Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme is a multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain founded in North Carolina, in the United States. It is best known for its glazed doughnut, which the brand helped popularize both at home and abroad.

History

Vernon Rudolph began working in 1933, at eighteen, for his uncle Ishmael Armstrong, who ran a general store in Paducah, Kentucky, where doughnuts were the star product. The recipe is traditionally linked to Joseph LeBeouf, a barge cook on the Ohio River, though its exact origin is not fully clear. After the Great Depression hit, the pair moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1934 opened The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Company.

In 1937 Rudolph opened his own shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in a building in what is now the historic district of Old Salem. At first he sold mainly to convenience stores, but he also served individual customers who came during overnight production. The first store outside the South opened in Akron, Ohio, in 1939, and in 1976 the company became part of Beatrice Foods until a group of franchisees bought it back in 1982.

After listing on the NASDAQ in 2000, the chain grew quickly, and in 2001 it opened its first store outside the United States, in Ontario, Canada. Rapid expansion brought market saturation and questioned accounting practices, and in 2016 the group returned to private ownership under JAB Holding Company.

Culture

Krispy Kreme doughnuts are closely tied to the experience of eating them hot, fresh from production, a promise the company turned into a selling point with tunnel-oven shops and its all-day Hot Now experience. The chain also sells through gas stations, shopping centers and hypermarkets, which places it in the everyday routines of many American families. It competes with Dunkin' Donuts, Winchell's Donuts and Mister Donut, and its international presence includes Mexico, Japan, Australia and Spain, among other countries.

Trivia