Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph in 1933; the first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop was opened in Winston- Salem, North Carolina. He believed that the key Krispy Kreme expansion was to control each step of the doughnut making process. With the death of founder Vernon Rudoplh in 1973 growth in the company slowed as it reorganized its sale to Beatrice Foods Company in 1976. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is a specialty retailer of doughnuts. The company's principal business owns and franchising Krispy Kreme doughnut stores. In 2001 Krispy Kreme Doughnuts operates a popular chain of doughnut shops with about 181 locations in 28 states. The company offers more than 20 varieties of doughnuts.
Although its word of mouth marketing strategy has been successful this far, Krispy Kreme might run into problems as it looks to expand into foreign markets. The company may need to take a different marketing approach in foreign markets.
Obviously, in a foreign market that has not been exposed to the Krispy Kreme product, word of mouth will not play an initial or important role in advertising. Krispy Kreme strategy to expand into international location could be a problem for the company, they need to take a different market strategy because with the success they had in the U.S. may not be that great in the foreign market. Krispy Kreme spent very little on advertising to introduce their products in the U.S. They relied mostly on publicity to get to new markets.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts will be very competitive. They make a quality product and they provide it in a warm environment with great service. They are priced very competitively also; around fifty cents for an original glazed donut. Krispy Kreme has also started a new line of coffee and frozen cappuccino drinks to better get a hold of their position in the market. Besides offering great doughnuts, they also offer the chance to watch the donuts being made.