Krispy Kreme to Expand Use of ‘Dark Stores’

Krispy Kreme (Charlotte, N.C.) is planning to expand its presence by opening more “dark stores,” or delivery-only locations in both U.S. and Mexico, according to PYMNTS.com.

Mike Tattersfield, CEO and President of Krispy Kreme, reportedly said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, “After a successful pilot in the U.K., where we have achieved national delivery coverage and more than 50 dark shops, we are now building up capabilities into the U.S. and Mexico markets in 2022. This will allow us to expand our e-commerce capabilities in a capital-efficient manner in our existing hubs.”

During the course of the pandemic, 17 percent of the company’s retail sales came through digital channels, which was an increase from 10 percent pre-pandemic. Krispy Kreme hopes to expand that figure to 25 percent.

Tattersfield explained the majority of the company’s e-commerce business comes directly from its own channels. A promotion in December 2021, for example, reportedly caused overall sales for a single day to be up 50 percent year over year, mostly due to the number of digital transactions.