Krispy Kreme | The Doughnuts that could conquer the world

Krispy Kreme hopes to open up 25 new stores in the UK and Ireland over the next 5 years, and up to 30 in Australia and New Zealand. That still leaves another 100+ countries up for grabs.

They’ve been around in the U.S. since 1937. It’s about time Krispy Kreme’s hot original glazed doughnuts conquer the rest of the world. Probably unbeknownst to millions of North American Krispy Kreme doughnut addicts, is the fact that the rest of the world is pretty much Krispy Kreme free. The company, which started way back in 1937, operates 282 stores, raking in close to a billion dollars a year by selling what some consider to be the best and most luscious doughnuts on earth (ranging from ‘powdered blueberry filled’ to ‘maple glazed’). Krispy Kreme’s focus on freshness and top quality, its in-store experience (doughnuts are made on the premises, for all to see and smell), and its involvement with local neighborhoods give Krispy Kreme a Starbucks-kind of feel and aura. It is surprising, therefore, to learn that international expansion has only just begun, in 2002 to be precise, with franchise deals having taken place in Canada, Australia and the UK. That leaves another 185 countries or so deprived of ‘hot original glazed’ doughnuts, the kind that makes American consumers literally line up for hours every time Krispy Kreme adds a new doughnut variety or opens a new store.

Opportunities