 89% of cream cheese sales are in the savoury category, nearly half of consumers say they prefer sweet, highlighting a clear opportunity in the market.

“We hadn’t introduced new cream cheese flavours in over five years,” added Neumann. “With sweet flavours driving growth globally and more Canadians looking to remix their morning routines, it made sense to lead with innovation that sparks joy and fuels creativity. The bonut is just one delicious way to express that.”

Why mashups work

Initially dismissed by some market analysts as short-lived fads, bakery mashups have proven to be more than marketing gimmicks. From crookies (croissant stuffed with cookie dough that recently took Paris by storm) to duffins (doughnut + muffin) and baissants (bagel + croissant), these hybrids now occupy permanent space in bakery cases around the world.

“Consumers crave novelty but within the comfort zone of the familiar,” explains Jonna Parker, principal of Circana’s Fresh Center of Excellence. “Mashups offer the best of both worlds: new formats with nostalgic foundations. It’s that perfect tension between discovery and indulgence that keeps people coming back.”

Hybrids succeed because they do several things exceptionally well:

• They break routine. As Philadelphia’s survey found, over a third of Canadians are open to shaking up their breakfast rituals. (Leger Consumer Survey, 1,614 respondents, May 2025)
• They photograph beautifully. Mashups are engineered with visual drama in mind – oozing fillings, contrasting textures, layered colours – which gives them instant social media appeal.
• They expand cross-category possibilities. A cronut isn’t just a croissant meets doughnut: it’s also a pastry that fits into coffee shop, brunch, dessert and grab-and-go formats.
• They offer novelty and excitement. Hybrid pastries provide a new and exciting culinary experience, appealing to consumers who enjoy trying something different.
• They reinvent the classics. Hybrids give familiar flavours a new twist – like using croissant dough in a muffin shape (cruffins) or experimenting with bold fillings.
• They deliver marketing and viral potential. The novelty of hybrids creates media buzz and shares well on social platforms. The cronut, for instance, became a case study in social media-driven food fame.
• They encourage versatility and creativity. Hybrids let bakers experiment with new formats, flavour pairings and textures.
• They satisfy multiple cravings. These creations appeal to both the health-conscious and the indulgent, offering mashups that check multiple taste boxes.

This evolution in bakery culture reflects a broader shift in consumer preferences: hybrids offer something familiar with a twist, satisfying curiosity without straying too far from comfort.

As Stéphanie Brillouet, marketing director for Northern Europe and North America at Délifrance, told this site back in 2020: “It’s clear the love of hybrid products is not slowing down any time soon. From the cronut to the cruffin, croissant hybrids are exploding the category with exciting new tastes and combinations that are accessible across multiple day parts.”

She also noted that while consumers still seek comfort and nostalgia, there’s growing demand for adventure and experience in bakery. “Hybrids are a perfect way to offer both,” she said. “They bring surprise and indulgence, but with ingredients and forms people already love.”

That consumer desire remains as true today as it did back then – if not more so, as tastes become more adventurous and consumers look for something different.

According to Taste Tomorrow’s global insights, 63% of Gen Z and Millennials say they’re drawn to bakery items that offer ‘something unexpected’: a key driver behind the rise of cruffins, croffles and other hybrid creations.

Beyond the bakehouse

While many mashups start in artisan bakeries, they’re increasingly becoming mainstream.

Dunkin’ tested its Croissant Donut in 2014 as a limited time offering, which garnered enough buzz to return for several runs, though it never became a permanent item. Starbucks has dabbled in muffin hybrids over the years, including seasonal mashups like the 2022 Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffin. In the frozen aisle, snack brands such as Nestlé Toll House and Pillsbury have launched cookie-stuffed brownie bites and doughnut-glazed cake bars, both of which saw strong limited edition success.

The momentum shows no signs of slowing. From TikTok-viral hits like the Suprême (2022) to cross-cultural fusions like mochi croissants and gulab jamun doughnuts, the hybrid trend keeps pushing the flavour frontier. Frozen bakery giant Bridor, for example, has helped drive this trend with innovations like the cube croissant and topped croissants that add visual theatre and textural contrast.

“We’re seeing a convergence of cultural formats, nostalgic comfort and global curiosity,” food futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye told The Guardian. “Today’s mashups aren’t just about decadence – they’re about emotion, memory and reinvention.”

CPG giants are taking note and aren’t being shy in taking full opportunity to ramp up the momentum and excitement. Philadelphia’s bonut, for example, is being backed by a multi-platform campaign spanning Uber Eats, influencer partnerships and pop-up giveaways.

“It’s about showing up where our fans already are and offering them something that feels worth talking about,” said Neumann. “Whether it’s your morning bagel or a social scroll, we want to deliver a moment of delight.”

For bakers looking to stay relevant in a fast-moving market, mashups may be the most delicious path forward. In the words of Dominique Ansel, the godfather of mashups: “It’s about creating memories through food.”