Organization
American global doughnut company and coffeehouse chain
Krispy Kreme scored poorly in areas like discriminatory philanthropy, funding, and political activity, reflecting a pattern of prioritizing identity-based initiatives and partisan causes over merit and core business objectives. While not the most extreme case, the company's periodic embrace of divisive social and political stances contributes to an overall medium risk rating.
Krispy Kreme, Inc. is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain. Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans chef, rented a building in 1937 in what is now historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and began selling to local grocery stores. Steady growth preceded an ambitious expansion as a public company in the period 2000 to 2016, which ultimately proved unprofitable. In 2016, the company returned to private ownership under JAB Holding Company, a private Luxembourg-based firm. In July 2021, Krispy Kreme became publicly traded again on the Nasdaq. The brand name is a deliberate non-standard spelling of "crispy cream", for marketing effect.
