Krispy Kreme: Doughnut chain hikes UK prices as it eyes expansion
The UK arm of Krispy Kreme is looking to open new locations after increasing its prices in a bid to combat the rise in costs, newly-filed documents have revealed.
The doughnut company, whose UK headquarters are located in Camberley in Surrey, outlined plans to launch new shops in “high profile locations” following a year of profit growth.
The company grew its turnover slightly to £119.7m during 2023, up from £118.5m in the year before.
Its pre-tax profit also rose, hitting just over £6m, up from £5.1m in 2022.
Krispy Kreme said these strong results had been achieved with a combination of cost management and locking in contracts to improve price stability, as well as increasing the price of its products.
It added a total of four new sites in 2023, which the company said was in line with its plans to “refine” its retail estate.
In a statement published to Companies House, Krispy Kreme said: “The company has progressed well during the period despite challenging market circumstances in the UK.
“2023 saw macroeconomic challenges in the UK economy with cost-of-living crises impacting consumer disposable income, inflation impacting input cost and lack of labour and goods in the market place impacting operations.
“The directors have during the year carefully considered the impacts of all market challenges impacting the business and responded appropriately to protect the business, its employees, and the brand.
“Actions taken during the year include locking in contracts for input price stability, improving employee pay, working to reduce cost in overheads and taking price increases.
“This has been paired with a continuous drive in doughnut innovation to deliver a strong brand experience for the customer now and in the long term.
“The directors continue to monitor the ongoing impacts of the economic challenges and the inflationary pressures on the UK economy and are taking appropriate actions as necessary to mitigate the short and long-term risks.
“In 2024 the company will continue to expand its presence with plans to open shops in quality, high profile locations, expand with its existing and new DFD partners, invest further in digitally enhanced cabinets and further expand reach and sales via digital channels.”
Krispy Kreme’s parent company widens loss
The Krispy Kreme parent company, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, saw its net revenue hit $1.7bn (£1.3bn) in 2023, up from just under $1.4bn (£1bn) in the year before.
However the company significantly increased its pre-tax loss to $40m (£31m) during the year, a tenfold increase on its 2022 pre-tax loss of $4m (£3.1m).
During the year the company significantly increased its spending on marketing from just over $3m (£2.3m) in 2022 to almost $46m (£35m) in 2023.
In its most recent full year report Krispy Kreme also revealed that it was looking to launch in up to five new markets in 2024, having opened its first shops in Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and France last year.