Krispy Kreme reveals the staggering number of doughnuts it makes a day in Mississauga

Anyone who drives by Mississauga’s one and only Krispy Kreme location on a Saturday morning probably won’t be surprised to learn that the location is one of the busiest in the world for the well-known American doughnut chain.

Mississauga’s Krispy Kreme location, drawing customers in droves to its Heartland Town Centre location since opening in December 2001, has more than stood the test of time. That said, it remains an interesting contrast to the brand’s overall experience in Canada while still speaking to its resonance and staying power. 

A little over 20 years ago, Krispy Kreme made national headlines when it crossed the border and opened the Mississauga store, with plans to open more locations throughout the country. 

The buzz was ferocious, which made the brand’s eventual retreat from Canada (with the exception of the Mississauga location) all the more shocking. 

The push to expand the American chain, which got its start in Nashville in 1934, began in the 1990s. The company went public in 2000 and reported 400 locations worldwide by 2004, but hit its first hurdle in May of that year. It missed its quarterly earning expectations for the first time, which CEO Scott Livengood attributed to the rise of low-carbohydrate diets. 

Competitors such as Dunkin Donuts did not suffer the same impact, and industry pundits decried the excuse as “desperation.”

By 2005, the company shares had lost 75 to 80 per cent of their value. As the company approached bankruptcy, it halted its expansion plans and shuttered unprofitable stores. Many blamed the rapid expansion, arguing it cannibalized its sales by opening too many outlets.

Krispy Kreme had planned to open another 31 stores after the 2001 premiere in Mississauga. However, they only made it to 18. Following the mid-2000s crisis, that number shrank back down to 11.

But as the years ticked on and the Mississauga location remained successful, something shifted and now, the brand is planning to open more Canadian outlets. 

Interestingly, the Mississauga store is actually the brand’s busiest location, and it produces a whopping and extraordinary 48,000 doughnuts a day.

“[That location] makes approximately 4,000 dozen doughnuts a day,” Chris Lindsay, co-CEO of Krispy Kreme Canada, told insauga.com. 

But what is it about the Mississauga location that has allowed it to sell that much? 

Lindsay, who has been with Krispy Kreme Canada since the fall of 2001, says that customers embraced the location and the product. 

“We’re really fortunate to have a brand that people embrace. We have fantastic customers and we’re really fortunate to have grown the way that we have,” he says. 

The shop, which spans about 4,800 square feet, employs about 100 people who make, decorate and sell the doughnuts. 

“That was the first Krispy Kreme opened outside of the US. There was a lot of interest prior to it opening, so when it opened, it was very, very busy. It broke some opening week sales records for Krispy Kreme and continues to be a very successful store.” 

Since the store–which produces doughnuts 24/7 and provides products for Krispy Kreme’s smaller cafe-style stores in Toronto– makes more doughnuts than any other store, it’s become a “benchmark” that the company uses to measure success. 

It’s also involved in community initiatives. 

“We do a lot of fundraising doughnuts,” Lindsay says, explaining that the store sells doughnuts to groups and charitable organizations at a discount so they can re-sell them to raise money for important causes. 

“We’ve helped thousands of groups in the GTA over the years.”

As for how the Mississauga store survived when so many other Krispy Kreme locations shuttered, Lindsay said it thrived because of its reputation and location, pointing out that Heartland Town Centre is a “strong retail node” in the city. 

“It’s got a lot of great development and great brands and other businesses around it, and it’s been in an area that has grown incredibly over the years. That certainly helped,” he says.

“Our customers could be anyone and everyone, we have a very diverse clientele and we’re lucky to appeal to all demographics.” 

Lindsay also says the location is special in the sense that adults who shop there remember going to the store with their parents when they were children. 

“We’ve moved on to the next generation of customers.” 

As for how many customers the shop serves a day, Lindsay says it’s “certainly in the thousands.” 

“It’s a well-performing store. We do a little bit of wholesale business, but our primary focus is customers in through the door,” he says, adding that weekends and evenings are the busiest. 

He also says the store is something of a destination. 

“It’s a fun place to go. It’s important for us to create an experience when a customer walks into one of our locations. They get to watch the doughnuts being made; they can smell [how fresh they are]. It’s just intended to be a pleasant experience that creates a memory and that makes people come back.” 

He also says the rareness–it remains the only location in Mississauga and one of very few in the Toronto area–makes it special. 

“It makes people want to pick up doughnuts for special events–birthday parties, meetings, special occasions, etc. When people come in to pick up something they can share with family and friends, that’s what’s important to us.” 

While the company doesn’t have any immediate plans to launch new stores in Mississauga, it says the current location–which received some upgrades this past winter–will continue to serve hungry customers. Lindsay also says new stores could pop up in such GTHA cities as Brampton and Hamilton in the future. 

“We never went away, and we’ve been building since 2008,” he says.

“We’re fortunate to have a dedicated customer base.” 

• With files from Liam McConnell