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Library/Food & drink/Cronut
Grade B8 sourcesHIS-01026

Cronut

Food & drink · 2013 · Niche

27Editable slideCertificate

A $5 croissant-doughnut hybrid drew queues and international imitations.

Spread Score

How it works
ReachNo data yetContagionNo data yetBreadth20Velocity37LongevityNo data yet27

Numbers

Seed to peak
4 weeks
May 10 ’13 to Jun 5 ’13
Platforms
2
Started on Retail
Origin
Seeded
Food & beverage

Mechanics

  • Scarcity dropPrimary
  • Dupe economy
  • Press loop

How it spread

Trace the origin

Dominique Ansel sold the Cronut in New York. Daily sell-outs drew national coverage, resellers and overseas imitations. A decade later, Ansel said it still sold out daily.

Jan ’13MayJunAugFeb ’14SepMay ’16Jan ’18Sep ’19May ’21Jan ’23AugPressRetail
PressRetail

5 more events on this chart

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Timeline (8)

  1. May 2013

    Grub Street precursor · May 9 ’13

    Grub Street previewed the pastry before sales began.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. Dominique Ansel seed · May 10 ’13

    Dominique Ansel Bakery began selling the Cronut in New York.[1][6]

  3. ABC News press · May 20 ’13

    ABC News reported daily queues and sell-outs within an hour.[2]

Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
  1. 2026-10-16Added: 6 events, 6 sources · Score 27
Origin
Seeded
Sector
Food & beverage
Region
US
Reported figure
—
Evidence
Grade B

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50M impressions

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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Jan ’13MayJunAugFeb ’14SepMay ’16Jan ’18Sep ’19May ’21Jan ’23AugPressRetail
PressRetail

5 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. May 2013

    Grub Street precursor · May 9 ’13

    Grub Street previewed the pastry before sales began.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. Dominique Ansel seed · May 10 ’13

    Dominique Ansel Bakery began selling the Cronut in New York.[1][6]

  3. ABC News press · May 20 ’13

    ABC News reported daily queues and sell-outs within an hour.[2]

  1. commercial · May 30 ’13

  2. peak · Jun 5 ’13

Join free to see the other 5 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

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