Strategy for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Situation Analysis IV. SWOT V. Primary Research VI. Findings VII. Recommendations VIII. The company is now privately owned by JAB that purchased it for $1. 35 billion in 2016. This paper explores and proposes a campaign communication strategy for the American doughnut brand, Krispy Kreme. The research conducted focuses on establishing a marketing plan for a business whose success originated from word of mouth, and a reputation dating back more than eighty years ago. This study analyzes possibilities for digital marketing strategies as well as grass root events that can assist in promoting the brand. Situation Analysis: Company: Mission statement: To touch and enhance lives through the joy that is Krispy Kreme Vision: To be the worldwide leader in sharing delicious tastes and creating joyful memories Krispy Kreme was started by Vernon Rudolph in 1937 after he was inspired by secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe from an Ohio River barge cook named Joe Lebeau, who was famous for delicious fluffy doughnuts.

The company’s products were well received by consumers and as a result of their success they set up their headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, what is now referred to as Old Salem. Initially, the company operated as wholesale distributors and would deliver their doughnuts to local grocery stores. With time, they incorporated Krispy Kreme stand-alone stores to their business model which rapidly expanded over 20 years and consequently one of their critical issues became the quality control of their signature doughnuts. The growth and persistent inconsistency in the company necessitated improvements and in order to improve their methods of mass production Vernon Rudolph with the assistance of a team of engineers developed a mixing plant which became the patented Krispy Kreme's doughnut-making equipment.

Krispy Kreme has capitalized on being the first ones in the doughnut category and has improved greatly today as it is now divided into the following business lines: store operations, franchise operations, and manufacturing and distribution operations. Krispy Kreme sells over seven million doughnuts a day to stores in over twenty-four countries around the world. (How Krispy Kreme - Ceros Blog. 2017, March 10). Product: Krispy Kreme provides for their customers a variety of products ranging from doughnuts to coffees, shakes, baked creations and frozen blends. An original glazed doughnut contains 216 calories and has the fewest calories of all the company's products. Their chocolate iced doughnut with crème flavor filling has 339 calories. (Ford, K. Collaborations with brands like Hershey, Oreo, and Reese's have helped the brand increase in popularity throughout the years.

What this brand sells along with the doughnut is the intoxicating aroma and the experience of ordering this treat from a factory driven-production line. The Krispy Kreme app that notifies loyal customers when the doughnuts are hot and ready to serve has also led the way to a younger demographic. Consumer profile The Smith family has lived in California for as long as they can remember and almost everyone in the neighborhood describes them as ‘the friendly African Americans’ as they have managed to maintain good relationships with others. John, now a father of six carries on the Smith name and just like the other members of the family, has turned North Carolina into his home. John is a school teacher, a deacon at his local church and is still very athletic despite now being a 50 years old father.

Growing up, his parent, just like his grandparents, had made it a family tradition to drive to Krispy Kreme and get a taste of these delicious doughnuts. Overall doughnut consumption shows a steady increase projecting 205. 63 million Americans by the year 2020 (Consumption of donuts/doughnuts 2011-2020 | Statistic). Competitive: Aside from the millions of privately owned bakeries, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts competes primarily with Dunkin Brands, Mister Donut, J. CO Donuts, Mad Over Donuts, Doughnut Time, McDonald's, Starbucks, and Donut King, just to name a few. While most of these brands compete for the same donut-loving consumers, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks rely on their coffee to bring in customers while Krispy Kreme relies on their doughnuts. III. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths: • The mechanical ability to produce their product in mass quantities while still providing consistent taste.

• Range in convenience availability as they can be found in supermarkets, gas stations, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. • Eagerness to invest in expansion; 395 stores within 40 states in the U. S. • Not meant for everyday consumption. Opportunities: • The opportunity to explore new possibilities of social media advertisements. • Expand their menu to include health-conscious options. • Location expansion within the mid-western U. S. forbes. com/sites/allenadamson/2012/02/09/for-krispy-kreme-loyal-fans- have-been-the-powerful-branding-app-of-choice-for-75-years/ - 388067f26b5b Consumption of donuts / doughnuts 2011-2020 | Statistic. Retrieved February 27, 2018, from https://www. statista. com/statistics/283198/us-households-consumption-of-donuts-- doughnuts-trend/ Ford, K. d. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://infoscout. co/brand/krispy_kreme Krispy Kreme - Doughnuts, Coffee, Sundaes, Shakes & Drinks. (n. d. forbes. com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2013/04/25/dunkin- brands-or-krispy-kreme/#6e8ed1756c30 Overstreet, J. (2013, January 13). Why Krispy Kreme resonates with Millennials.