Mister Donut

Mister Donut

Type	Wholly owned subsidiary
Industry	Food and Beverage
Founded	1956
Founder(s)	Harry Winokur
Headquarters	U.S.
Area served	U.S., Canada, Middle East, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Philippines, Thailand and El Salvador
Products	Doughnuts • Coffee • Bagels
Parent	Independent (1956-1970) International Multifoods Corporation (1970-1990) Allied Lyons (1990-present)
Website	mister-donut.com

Mister Donut is a fast food franchise founded in the United States in 1956. The primary offerings include donuts, coffee, muffins and pastries. After being acquired by Allied Lyons in 1990, most North American locations became Dunkin' Donuts. Today its main market is in Japan, where it has more than 1,300 locations. It also maintains a presence in Taiwan, South Korea, China, Philippines, Thailand and El Salvador.^[1][2]

Corporate history

North America

Harry Winokur worked with William Rosenberg in Dunkin' Donuts. After Winokur broke his partnership with Rosenberg, he went on to create Mister Donut in 1956 and had locations across most of North America.

The Mister Donut business became so popular that Mr. Winouker decided to go into franchising. As a result, Mister Donut began a rapid expansion that resulted in the opening of 275 stores in the United States and Canada.

In 1970, Minneapolis-based International Multifoods Corporation, one of the world’s largest and most successful food companies, acquired Mister Donut and its franchising concept from Mr. Winouker.

It was the largest competitor to Dunkin' Donuts, which was founded in 1950, before being acquired by Dunkin' Donuts' then-parent company, Allied-Lyons, in February 1990.

After the acquisition of Mister Donut by Allied-Lyons, all Mister Donut locations within North America were offered the chance to change their name to Dunkin' Donuts. Now only a scattered few locations still hold the name Mister Donut.

Japan and Asia

In 1983, Duskin Co., Ltd. of Osaka, Japan acquired the rights to franchise Mister Donut throughout Japan and Asia. Mister Donut is the largest donut chain operating in Japan.

Marketing presence

Mister Donut has a distinctive orange and white logo in the likeness of a moustachioed chef. More recently, the chain developed a set of mascot characters based on its donuts. One character in particular, "Pon de Lion" (a lion with a mane shaped like its "pon de ring" donut line) has become equally recognizable (if not more so) to customers in Japan.

One popular Mister Donut advertising jingle featured a song sung by two people in various settings:

Hey, Mister, that's a doughnut!

Hey, Mister, that's a Mister Donut doughnut!

Global locations

Asian market

Mister Donut in Shanghai, China

Mister Donut in Taipei, Taiwan

Today, the Mister Donut brand survives in Japan, Thailand, China, and the Philippines, and the company is expanding into other areas of Asia such as Taiwan, and South Korea. In Taiwan, the chain is owned by a joint venture between Duskin and the Uni-President Enterprises Corporation, which also operates 7-11 and Starbucks stores in Taiwan.

Japan

Mister Donut in Sendai, Japan

In Japan, Mister Donut is owned by Duskin Co., Ltd. Mister Donut is the largest Donut franchise chain in Japan. Many Mister Donut stores in Japan house Yamucha sub-stores that serve a small variety of dim sum. These sub-stores are usually advertised with the phrase "San Francisco Chinatown," reinforcing the chain's American image even while selling Chinese food.

Philippines

A Mister Donut stand in Angeles City, Philippines.

In the Philippines, Mister Donut is the second largest donut chain. Its toughest competitor is Dunkin Donuts. While most donut outlets in the country are located in storefronts, on the streets or in malls, Mister Donut outlets are mostly stands, sometimes located in high-end shopping malls in Manila. Donuts from Mister Donut are also sold in 7-Eleven stores and KFC restaruants.

Thailand

In Thailand, Mister Donut has been a leader in the Thai donut market for more than 33 years(since 1978). It is known for its concept "Donut for Fun". Mister Donut currently has more than 250 branches across Thailand with more opening every year. They include stand-alone stores as well as branches at shopping malls and supermarkets.

Central America

El Salvador

There are also numerous Mister Donut locations throughout El Salvador in Central America. Mister Donut locations also offer various typical dishes such as El Salvador's traditional pupusas.

North America

Canada

Mister Donut operations downsized in the late 1990s with its stores located mostly in Toronto, Ontario. Of the five stores, only three survive today with the name.

United States

A former Mister Donut in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which converted to Dunkin' Donuts in 1994. The store was completely rebuilt in 2003, with a Baskin-Robbins and a drive-thru added to the location.

There were many stores in the Pennsylvania and Ohio region that did not convert to Dunkin' Donuts, mostly due to being too close to existing Dunkin' Donuts locations at the time. Nine Mister Donut owners formed a cooperative to continue to receive bulk pricing on materials. These stores are now known as Donut Connection and serve the same menu and recipes as Mister Donut once did. There are hundreds of Donut Connection franchises in the eastern United States.^[3] A handful of businesses retained the Mister Donut name. Between 8-10 locations remain listed under this name on various business directories online. Several are completely out of business, and others now have Dunkin' Donuts at the former Mister Donut locations. Only one location can be verified to remain in business under the Mister Donut name. It is located in Godfrey, Illinois.

References

1. ^ "Mr. Donut History". misterdonut.jp. http://www.misterdonut.jp/museum/history/index.html. Retrieved 21 March 2011. 
2. ^ "J. Lyons & Co.". http://www.kzwp.com/lyons/dunkin.htm. Retrieved 21 March 2011. 
3. ^ "Donut Connection Store Locations". http://www.donutconnection.com/NewFiles/map.html. Retrieved June 23, 2008. 

External links

• Official Mister Donut website
• Official Mister Donut Japan website (Japanese)
• Official Mister Donut Korea website (Korean)
• Official Mister Donut Taiwan website (Chinese)
• Official Mister Donut China website (Chinese)
• Official Mister Donut Philippines website (English)
• Official Mister Donut Thailand website (Thai)
• Official Mister Donut El Salvador website (Spanish)
• Brief history of Dunkin' Donuts and Mister Donut (English)
• A Tale of 2 Donuts (English)