(FORTUNE Magazine) – Warren Foster, CEO of Foster's Family Donuts, a Simi Valley, California, chain of 70 franchise outlets, is taking the evolution of the doughnut one step further. Says Foster, 60, who runs his company with three sons, two daughters, and a son-in-law: ''Friends in the industry tell me it's the first new thing to happen in doughnuts in 40 or 50 years.'' (See below for other highlights in the U.S. doughnut's 252-year history.) The ''it'' is an almost-finished doughnut that can sit sterilized and shrink-wrapped at room temperature in his stores for up to ten days. The last part of the doughnut-making process, frying off and glazing, takes but three minutes, so customers will be able to get warm, cooked-to-order bismarcks, crullers, and other favorites all day long. Foster plans 30 more franchises over the next year, and is building a $5 million plant to make the doughnuts. Says Norm Rader, technical editor of Modern Baking magazine, of Foster's invention: ''In terms of time saved and freshness of product, it's just revolutionary.''R.T.

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