Reiwa Youth Survey: Which Number-Shaped Doughnut Would You Buy? No.1 is '8' for Its 'Great Value'

June 5th is 'Doughnut Day' this year.

The origin dates back to World War I.

It is a day established to honor the female volunteers, known as 'Doughnut Girls', who provided doughnuts to American soldiers on the front lines and boosted their morale.

In celebration of Doughnut Day, what if a doughnut shop had 'number-shaped' doughnuts...

Which number shape would make you want to buy it?

Wakamono Research, a marketing information site for current high school students and teenagers (https://wakamono-research.co.jp/media/),

conducted a survey of young people (male and female) aged 14 to 19 nationwide,

asking: 'Which number-shaped doughnut would you be most tempted to buy?'

Here are the results, presented in a ranking format.

[1st Place is '8'! Comments include 'Two rings for a great deal' and 'Looks like a bigger area']

The survey results showed that the top spot went to '8' (34.9%),

indicating that one in three young people would be attracted to an '8'-shaped doughnut.

The most common reasons were overwhelmingly related to 'value for money':

'Because it has two rings'

'It feels like a better deal with two rings'

'It feels like getting two doughnuts'

'Two doughnuts stuck together feels like a bargain'

It seems the number '8' has the visual power to suggest 'two treats in one'.

Furthermore,

'It looks like double the size of a doughnut'

'You can eat the equivalent of two doughnuts'

'It looks like two portions'

There was a tendency among young people to imagine two standard round doughnuts stuck together.

This led to them seeing the benefit of a 'sharable doughnut':

'You can share it with someone'

'You can split it in half'

'It feels like you've eaten two'

It became clear that young people associate the '8' doughnut with the values of 'good value', 'large quantity', and 'shareability'.

Selling an '8'-shaped doughnut large enough to share might actually be a hit with Reiwa-era youth.

Other reasons included:

'It looks like there's more to eat area-wise'

'The eating area seems the largest'

'There's a lot of doughnut to eat'

'I'm happy because there's plenty of edible part'

Many young people cited the larger quantity as a reason, suggesting that '8' is also effective for a 'cost-performance' perspective in doughnut selection.

Comments on the visual aspect were also notable:

'It's round and cute'

'It looks like a ribbon and is cute'

'Two stuck together is interesting'

Some young people saw it as 'Instagrammable' due to its cuteness and impact.

Others associated it with the positive image of the infinity symbol:

'Because it's the shape of infinity'

'I want to turn it sideways to make ∞ and say our friendship is infinite'

'It's lucky'

Coming in second place was '0' (28.5%).

While it's the first shape that comes to mind for a doughnut, it just missed the top spot.

However, the comments show a high level of trust in '0':

'Because it looks the most like a doughnut'

'It's the quintessential doughnut shape'

'It's full of doughnut vibes'

'It's practically a doughnut'

'It's just a regular doughnut!'

It seems '0' is perceived as the 'perfect form needing no explanation', essentially equating to 'doughnut'.

Also, many young people cited it as 'classic', 'standard', and 'reliable':

'It's the orthodox choice'

'It's a staple'

'It's the safest bet'

'Stable donut with a hole'

There were also comments like 'I prefer the usual' and 'I like things as they are', suggesting that a simple round doughnut might feel more reassuring than a quirky number shape.

On the other hand, there were some illogical responses:

'Because 0 means zero calories'

One super-positive young person said, 'If I think it's 0 calories, I feel like the calories are zero.'

This suggests that some young people might be telling themselves, 'This is a zero-calorie doughnut, so it's okay to eat it!' when they see a '0'-shaped doughnut in a store.

Third place went to '7' (6.9%).

The reasons centered around the image of 'lucky 7':

'Because it's lucky 7'
'It seems like it would make me happy'
'Lucky Seven!'

It seems these young people feel that eating it might bring them good luck.

Other, more unique associations included:

'It looks like a gun and catches the eye'
'It looks like a Möbius strip'
'It would be amazing if they could make it'

Some young people seem interested in '7' as a 'somewhat unusual doughnut'.

[Reasons for 4th place and below become increasingly personal!]

With the top three accounting for 70% of the responses, the rankings from 4th place onwards were very close.

Fourth place went to '2' (5.2%).

Comments were mainly from young people who have an affinity for the shape of '2', such as 'I like the number 2' and 'The font of 2 is nice'.

A characteristic point was the emergence of worried comments like 'It seems impossible', indicating difficulty in imagining how a '2'-shaped doughnut could be made.

Fifth place was '3' (4.9%).

Reasons included 'It's kind of cute' and 'The shape