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.