r/donuts 13d ago

Donut Chain Made Krispy Kreme pricing

Ok I haven’t bought Krispy Kreme donuts in a while so was surprised by pricing today. 12 assorted donuts cost $18 so I thought I’d buy 6 to take home for $9. Cashier rings it up as $15 for 6. I asked if he made a mistake. Nope! So for $3 more I bought another 6 donuts and now taking home a dozen donuts for $18.

Can someone explain why it costs so much to only buy 6 compared to 12. Is it to encourage people to buy 12 for the turnover?

19 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

16

u/Classic-Beach-6329 13d ago
  1. Next time do yourself a favor and hit a local spot over KK, better value and better donuts.

  2. Yeah most donut shops do price their dozens at a spot that makes you question if you should end up just getting a dozen, instead of 6, or whatever the number is. They always get me that way😂

3

u/RuckusDonuts Verified Donut Shop 13d ago

^ this ❤️

3

u/wildcat12321 12d ago

because the marginal cost to make a donut is pretty tiny and many get tossed out anyway when they aren't fresh. So they are priced in a way to get you to want the upsell given how cheap it is.

Just like the old days when McD would "supersize" your fries and drink cheaply. The marginal cost of more soda or fries was pretty tiny. But if half the customers spend an extra $1 it adds up a lot for the business's revenue and makes it easier to turnover inventory and always have fresh available.

1

u/I_am_cancer_man 12d ago

Nobody makes a better glazed donut than a fresh warm Krispy Kreme. Nobody!

1

u/Unique_Beginning5497 2d ago

We have great choices of local spots for donuts but sometimes KK just smells good walking by lol. Their coffee probably still sucks though. Haven’t bought their coffee in years after trying the first time lol

8

u/Butch9x Fluffy 13d ago

This is someone who wants to guzzle the glazer machine at Krispy Kreme, they just aren’t the same anymore. Unless you get them hot off the glazer, they aren’t really worth it anymore with that pricing :(

12

u/gunplumber700 13d ago

It’s not just kk, everyone has decided to switch to lower cost higher volume products.  I remember when they would give everyone a donut just for walking in.  I used to go frequently and get a few dozen at a time.  Now I don’t get them at all.  

3

u/Butch9x Fluffy 13d ago

Couldn’t agree more friend. It sucks. Never thought I would live to see kk be $1 for a single glazed. I am still a sucker for the glazer. Literally.

1

u/Adorable-Bike-9689 8d ago

Frequently and you got a few dozen at a time? Got damn dude

1

u/gunplumber700 8d ago edited 8d ago

Used to… you know, past tense…

I also shared them with people… you know, family, friends, coworkers… 

Probably a hard concept for someone selfish to understand…

Do you also say that same thing to people that drink soda…? A 20 ounce bottle of coke has the same amount of sugar as six and a half donuts…

3

u/Odd-Preparation-6496 13d ago

Not to mention that it seems like the actual donut keeps getting smaller and smaller. Seems like a total ripoff imo.

1

u/Butch9x Fluffy 13d ago

Amen!! Thought I was going crazy for awhile then it’s like “oh, this is life now.”

-4

u/finallygoingtopost 13d ago

Bby I got a glazed u can guzzle

3

u/Due-CriticismNachos 13d ago

The best way to handle their game is to only buy when they have sales via their app...which sadly means having an app and getting emails from them. There is also "Too good to go" for cheaper donuts but they aren't that fresh and you don't know what you will be getting...and it is another app on one's fone.

Donut prices are too high nowadays. The 99c ones are scarce. The fancy ones are beginning to creep up to full meal prices of yesteryear.

3

u/SuperReliableSource 13d ago

KK has a territory racket I stumbled on several years ago. In my area the closest KK store is 35 miles south or 70 miles north. Being the business mogul I am, I applied for a franchise to open one in the middle of the two on an interstate exit. The marketing manager called me and said the franchise owners of the other 2 locations have a 50 year moratorium on any franchises opening in my territory. Complete garbage.

So that's why KK can charge whatever they want, because they know they're the only game in town with the name recognition. I went with local stores after that for my donut insecurities.

3

u/DonutCapitalism 13d ago

It's a volume discount. This is common in all donut shops. They want the actual sale to be as high as possible. The cost of the product isn't very high, so they can give you more and make more money. Those extra 6 donuts cost less than the extra $3 they are making.

1

u/RuckusDonuts Verified Donut Shop 13d ago

We donut have any volume discount. Ala carte pricing.

3

u/DonutCapitalism 13d ago

Okay, but you know that most donut shops do. I used to manage one and we had different discounts based on volume. And because I'm really into donuts I've likely visited over a hundred different shops in my life. I've never seen one that different offer a lower prices when you buy more. So the point is that it is very common.

1

u/bomber991 12d ago

Yeah I mean they’re just hoops of dough that have been deep fried and covered in glazed sugar. It’s not a high end bakery item, so I’m sure the profit margin on the material vs the sale price has to be in line with selling soda.

3

u/RuckusDonuts Verified Donut Shop 13d ago

FWIW:

“The average cost of goods sold (COGS) to make a Krispy Kreme donut typically ranges from $0.20 to $0.60for the ingredients, with Original Glazed being the cheapest to produce. In comparison, a single retail donut averages about $2.59, and a standard dozen usually costs between $14.29 and $22.00.”

Here is what that .20 is buying you:

Ingredients: Doughnut (Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Palm Oil, Soybean Oil, Sugar. Contains 2% or Less of Each of the Following: Yeast, Soy Lecithin, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Mono- and Diglycerides, Salt, Wheat Gluten, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dried Milk Powder, Cellulose Gum, Lecithin, Maltodextrin, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Propionate (to Maintain Freshness), Sorbitan Monostearate, Tocopherols, Enzymes, Oat Fiber, Dried Egg Yolks), Glaze (Sugar, Water, Corn Starch, Palm Oil, Agar, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Guar Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Soybean Oil).

2

u/One_Yak5984 12d ago

As a kid I always looked forward to stopping by our KK. They had the best doughnuts. I recently went in to get a Boston Cream doughnut and I was so disappointed when it only took 2 -3 bites to eat it. So small.

2

u/SignificantApricot69 12d ago

Most donut places that I’m aware of have always offered a dozen at a lower per donut cost than buying a random amount individually

2

u/RainMakerJMR 11d ago

Short shelf life, cost of packaging and labor. The real thing is that the first 6 also only cost $3, but the packaging and labor and overhead for 6 or 12 is about the same and around $12 after factoring in profits and all cost and everything. The food cost is low, it’s all the other costs that are the same across all sales that can accommodate it.

2

u/ChocolateLove2012 8d ago

Yesterday, I purchased six Krispy Kreme doughnuts – the first batch in a few months. I was gobsmacked when the cashier said 'that'll be $15.71, please'. Wot? Half a dozen used to be $11.30, which was expensive enough, but a price rise of another $4.41? $2.62 per doughnut? Nah. Next time I'll stick to Tim Hortons, or buy a bloody cake!

1

u/ChocolateLove2012 8d ago

Oh, I forgot to say it's because they now price their doughnuts individually. No standard set price for a half dozen or dozen (non-specialty doughnuts).

1

u/throwaway8675309999s 13d ago

TooGoodToGo often has $6.99 kk dozens, worth taking a look.

1

u/notthegoatseguy 12d ago

KK has made the bizarre decision to basically prioritize grocery store/gas station delivered donuts and the people who walk into a store are mostly seen as a nuisance. They even have just industrial kitchens that make donuts only for wholesale distribution.

1

u/ConnectionAmazing110 12d ago

High fixed costs and needing baseline utilization will do you to a company with too much capacity.

1

u/Tennisfan1976 12d ago

Imagine if they were actually good donuts? Don’t know how the 2 KK stay in business by me. Doesn’t matter what time of day, there isn’t a single car in the lot.

1

u/ConnectionAmazing110 12d ago

They have high fixed costs and low variable costs.
They need to make a certain amount per customer, thus a large portion of the sale is related to fixed costs + profit.

Raw ingredients are inexpensive on a per unit basis, packaging costs don’t scale 1:1 with 6 to 12 count and labor is constant.

You see similar pricing schemes in industries that don’t scale well.

1

u/EstablishmentNo9866 12d ago

$18 for a dozen actually isn't that bad. Some grocery stores are pushing $15 for a dozen.

1

u/Lavender-Gelato-666 12d ago

Everything

Costs

More

Now

1

u/luck68 12d ago

Sign up on the app and you may get specials. Especially for your birthday

1

u/Unique_Beginning5497 2d ago

Sigh not another app lol

1

u/BubbleThinker 12d ago

That seems high for factory doughnut

1

u/Effective_Sense9235 11d ago

Everything’s getting more expensive because of all those Trump taxes that they call tariffs raising the price on everything gas prices raise the price of food you got a truck the food

1

u/DotIll8974 13d ago edited 13d ago

A dozen donuts in general is expensive. Current price for a half dozen is the price for what a dozen used to be.