Krispy Kreme going cold?!

This week in USA Today I learned the following news…

Krispy Kreme’s signature glazed doughnuts may be best hot, but its sales have been anything but in recent years. Now the chain is hoping that going cold — with its new soft-serve ice cream — will be the catalyst it needs.

The company has been trying to revive its sales for nearly three years, amid a health craze that made its glazed doughnuts an indulgence that many just couldn’t stomach.

Now industry watchers say Krispy Kreme Doughnuts’ latest turnaround plan — which includes launching the new ice cream as well as opening smaller stores and expanding overseas — still may not be enough to help the chain climb out of its hole.

WHAT?!! You know in television this would be called “jumping the shark.”

So much for building credibility as a doughnut god. At the very least they could have selected a by-product as Dunkin’ Donuts did with coffee.

Why not work to develop a “baked” variety of doughnut like so many potato chips company have done for health reasons. Or an alternative gluten-free version? This makes no sense other than the company’s mission is to make America fat.

I truly wonder what their management is thinking and what kind of research was done that said this has a shot of working. Or perhaps research was not done.

Marketing research is cut from the marketing table many times so that more can be spent on media buys and product development. “We don’t need to do research. I asked ten people I know and they love this ice cream recipe. It’ll be great.”

Hmmmm… will it?

For full article, click here.