In the second half of this year, McDonald’s will begin selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the United States. This move results from a business partnership between McDonald’s, which aims to maximize its sales, and Krispy Kreme, which is looking to expand its distribution channels.
News of the partnership sparked interest and led to a 40% surge in Krispy Kreme’s stock price. However, such a collaboration is unlikely to be witnessed in South Korea.
According to major foreign media outlets on the 31st, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts’ US headquarters announced on the 26th (local time) that it has partnered with McDonald’s. Starting in the second half of this year, three types of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, including the Original Glazed, will be distributed in select McDonald’s stores across the United States.
US media outlets evaluated this as an opportunity for Krispy Kreme to expand its distribution channels. At the end of last year, Krispy Kreme doughnuts were available in approximately 6,800 third-party stores across the US, while McDonald’s operates around 14,000 stores.
In October 2022, Krispy Kreme had previously sold doughnuts in 160 McDonald’s stores as a trial run. The successful trial has led to the expansion of their distribution channels.
Following the announcement on the 27th (local time), Krispy Kreme’s stock price in the US market closed at $17.35, recording a 39.36% increase from the previous day.
In contrast to the heated response in the US, the South Korean market is taking a wait-and-see approach.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts entered the Korean market in 2014 when Lotte Shopping signed a business contract. The doughnuts were known to be the favorites of Shin Dong Bin, the Lotte Group’s chairman, during his US study abroad. After a brief split into LotteKKD, it merged with Lotteria and is currently operated by LotteGRS.
While LotteGRS views the collaboration as enjoyable, it believes that the situation in the domestic market is entirely different. In addition to Krispy Kreme doughnuts, LotteGRS operates other brands such as Lotteria and Angel-In-Us.
A representative from LotteGRS said, “While distributing through McDonald’s in the US would improve its accessibility, why would we go through McDonald’s if we were to collaborate domestically? Lotteria, which has a presence even in regional markets, has better accessibility in Korea.”
McDonald’s Korea also expressed a “Why bother” stance. While various collaborations and marketing strategies from the global headquarters do trickle down to overseas branches, they deem it necessary to monitor the reaction in the US market first.
A representative from McDonald’s Korea stated, “While it’s a new attempt, it’s too early to discuss it in the Korean market.”
