1937
We Opened Our Doors
Vernon Rudolph bought a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe from a New Orleans French chef, rented a building in what is now historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, NC and began selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts to local grocery stores.
The delicious scent of cooking doughnuts drifted into the streets, and passers-by stopped to ask if they could buy hot doughnuts. So, he cut a hole in an outside wall and started selling hot Original Glazed doughnuts directly to customers on the sidewalk.
1945
Birth of the Display Case
After the war, a showcase was designed for our eye catching doughnuts. The top served as the counter and since cake doughnuts and cake sticks were alongside yeast doughnuts, an attractive display could be made of the variety on offer. The display case is a feature you can't miss when entering our stores today!
1945
The Original Glazed
While times had changed a lot, the company’s signature Original Glazed Doughnut stayed the same.
1955
Bowtie Gets Trademarked
The Krispy Kreme bowtie logo is trademarked with familiar green and red colouring.
1989
First Retail Store
The first retail-only store is opened which brings the doughnuts out to the customer on the 180 curve production line. This first location is on High Point Road in Greensboro, NC.
We are our own blend of genuine ingredients and that includes each of our unique employees.
1992
Birth of the Hotlight
The ‘Hot Now’ light was developed. When the light is glowing it means we are making fresh doughnuts. So when you see the light on in one of our doughnut Theatre stores come in and try one of our signature Original Glazed® doughnuts hot!
2015
1000 Stores Worldwide
We opened our 1000th store in 2015 in Kansas City, KS, USA. This was a massive milestone for the brand.
2018
Ireland Launch
We now have 14 shops in Ireland as well as over 80 cabinets in our retail partner outlets.