Start Craving! (Krispy Kreme)

Member Name: blonde_girl774

Product:	Krispy Kreme
Date:	18/07/08 (345 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious Donuts.

Disadvantages: The Cost.

Under a year ago I discovered a little gem of a shop that had somehow managed to remain hidden from me for many years... Krispy Kreme. Ever since discovering it I must be honest and admit that I have developed a slight addiction where I actually find myself craving their delicious donuts at ridiculous times of the night even!

The Brand

Krispy Kreme is an American brand which is hinted at somewhat by the brand name and was set up back in 1937 by a guy called Vernon Rudolph in North Carolina. He first started selling hot donuts to customers through a wall in his grocery store and soon found that this one product was making him a fortune. During the 1940s and 1950s he opened a chain of stores throughout his local area and by the 1990s they were cropping up throughout America.

The first Krispy Kreme store opened in the UK back in 2003 in Harrods and since then they've built up a small empire in the UK with stores being found in London, Oxford and Manchester to name just a few. They're biggest breakthrough into the UK industry was just this year when they struck up a deal with Tesco to sell their donuts within larger Tesco stores around the country, making them accessible to more people in the UK than ever before.

The Shop

I've only ever been into two Krispy Kreme shops but have found them both to be laid out in a very similar design. They've clearly tried to keep the American trend when it came to décor and it reminds me very much of an old fashioned American diner such as those seen in the movie Grease. It's not exactly the most modern or the more stylish of interiors and although it does look a little cheap and somewhat dated it does work quite well and suits the brand.

Nearly half of the store is devoted to actually baking the donuts which are all made on the premises, in my local store near The Trafford Centre you can actually see the donuts going around on the large conveyor belt and while you're waiting to be served there's usually someone handing out free hot donuts to sample while you wait. The larger stand alone stores come complete with a dining and seating area while the smaller stores are more like Millie's Cookies.

I personally always tend to pick up my donuts and take them home with me but it is a nice alternative if you're looking to have a sit down and a coffee while you eat your donuts. The stores themselves aren't really anything special but the staff I've encountered have always been really friendly, some of them in the store near to The Trafford Centre are a little hyper even! I've never had bad service on any of my visits and that says a lot I think!

The Product

So finally we get onto the most important bit of the review... the actual product! Krispy Kreme is undoubtedly most famous for its range of fifteen different donuts but they also offer a range of drinks to accompany the donuts. These include coffees such as lattes and mochas as well as a range of frozen fruit blends including chocolate, mango and strawberry flavours which seem to be a little like crushed fruit smoothies with ice in them.

Glazed Donut - This is the original Krispy Kreme donut from back in 1937 and is still their most popular product. The original receipe has apparently changed very little over the years and is a simple donut with a sugar glaze on the top.

Chocolate Dreamcake - This is ideal for anyone who likes a bit of chocolate as it is filled with thick chocolate, topped with chocolate icing and finished off with dark and white chocolate curls. Ideal for any chocoholics out there!

Glazed Raspberry Filled - This is a similar donut to those found in many supermarkets but it's so much better tasting! It's a glazed donut similar to the original donut but it has a zesty raspberry filling to it that it simply delicious!

Strawberries & Kreme - This is one of their newest inventions and has only actually been available since June. It's filled with a strawberry and cream filling then dipped in a strawberry glaze and finished with bits of strawberry on top.

That's just a selection of the choices on offer, they'll certainly be something to suit even the fussiest of eaters in Krispy Kreme and if you're not a fan of fillings you won't be able to resist the original Glazed Donut option. They are a little sickly if you eat more than one or two at a time though! In addition to all of this they've also started doing a range of pre-packed sandwiches and cold drinks in fridges in their larger stores to appeal to a wider audience.

The Cost

Now this is the only downfall to Krispy Kreme as the donuts don't come cheap at all! The individual donuts are priced differently depending on which one you choose for but the majority of them seem to be around 70p up to £1.10 for the more extravagant options. As with every shop they always have an offer on to encourage you to buy more and when I last visited it was approximately £8.00 for 12 donuts which works out a little cheaper than buying them individually.

The drinks are priced a little lower that somewhere like Starbucks with medium options of coffees costing around £2.00 and the colder drinks being priced similarly. It's certainly not a cheap place to visit but does seem to be in line with stores similar to this one such as Millie's Cookies where you'll pay around 99p for a single cookie. If you're planning to visit here like I do it'll be as a treat and I tend to only buy two or three donuts purely based on their price.

My Opinion

I really like Krispy Kreme and don't think donuts from any other shop even come close to their donuts. The stores are always really clean and the staff are always really pleasant. I've only had to queue a couple of times and that's been at a weekend when it can get quite busy. Some stores have even introduced a drive through option which does take the queuing time down somewhat and is ideal if you're in a rush or don't want to sit in to eat.

If you've never heard of the brand and never visited one of their outlets before then I'd certainly recommend you do so. Remember to look out for the Krispy Kreme Hot sign being lit up outside the store as this means they're actually cooking fresh donuts and you'll be able to sample one for free straight from the conveyor belt. Nothing quite beats that melt in the mouth feeling of a freshly baked and hot donut - go on, treat yourself!

Thanks for reading.

Summary: An American donut store which is establishing itself in the UK now.