20 Things You Didn’t Know About Krispy Kreme

Quite possibly the guiltiest of all guilty pleasures, Krispy Kreme has been churning out its signature doughnuts since the late 1930s. But there’s more to this sugary story than rainbow sprinkles and waterfalls of glaze. Here are some fresh-from-the-oven facts about this cult favorite, including the release of a limited-time doughnut stuffed with an entire candy bar that will kick off your morning with a sugary jolt. 

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Jelly- and cream-filled doughnuts don't go far enough, apparently, so Krispy Kreme filled its fried dough with candy bars. The company teamed up with Twix to stuff long johns with whole Twix bars for a crunchy, caramelly treat. The unholy mashup was called the Caramel Cookie Crunch Bar Doughnut, and it was also filled with chocolate creme for good measure, then topped with a layer of chocolate icing, caramel drizzle, and chopped Twix pieces. Though currently off the menu, take heart _ the doughnut maker currently has a collaboration with Hershey's that includes a chocolate cake overload doughnut.

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Go figure: That sugary doughnut may be partially made with a savory Thanksgiving favorite (and if you remember Spudnuts, it’s not such a foreign concept). Though the recipe is a closely guarded secret, the son of Krispy Kreme founder Vernon Rudolph has said the original doughnuts were made from “fluffed egg whites, mashed potatoes, sugar, shortening and skim milk … chilled and mixed with flour and then fried and covered in glaze.”

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When Rudolph opened the first Krispy Kreme in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1937, he had a stroke of genius: Let the doughnuts sell themselves. To do that, he cut a hole in the side of the building and made it into a sales window, drawing passers-by with the sight and scent of the sugary treats. It’s a tactic the company still uses today. 

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Krispy Kreme’s eponymous “Hot Now” neon sign means that fresh doughnuts are being pulled from the oven, but according to urban legend, it also means you can walk in and chow down on a sweet treat for free. While a smattering of stores may give out the occasional complimentary sample, the sad truth of the matter is that the light doesn’t actually mean freebies, Krispy Kreme says. 

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All wasn't lost for penny-pinchers in 2021, assuming you’d gotten your Covid-19 vaccination. Krispy Kreme pledged to give vaccinated customers one free doughnut each and every day for most of 2021. As of the beginning of June, 2021, the company had given out 1.5 million freebies. 

German conglomerate JAB Holdings, which also owns Keurig Dr Pepper, Panera, and other familiar names, acknowledged in 2019 that its major backers, the wealthy Reimann family, had a checkered past. Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr., both now dead, supported Adolf Hitler, and the family’s factories used prisoners of war as forced laborers during World War II. The company said it would donate millions to charity after the revelations.  

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Road races are a dime a dozen, but the annual Krispy Kreme Challenge is truly in a league of its own. The contest, held in Raleigh, North Carolina, requires participants to run 5 miles in under an hour. The twist? They also have to eat a dozen glazed doughnuts at the midway point. That’s just under 2,300 calories — or about 1,600 more calories than a 180-pound person clocking a respectable 8-minute mile would burn during the race.

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In 2016, former NBA great Shaquille O'Neal, an avowed doughnut lover, bought a landmark Atlanta Krispy Kreme and lent his starpower to the company as a spokesman. Earlier this year, the building caught fire in what was later ruled an arson. Officials have offered a $10,000 reward in the case, and the shop remains closed. 

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In 2009, the Kuwait Food Company produced a replica Krispy Kreme box that was over 19 feet long, filling it with 2,700 doughnuts — a Guinness World Record. It tipped the scales at just under 300 pounds. Five years later, Krispy Kreme in the U.K. produced a 2,400-doughnut box as a contest prize that required eight employees to deliver it. 

Speaking of overgrown doughnut boxes, the newly opened Krispy Kreme in Times Square includes stadium-style seating inside just that: A giant doughnut box. Other attractions include the world’s largest “Hot Light,” a massive glaze waterfall, and a 24-hour doughnut pickup window.

Over in the U.K., Krispy Kreme offers full-blown special-occasion treats, including massive doughnut walls for events. But the true head-turner is an eight-tier tower of 216 assorted doughnuts, ideal for the unconventional bride and groom. It stands roughly 3 feet tall and includes five flavors of sugary goodness.

Further proving that the English have a lock on high-class doughnuts, in 2014, a Selfridges department store in London sold a Krispy Kreme for $1,685. It included champagne-infused jelly (Dom Perignon, of course), gold-dusted chocolate flowers, 24-karat gold leaf, and edible diamonds. It was served with a cocktail made with Courvoisier, and yet more Dom.

Though Krispy Kreme itself won’t be challenging McDonald’s for burger supremacy any time soon, you can find the chain’s Original Glazed doughnuts subbed in for burger buns at several restaurants and fair-food booths across the country. The caloric concoction, often known as the “Luther Burger,” is so named because it’s said to be a favorite of R&B crooner Luther Vandross.

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Talk about glazed and confused. A Florida man was mistakenly arrested on drug charges after police thought the flakes of Krispy Kreme glaze on his car’s floorboards were actually pieces of crystal methamphetamine. He later received more than $37,000 in a settlement. 

A California man sued Krispy Kreme for $5 million in 2016 for false advertising and fraud, saying the company was misleading customers because its blueberry and raspberry doughnuts lacked any actual health-enriching fruit. The case was later dismissed, with Krispy Kreme’s attorneys arguing that “no reasonable consumer would expect a doughnut to deliver the same level of antioxidants, for example, as green tea.”

Whether a craving strikes at an inconvenient time or you just really, really want to avoid all human contact, if you happen to live in Charlotte, North Carolina, you can still satisfy your doughnut desires at the chain’s first-ever vending machine. The touchscreen wonder spits out packs of three doughnuts for $4 or $5, depending on the flavor. 

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As the Girl Scouts have long known, appealing to someone’s sweet tooth can be a pretty effective way to get them to shell out for a good cause. Organizations raised a cool $37 million in 2020 alone by selling Krispy Kremes at a markup.

Any self-respecting “Simpsons” fan knows that there’s no faster way to make Homer Simpson drool than by trotting out a pink-frosted doughnut topped off with a liberal coating of sprinkles. Krispy Kreme made the cartoon food a reality with its appropriately named “D’ohnut,” which was flavored with white chocolate truffle and strawberry. Sadly, it was only sold in Australia and New Zealand. 

Visitors to the 2018 North Carolina State Fair could get their hands on Krispy Kreme doughnuts glazed with Texas Pete hot sauce. Krispy Kreme at least considered rolling out the unique flavor combination in stores, but decided “it might be a little polarizing,” according to Money. 

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You could once grab a Krispy Kreme candle to indulge without the calories. At least seven scents were out there, including Original Glazed, Raspberry Filled, Dulce De Leche, and (of course) the eponymous Pumpkin Spice. The candles aren't currently for sale at retail, but fingers crossed they return.