The factory is actually where all Krispy Kreme donut mix starts out. I say "starts out" because in some international markets Krispy Kreme can't send a complete mix due to different laws and regulations regarding importing food so the mixes have to be tailored to wherever they are going.
While there weren't any Oompa Lumpas or river of Original Glaze for me to drown in, getting a look at the process of making donut mix was still pretty interesting and more involved then I realized.
I'll talk about the stuff that was photography-verboten first.
Krispy Kreme tests all the ingredients that they buy to make their mix. When you think about all the truckloads and truckloads of sugar and flour and whatnot, there's a lot of testing going on and they have a lab and food scientists onsite to do it. They get core samples of every shipment and test them to make sure they are of the correct composition. Beyond that they also had a nifty machine that simulates the pressure of a human bite.
But they don't just test the ingredients coming in, they also test the ingredients going out. In one of the rooms we saw, there was a smaller version of the automated donut machine they use but with a shorter conveyor and nary a glaze waterfall in sight. There were racks along the walls lines with sample bags of different batches of donut mix. The whole purpose of this room was to test and make sure that each batch would make a proper donut hence the lack of glazing. The donuts made in this room don't get eaten, at least not by humans, they actually go to local farmers for feed (pig feed I think).
Here's the control center of the factory. High tech, no? Analog buttons? What?! Where's the digital touchscreen?! I often forget that Krispy Kreme has been around for a long time (They're celebrating their 75th anniversary this year!). The layout of this very old control board is a visual representation of the whole donut-mix-making process:
Here we have vats and vats of oil:
On course, there's a giant donut with the company's mission statement:
Krispy Kreme used to roast and cup (taste) their own coffee before introducing three new coffees last year ( House Blend, Dark Roast, and House Decaf).
Finally, here's the new donut making machine. It seems to be a slightly larger and uncurved version of the ones you find in some Krispy Kreme locations:
And before you ask, yes, I did get one fresh off the line (some of us got more than one) and yes, it was delicious!
And that was pretty much it for the factory tour. Next time, I'll write about how they made donuts in the olden days...
Disclosure: Krispy Kreme paid for my travel expenses, food, and hotel during the summit.