Doughnut fear! Now, Krispy Skremes in the Citi

MANILA, Philippines - Trick or treat? Without a twinge of guilt, I’ll definitely go for the treat, especially if it’s a sinfully delicious Krispy Kreme doughnut! Like maybe a Hershey’s Cookies & Kreme or a Caramel Kreme Crunch or a Chocolate Kreme Cake with Oreo or a Glazed Cake with Kit Kat. I promise to do penance for this indulgence by joining a fun run for a cause.

But for this Halloween, let’s get into the “spirits” of things as Krispy Skremes hounds the Citi and gets everyone screaming for doughnuts. And there’s more to scream about: Krispy Kreme has tied up with Citibank to bring assorted doughnut lovers probably the sweetest deal in doughnut heaven.

Four Cheese Pull Apart Kruffin

“This promo with Citibank — actually a reward, a treat — is actually the sweetest partnership we’ve had,” says Mark Gamboa, marketing manager, The Real American Doughnut Company, Inc., which brought Krispy Kreme Doughnuts to the Philippines. “The people behind Citibank are very sweet, very friendly, and very supportive. No wonder they’re the market leader, they changed the way banking is done in the country. It’s really a privilege that the Krispy Kreme brand is able to partner with Citibank.”

 With a sweet smile, Alma Gruenberg, Citibank vice president, explains this rewarding experience: “For a minimum spend of only P500, you get any of the following freebies: two signature coffees of eight ounces each, one medium-sized chiller of choice. Or three featured doughnuts for the month; one baked creation or kruffin and one signature coffee. The promo is valid until Dec. 31, 2011.”

Alma points out, “If you’re going to take your team in the office out for merienda, just buy doughnuts for a minimum of P500 and you can avail yourself of the Krispy Kreme-Citibank promo.”

Snickers Classic

Citibank didn’t think twice about teaming up with Krispy Kreme because, notes Alma, it is a world-renowned brand. She relates, “I still remember the time when there was no Krispy Kreme yet in the Philippines. When Filipinos go to the US, they’d come home with boxes and boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. When Krispy Kreme opened in the Philippines in November 2006, we said this was a brand that had to be in alliance with Citibank. Krispy Kreme is a strong brand known for good doughnuts and Citibank is known for good banking.”

Alma adds, “When you use your Citibank card in other countries, there are other restaurants where you can get discounts. Like, for example, if you go to Jumbo in Singapore and you use your Citibank card, you get a 10-percent discount. If you’re here in the Philippines and you use your Citibank card at Krispy Kreme, you can avail yourself of the aforementioned promo.”

Alma also notes, “Worldwide, there are more than 5,000 locations where Citi cardholders can avail themselves of the dining deals. In the Philippines, if you see a better offer by another credit card company, a cardholder simply has to use his card, call us, because we guarantee the best dining deals, and we will reimburse him for the difference.

Let me share my own sweet, unforgettable Krispy Kreme experience. Every time I would visit my sister and her family in Ontario, Canada, I’d ask my fellow Lifestyle staffers at STAR what they wanted for pasalubong and they would invariably sweetly plead, “Krispy Kreme!” For several years, I would hand-carry dozens and dozens of Krispy Kreme for my beloved officemates. Once, I flew with about three big boxes of doughnuts they just wouldn’t fit in the overhead bin of the economy section, so a very kind stewardess offered to keep my doughnuts in the business class compartment. My doughnuts certainly arrived in great shape, which is more than I can say for myself.

You can just imagine how happy I was when I learned that Krispy Kreme was opening in the Philippines. Now, I don’t have to go through the hassle of hand-carrying doughnuts on a long-haul flight.

Assorted Mini Doughnuts: Small in size but big in taste

But one officemate, who just wouldn’t give up, tells me, “Maybe Krispy Kreme has a different taste in Canada?”

“We use the same original secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts that the founder of Krispy Kreme, Vernon Rudolph, acquired in 1937. Back then, he sold and delivered his doughnuts on his bike. He put up his first store in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with glazed doughnut as his signature doughnut,” Mark shares.

When you’re in a Krispy Kreme doughnut factory, like its flagship factory at Bonifacio High Street in Bonifacio Global City, and you see the hot light on, it means they’re churning out those hot original glazed doughnuts, and giving them away for free to those who are lining up at the moment. It’s an open kitchen so you can see how your doughnuts are made.

Aside from Bonifacio Global City, these doughnut machines that turn out more than 300 dozens of doughnuts in an hour can be found at Greenhills Shopping Center, Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, Festival Mall, and Marquee Mall in Angeles City

“For outlets that don’t have the machine, the doughnuts are delivered fresh daily from the doughnut factory, using only quality ingredients from the US,” Mark stresses. “Thousands and thousands of doughnuts are consumed every day. We’ve probably served millions of doughnuts since we opened. Last Oct. 22, we opened two more stores in Cebu, bringing to 25 the total number of Krispy Kreme outlets to date.”

Soccer Ball Doughnut, inspired by the Azkals

It was the Max’s Group of Companies that brought Krispy Kreme to the Philippines. “Carolyn Salud, managing director, met up with the people from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Int’l. who were happy with how the Max’s Group runs its business and its capacity to operate Krispy Kreme, having been around for more than 60 years. Krispy Kreme is 74 years old this year,” says Mark.

It’s cakey, it’s chewy, it’s calorific! “Doughnut is a dessert, it should be eaten in moderation,” Mark stresses. “For me, it’s comfort food, a pick-me-upper — what you eat when you’re broken-hearted, when you got promoted or when you want to celebrate something.”

He adds, “More than just doughnuts and coffee, we’re selling an experience. Krispy Kreme is repositioning itself. Sugar-free doughnuts? Yes, why not?”

Healthy doughnuts? In 2007, Krispy Kreme came up with whole-wheat glazed doughnut for the health-conscious. It had 20 calories less than the original glazed doughnut.

 “We’re continuously working on developing products to cater to assorted markets,” says Mark. “For example, based on the research we did, we launched our Krispy Kreme muffin or kruffin — our baked creations that are a mixture of savory and sweet.”

In the Philippines Krispy Kreme has its own creations you won’t find in other Krispy Kreme stores in the world. Like our very own Chocolate Kreme Cake with Oreo, Soccer doughnut inspired by the Philippine Azkals, and Mango Kreme Chiller, a cool accompaniment to your doughnut.

Sweet partnership: Mark Gamboa, marketing manager of The Real American Doughnut Company, Inc., is flanked by Lynden Catapang, Citibank program manager, and Alma Gruenberg, Citibank vice president.

To which Mark adds, “We also get a lot of our inspiration from our customers, especially kids. We let them have fun with the toppings, the chocolates, like the Kit Kat and M&Ms. From them we get very good creatives.”

Promoting its coffee and doughnuts, Krispy Kreme selects some offices and surprises them with a doughnut-coffee treat.

 Krispy Kreme also has its Brew Box, a container with 12 cups of coffee (8-ounce), which is kept hot for like 45 minutes so when it’s transported to your office or anywhere, it is still very hot.

 Care for doughnuts and coffee?

 Doughnut fear. This Halloween, have a ghoul time!