Krispy Kreme is a chain of doughnut stores. Its parent company is Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (nyse: KKD), based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States.

Krispy Kreme sells a variety of doughnuts, but it is most famous for its traditional glazed doughnut, often served warm. Select varieties of Krispy Kreme doughnuts are carried in many grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. Krispy Kreme doughnuts can also be found in some larger Wal-Mart and Target stores in the United States; Wal-Mart, Loblaws supermarkets, and Petro-Canada gas stations in Canada; and now many Tesco supermarkets and Tesco Extra hypermarkets in the United Kingdom.

The company's growth was steady prior to its initial public offering but profits have decreased in recent quarters.

As of February 2008, Kuwait-based M A Kharafi Group owned 9.1% of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.

Most free-standing Krispy Kreme stores are constructed with a long window between the customer area and the kitchen allowing patrons to watch the operation of the doughnut making machines. The machines produce rings of dough, raise yeast, bake, deep-fry, flip, and glaze the doughnuts. These stores have a neon sign that, when lit (usually morning and evening), tells customers that hot, fresh Original Glazed doughnuts are coming off the line at that moment. Some smaller locations, however, bring in their doughnuts from other locations rather than producing them on-site. Krispy Kreme's competitors within the United States include Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, and Winchell's.

History

By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was well-known throughout the southeastern United States, and it began to expand into other areas of the country.

In 1976, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Beatrice Foods of Chicago, Illinois. The headquarters for Krispy Kreme remained in Winston-Salem.

A group of franchisees purchased the corporation back from Beatrice Foods in 1982.

On June 3, 2005, National Doughnut Day in the US, participating franchises gave away free doughnuts.

On February 19, 2007, Krispy Kreme began selling the Whole Wheat Glazed doughnut in an attempt to appeal to the health conscious. The doughnut has twenty kilocalories (83,736 J) fewer than the original glazed (180 vs. 200 kcal) and contains more fiber (2 grams vs. 0.5 grams). As of January 2008, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are free of trans fats and are labeled as "0 grams of trans fat".