Doughnut Chains Fill Holes In Their Market Coverage

Two major doughnut and coffee chains have spread out to new markets.

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. opened its first franchise location in India on Jan. 19. The new store is in Bangalore, India’s third largest city, and the center of the country’s high-tech sector. The Bangalore unit marks the first step in the Winston-Salem, N.C., chain’s seven-month-old agreement with Citymax Hotels Pvt. Ltd. to develop 80 franchise Krispy Kreme stores over five years in India’s south and west regions. Citymax is part of the Dubai-based Landmark Group. Krispy Kreme has more 730 locations in 22 countries

Meanwhile, Dunkin’ Donuts is heading to new terrain as well: Southern California.

The Canton, Mass., chain has been expanding westward over the past few years, and opened its first stores west of the Mississippi River in 2012. Last year, it opened 291 net new domestic units, and will debut 330-360 U.S. stores in ’13. Dunkin’ Donuts says a number of those new stores will be in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura and Orange counties, where it is actively recruiting multiunit franchisees and operators for ’13 openings.

The chain plans to improve upon its 4% growth rate on a global basis, according to Nigel Travis, CEO- Dunkin’ Brands and president-Dunkin’ Donuts U.S.

“In addition to California, we believe we have incredible domestic growth opportunities for Dunkin’ Donuts, both east and west of the Mississippi. On a global basis, we remain committed to our long-term development goal, which calls for us to accelerate to approximately a 5% net new annual development rate for Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins combined,” he said.