Review: Krispy Kreme X Hershey's 2026 Chocomania Collection Tops Last Year's

In the mid-1960s, the world's ears were infected with an unforgettable case of Beatlemania. Over six decades later, Krispy Kreme has been attempting to inflect its own craze on taste buds with Chocomania, with a lot of help from its friends over at Hershey's. Chocolate doughnuts are not a foreign affair at Krispy Kreme, but ones dressed up with Hershey's chocolate are a rare treat worth gobbling up. That was certainly the case with 2025's edition of Chocomania, which The Takeout felt was one of Kristy Kreme's best works of the year.

Krispy Kreme isn't beating around the bush in 2026, kicking off Chocomania at its earliest calendar launch date yet, with four entirely new doughnuts to get our fingers around. The wrinkle with this year's set is a uniform chocolate glaze coating across these doughnuts. In a statement, Alison Holder, Krispy Kreme's Chief Brand and Product Officer noted that this fresh chocolate glaze "elevates the taste and indulgence to create a chocolate experience you won't want to miss." She added that "Chocomania 'gone glazed' is chocolate done right!"

So, is Krispy Kreme and Hershey's 2026 edition of the Chocomania Collection the stuff sweet chocolate dreams are made of, or is it all perhaps a choco-lot for any one mouth to take on? The Takeout took out a dozen of this Collection for spin, and we are now ready to tell all in this chocolatey chew & review.

On the first day of its release, I headed over to my nearby Krispy Kreme in Manhattan to pick up a dozen of this latest collaboration with Hershey's, the Chocomania Collection. I returned to my home where the doughnuts were consumed. I determined the order of eating them based on the number of toppings, from least to most. The order was Hershey's Chocolate Original Glazed Doughnut, then the Chocolate Party Doughnut, followed by the Chocolate Cheesecake Doughnut, and with the Chocolate Chip Cookie Doughnut left as "dessert." After an initial round of tasting, a second round commenced for comparisons between the four.

This review is a summation of my own personal tastes and opinions, especially with chocolate, and Hershey's in particular. I also took into consideration my previous experiences with Krispy Kreme, particularly with last year's Chocomania Collection, and my current experience with the new iteration available this year. The ultimate criteria considered for this chew and review were flavor, appearance, presentation, smell, texture, temperature, familiarity, originality, uniqueness, Hersheyocity, and whether or not I was fully swept up by Chocomania ... or not.

Hershey's Chocolate dates back to 1894. Krispy Kreme started to make some of the best doughnuts ever 43 years later in 1937. These two bastions of sweet indulgences were like two passing ships in the night for the longest time, until bits of Hershey's Gold Bar adorned a Krispy Kreme doughnut in 2018. That small collaboration was just a taste of things to come. In 2024, they two upped the ante by introducing a whole set of limited run Hershey-fied doughnuts called The Chocomania Collection. The mania returned in 2025, with three entirely new choc-ed up entries, plus an encore of the Hershey's Classic Chocolate Doughnut.

In 2026, for the third year running, Chocomania is back, but with a bite of a glazed twist. There are four new doughnuts in this collection, and each start with a new Hershey's Chocolate Original Glazed Doughnut as its base. One of the doughnuts is simply a plain version of that, and the other three have a little extra added on top. There's the Chocolate Party Doughnut, where the Hershey's glaze is decked out with chocolate drizzle and rainbow nonpareils. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Doughnut is dipped in chocolate icing and then dusted with Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie Crunch. Last, but not least, is the Chocolate Cheesecake Doughnut, where the Hershey's glaze doughnut is topped with cheesecake swirl and some Hershey's mini chocolate chips.

The Chocomania Collection is returning to participating nationwide locations of Krispy Kreme, starting January 27. They will remain on racks, until the mania ends on February 1.The four doughnuts in this collection are available to order any time a Krispy Kreme is open for business, while supplies last.

The doughnuts can be purchased as a specialty dozen, which includes three of each of the four flavors, a 3 count box, or they can be purchased à la carte. Prices will vary per location, but the specialty dozen in New York City retailed at one location for $23.49, and the 3 count box for $10.69. The Hershey's Chocolate Original Glazed sold for $2.59 per doughnut, while the other three flavors retailed for $2.99 each.

The doughnuts can be ordered in person at the store, directly at the counter, at a kiosk, or drive-thru, where available. Advanced orders for dine-in, pick-up, or delivery can be placed through Krispy Kreme's app or website. Prices may be higher for delivery orders or ones placed through third parties, and additional fees may apply as well.

All four doughnuts contain eggs, milk, soy, and wheat. The Hershey's Chocolate Original Glazed Doughnut contains 220 calories, 11 grams of total fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 115 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 13 grams of sugars, and 3 grams of protein. Similarly, the Hershey's Chocolate Party Doughnut, has 230 calories, 12 grams of total fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 115 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugars, and 3 grams of protein. 

Hershey's Chocolate Cheesecake Doughnut contains 290 calories, 15 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 23 grams of sugars, and 3 grams of protein. While the words cream nor cheese appear in its ingredient list, the sweet sight of semi-sweet chocolate chips do.

Lastly, Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie Doughnut has 340 calories, 15 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 150 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 29 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein. Its cookie pieces are made with flour and sugar, corn syrup, butter, eggs, skim milk, vanilla flavor, soy lecithin, baking soda, and salt.

In my Chocomania Collection dozen box, the Hershey's Chocolate Original Glazed Doughnut stood out by actually trying to not do so. This unassuming little feller was the only doughnut in this collection with no additional decoration. Since all the doughnuts featured the same shiny, light brown glaze, I figured it was best to try it out for size first, and set the tone for tasting to come.

The glaze had a typical milk chocolate aroma, but I wouldn't outwardly say it smelled like a Hershey's bar. The doughnut was practically weightless, and when held in my hand, felt as if it was ready to defy gravity and float above my palm. The glaze covered the entire top of the Krispy Kreme doughnut, with a little of it creeping to its bottom side.

I took a knife and cut a sliver of just the glaze. It's a very thin layer, and a quick bite confirmed something obvious — it tasted like chocolate, but high quality chocolate. I next took a full bite of the doughnut, and enjoyed that one bite so much I continued straight on with more, but without taking time to reflect on it (that's a good thing). The chocolate had a nice sugary sweetness to it, was devoid of bitterness, and matched-up quite nicely with the soft doughnut.

I always enjoy a good party, so I decided to invite myself to the Chocolate Party Doughnut next. It's appearance was basically a jazzed up, rainbow version of the Hershey's Chocolate Original Glazed Doughnut. Each of the three doughnuts I had of the Party one had similar looking zaggy stripes, but, like a snowflake, no two doughnuts were alike. I worried the nonpareil sprinkles would start to tumble off the doughnut as soon as I picked it up, but alas, the chocolate drizzle atop did a solid job of keeping them all in place. I leaned in for a quick whiff, and its aroma seemed to carbon copy the plain Chocolate Glazed one I just tried.

Before taking a full bite, I cut off a piece of the chocolate drizzle and a bunch of the little tiny sprinkles. They tasted as expected, more of a topping employed for aesthetic design purposes than to add much flavor to the affair. I next took a full bite of the doughnut, it was a yummy encore presentation of the Hershey's Chocolate Original Glazed Doughnut, but with the addition of a cool, textured crunch from those sprinkles.

Next on the docket was the Chocolate Cheesecake Doughnut. This was perhaps the most attractive of the quartet, with its creamy white swirl popping atop the now very familiar brown glaze terrain that served as the base. That cozy looking icing was further decorated with mini morsels of chocolate chips. Out of my three Chocolate Cheesecake Doughnuts, the amount of chips greatly differed, from plentiful to one that looked to have about only five entrenched in the icing. Leaning in for a smell here, the chocolate chips let their presence be known, adding a dark bitterness to the collection.

I used my trusty tasting knife and easily scoop up a bit of the cheesecake icing. I was happy to find its consistency was soft rather than being lightly crusty, like some icings can be, especially after sitting out. It had an excellent flavor to it, like a more vanilla-forward cream cheese frosting. I grabbed a few of the chocolate chips next and they worked their usual magic. Their taste was far less bittersweet than their aroma gave off, and brought about that Hershey's flavor profile our mouths were well accustomed to.

Taken as a full bite, the chocolate glaze ended up having the most dominant taste, with the chocolate chips reinforcing the doughnut's chocolaty bona fides. At first, the cream cheese frosting didn't seem like it could keep pace with its chocolate partners, but its comely smoothness worked wonders in a more low key role.

After three doughnuts, my mouth was practically drowning in chocolate, but I had to press on and try the final one in the collection — the Chocolate Chip Cookie Doughnut. Like the Party Doughnut before it, this one too looked like its toppings were ready at a moment's notice to free themselves and tumble down from their perch. Again, the glaze did a good job of keeping the toppings in place, and there were a lot of them to hold onto. The organized mess on top appeared like what I imagine Cookie Monster's floor must look like, a crumbled mish-mash of chocolate chip cookies.

I picked this one up, and it had a weighty denseness to it. The crumbles also let off a bit of dustiness, making it the most "messy" of the four. With the chocolate chips also on board here, this doughnut had a similar essence to the Chocolate Cheesecake Doughnut.

I broke off some of the cookie pieces from the doughnut's top. They were more crunchy than soft, but tasted like an actual cookie, rather than something perhaps masquerading as one. Taking a full bite, the chocolate flavoring came on in full blast. The cookie here also played a supporting role, mainly adding a crumbly surface to counterbalance the other elements, like the thin glaze and hard shell of the chocolate chips. Each bite felt like something new, and yet the chocolate flavoring reigned supreme, as it should have.

I was a big fan of last year's Krispy Kreme x Hershey's Chocomania Collection. Looking back, there was a clear winner in the pack. This year, the competition between the four new doughnut entries was so fierce that it was almost hard to pick an outright winner. 

I got on so well with Hershey's Chocolate Original Glazed Doughnut that I couldn't help but finish it immediately. I personally believe it should be permanently added to Krispy Kreme's catalog. The Party version, with the rainbow sprinkles, added a fun crunch, but wasn't necessarily an upgrade. Still, I cannot deny its goodness, and I'm sure plenty of kids will love its pleasingly colorful appearance.

The Chocolate Cheesecake Doughnut and Chocolate Chip Cookie Doughnut seem to be rehashes from last year, but were totally different. The Chocolate Chip Cookie one may have perhaps been the most manic of the Chocomania ones. Krispy Kreme has been playing with cheesecake a lot recently, having an awesome New York Cheesecake Filled Doughnut on the menu, and recently releasing a seasonal Raspberry Cheesecake one where the artificial fruit flavoring does it a disservice. The Chocolate Cheesecake Doughnut lands right in the middle on the cheesecake scale, but mainly because its job is to add a small diversion to the chocolate.