Kentucky Residents Will Be Able to Get Krispy Kreme Doughnuts at McDonald's

Starting March 21, 2023, many Kentucky residents will be able to get a Krispy Kreme doughnut to go with their McDonald’s coffee. The fast food chain recently announced that it will sell Krispy Kreme doughnuts at about 160 Kentucky locations.

The move is an expansion of a market test McDonald’s launched in October 2022. Since Oct. 26, 2022, Krispy Kreme doughnuts have been sold in nine Louisville-area McDonald’s restaurants. Three flavors of the popular doughnuts were available all day for in-restaurant and drive-thru orders. With the expansion, Krispy Kreme doughnuts will also be available via McDelivery on the McDonald’s app.

“The expanded test will help us learn more about operational impact on a larger scale as well as explore customer demand,” McDonald’s official said in a Feb. 27, 2023, press release. “And this time around, there are even more ways for fans to satisfy their Krispy Kreme craving.”

Three flavors of the popular Krispy Kreme doughnuts will be available at select Kentucky locations for a limited time. The flavors include:

• The Original Glazed® Doughnut is a melt-in-your-mouth doughnut covered in Krispy Kreme’s signature glaze. This is the doughnut that put Krispy Kreme on the map.

• The Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles Doughnut is a chocolatey twist on the original, hand-dipped in chocolate icing and covered in rainbow sprinkles.

• The Raspberry Filled Doughnut is glazed and filled with sweet and tangy raspberry jelly.

No, McDonald’s never owned Krispy Kreme. The doughnut company was founded in 1937 by Vernon Rudolph, who modeled the recipe after that of a French chef from New Orleans. At first, the tasty glazed treats were sold at local grocery stores. The first Krispy Kreme store opened in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Krispy Kreme has had several owners since Rudolph died in 1973 at the age of 58. It became a subsidiary of Chicago-based Beatrice Foods in 1976 but returned to a private company when a group of franchisees bought the brand in 1982.

Krispy Kreme went public in 2000. However, the low-carb diet craze that was picking up momentum in the early 2000s hurt the doughnut company’s profits. In 2016, Krispy Kreme returned to private ownership when the German investment firm JAB Holding Company purchased the brand for $1.35 billion.

JAB Holding Company took Krispy Kreme public in 2021, and the company is now publicly traded under the ticker symbol DNUT. However, JAB Holding still owns a considerable stake in the brand.

Today, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are available in doughnut stops and grocery retailers in over 30 countries across the globe. Although there is no ownership connection between Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s, JAB Holding Company owns some other popular brands such as Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee, and Einstein Bros. Bagels.