Krispy Kreme seeks master franchisees to fuel growth
Krispy Kreme is pursuing new master franchising partnerships across seven of its international markets as it seeks to redirect resources toward accelerating growth in the United States.
Founded in 1937 in North Carolina, the iconic brand now operates 2,000 stores and an additional 15,500 points of access—retail outlets where its products are sold—across 40 global markets. Alongside its US business, Krispy Kreme currently owns its operations in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, and Canada.
Following the release of its full-year 2024 results, the CEO of Krispy Kreme, Josh Charlesworth, explained to investors that working with local master franchisees offers a more scalable and capital-efficient route to driving international growth. This strategic shift will also enable the company to sharpen its focus on expanding its presence in the US market.
“We have strong and growing businesses in several international markets that we both own and franchise. But we think the best way going forward, the fastest way and the most capital-efficient way, is to evaluate refranchising the international markets that we own. We intend on doing this to make sure that we can focus most of our time on expanding partnerships in the US and strengthening our US footprint,” said Charlesworth.
The company plans to build on the success of existing franchise partnerships in France and South Korea, where it collaborates with Columbus Café & Co and Lotte, respectively.
Krispy Kreme entered the French market in December 2023 and has since scaled rapidly to 19 stores. Its French partner, Columbus Café & Co, aims to add an additional 50 points of access in 2025 through a new supermarket partnership. In South Korea, the brand has also experienced strong growth through its partnership with retail giant Lotte.
This franchising shift comes as Krispy Kreme intensifies its domestic expansion. The brand signed a major distribution deal with McDonald’s in Q2 2024, with plans to supply donuts to 6,000 McDonald’s locations by the end of 2025.
In parallel, Krispy Kreme is growing its reach in the US through partnerships with Kroger, Publix, Target, and Costco. The strategy aligns with the brand’s ambition to significantly boost its US presence while pursuing asset-light growth internationally.
Krispy Kreme reported total net revenues of $1.66bn for the year ending 31 December 2024, down 1.2% year-on-year. The decline was largely due to the sale of a majority stake in its Insomnia Cookies business and lost revenue from a cybersecurity incident during Q4.
However, international revenues from company-owned markets grew 6% year-on-year to $519m, driven by standout performances in Canada and Japan. In contrast, full-year US sales fell 4% to $1bn, while revenue from its Market Development segment—which includes global franchise operations—declined 4%.
With consumer demand for fresh, premium donuts remaining strong globally, the move to refranchise company-owned markets is expected to help Krispy Kreme accelerate innovation, improve efficiency, and expand more rapidly in both existing and new territories.
Image credit: inna-safa – Unsplash
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