Krispy Kreme returned to the public market in July this year and hit the ground running with a strategy to get freshly made doughnuts into more places around the globe.
The doughnut chain had spent five years as part of the JAB Holding Co. portfolio. Mike Tattersfield, previously CEO of Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels, was there throughout working with Krispy Kreme as a board member and, in 2017, as president and CEO.
The 84-year-old Krispy Kreme is six years into a transformation, moving away from the legacy “longer shelf life” wholesale doughnut to capitalize on the freshly made treats.
“It’s how do you make sure we maintain this amazing brand called Krispy Kreme, and keep it really focused on doing doughnuts exceptionally well,” said Tattersfield. “It was about taking control of the operation where we should. It’s not about building doughnut shops everywhere. It’s about leveraging an omnichannel model.”
The chain is leveraging its 381 experiential “Hot Light Theater” doughnut shops and smaller fresh doughnut factories as “hubs” to serve a growing number of “spoke” access points — from grocery and convenience stores to food trucks and carts, to which fresh doughnuts are delivered daily.
For the Oct. 3-ended third quarter, Krispy Kreme doughnuts were available at more than 10,000 locations in 31 countries, and revenues grew 18% globally. Adjusted net income rose 7.1% to $12.6 million.
Krispy Kreme is also growing its e-commerce business, which during the third quarter accounted for about 17% of sales. Tattersfield believes there’s a lot of opportunity for holiday-related doughnut gifting and having dozens delivered for gatherings of friends and family.
Listen to Tattersfield explain why Krispy Kreme is doubling down on its fresh-doughnut strategy.
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