Krispy Kreme: Camel Cigarettes, Channel Stuffing and a McDonald's Split

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Krispy Kreme's yeast-raised recipe came from Joseph LeBeau, an Ohio River barge cook, by way of Ishmael Armstrong's general store in Paducah, Kentucky, where nephew Vernon Rudolph worked in 1933. They moved to Nashville in 1934, and in 1937 Rudolph chose Winston-Salem, North Carolina, because it was home to Camel, his favorite cigarette. He baked wholesale from midnight to 4 a.m., and passersby drawn by the smell knocked on the door until he cut a hole in the wall to sell on the sidewalk. Beatrice Foods owned the chain in the 1970s before franchisees bought it back in 1982.

Krispy Kreme went public in April 2000 at $21 a share and hit $50 by August 2003. After a May 2004 loss, CEO Scott Livengood blamed the Atkins diet, though Dunkin' Donuts did fine. Sales had shifted to grocery stores and gas stations, franchisees had to buy equipment and mix from headquarters at a markup, and franchisees accused corporate of shipping double orders at quarter end. In 2009 the SEC issued a cease and desist order, finding earnings had been managed to beat estimates by one cent, and net income was cut by over $10.5 million. JAB Holding bought the company for $1.35 billion in 2016, it returned to Nasdaq in 2021, and a 2024 plan to sell in all McDonald's ended in June 2025.

• The stock lost 75 to 80 percent of its value by 2005.
• JAB bought Insomnia Cookies for $175 million in 2018, and a majority stake sold in 2024 at a $350 million valuation.
• The world's most profitable Krispy Kreme is in Dublin, Ireland.
• A store in Hull, England promoted a Krispy Kreme Club Wednesday in 2015 that abbreviated to KKK, and the event was canceled.
• A 2021 free doughnut offer for vaccinated Americans drew criticism from Dr. Leana Wen and a defense from nutrition therapist Elyse Resch.