MarketMister Donut
Company Profile

Mister Donut

Mister Donut is an international chain of doughnut stores. Though founded in the United States in 1956 by Harry Winokur, it now primarily operates in Asia. The chain's offerings include doughnuts, coffee, muffins, and pastries. After being acquired by Allied Domecq in 1990, most of Mister Donut's North American stores became Dunkin' Donuts. Although it maintains a small presence in the United States, Mister Donut's main markets are Hong Kong, Japan, El Salvador, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Singapore.

History
In 1955, Harry Winokur worked with brother-in-law William Rosenberg, the founder of Dunkin' Donuts. After Winokur broke his partnership with Rosenberg, he went on to create Mister Donut with his son-in-law, David Slater that same year, with stores in most of North America. The Mister Donut business became so popular that Winokur and Slater decided to go into franchising. 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 Winokur. In 1983, Duskin Co., Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, acquired the rights to franchise Mister Donut throughout Japan and Asia. Mister Donut was the largest competitor to Dunkin' Donuts. On December 12, 2005, Pernod Ricard announced that it had agreed to sell Dunkin' Brands, which owned Dunkin' Donuts and Mister Donut, to a consortium of three US private equity firms (Thomas H. Lee Partners, the Carlyle Group and Bain Capital LLP) for US$2.43 billion. The closing of the sale occurred on March 1, 2006. In August 2012, Dunkin' Brands became completely independent of the private equity firms. As of 2017, only one Mister Donut store remains in the United States, in Godfrey, Illinois (outside of St. Louis), while there were 10,000 stores worldwide. and as of June 2016, Duskin Co., Ltd. was also operating Mister Donut stores in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and Malaysia. In 2020, Dunkin' Brands was purchased by Sandy Springs-based Inspire Brands, and Mister Donut's trademark management became part of Inspire. ==Marketing presence==
Marketing presence
, Hokkaido Mister Donut has an 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, , a lion with a mane shaped like its donut line, is used in Japan. In El Salvador, the mascots are five anthropomorphic doughnuts and a rooster that is used for the breakfast menu. The company uses the same logo as Japan, and the slogan is "La gran variedad" (The great variety). ==Global stores==
Global stores
Asia The Mister Donut brand operates in Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Singapore. China , China (now closed) In China, Mister Donut closed down in 2019 after nearly 20 years of operations due to high operational costs and high labor costs. Ten outlets in Shanghai closed in April 2019. Hong Kong The first Mister Donut store in Hong Kong opened in Tsim Sha Tsui through franchisee Dragon Circle Enterprise. Indonesia In Indonesia, Mister Donut is operated under management of Indomaret, a subsidiary of Salim Group. The first store was opened in 2015, with 7 standalone outlets and 1,350 stands inside Indomaret outlets, mostly located in the city center, malls, airports, rail stations, or shop-in-shops at every Indomaret outlet. Japan In Japan, the Mister Donut franchise is owned by Duskin Co., Ltd., a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. Mister Donut is the largest donut franchise chain in Japan, with a total of 961 retail shops operating as of March 2021. Keiji Chiba, who was Duskin Company's general manager and director of food industries, adjusted the recipes and gave a higher class image so the company would be successful in the Japanese market. Before the introduction of Mister Donut, the Japanese perceived doughnuts as being snacks for children. The Star wrote in 2007 that "Mister Donut has gained a following among mostly younger Japanese for its American-style doughnuts, decor and music, becoming the country's biggest donut chain." On September 13, 2013, a survey by the Japanese retail research company, Softbrain Field, surveyed close to 6000 Japanese citizens of all ages on their favorite fast food restaurant. Mister Donut came in third, at 17%, behind McDonald's at 33% and MOS Burger at 25%. Philippines , Nueva Ecija, Philippines In the Philippines, the first Mister Donut store opened in 1982 in Manila and has become the country's second largest doughnut chain, with Dunkin' Donuts as its main competitor. In 1995, the Ramcar Group took over the Philippine franchise of Mister Donut through its subsidiary, Food Fest, Inc. In 1997, Mister Donut helped finance the country's first ever feature-length animated film, Adarna: The Mythical Bird. Of its 1,800 outlets, the majority are stalls, often located inside shopping malls, while 200 are full-scale stores. Mister Donut products are also sold in 7-Eleven stores and KFC restaurants, the latter also franchised locally by Ramcar. Some locations sell coffee, but they mostly focus on doughnuts, including pasalubong, gifts by visitors to friends and family. The doughnuts sold are adjusted to suit the local market, with smaller sizes, therefore cheaper, and different flavors. Singapore In May 2023, Mister Donut opened its first outlet at Junction 8 in Singapore after a successful market test in August 2022. Taiwan , Taiwan In 2004, the Uni-President Group introduced Mister Donut in Taiwan through the newly established joint-venture Mister Donut Taiwan Corp., announcing a goal to open 100 outlets in Taiwan in three years. Mister Donut has more than 320 branches across Thailand with more opening yearly. They include stand-alone stores as well as branches at shopping malls and supermarkets. In 2014, donut consumption increased 10 and 15 per cent in Thailand, with Mister Donut accounting for half of that increase. In 2015, Thailand's Central Restaurants Group announced plans to open 30 new outlets in 2015, bringing its store number to 350. The company stated that it would be able to sell "it's doughnuts in all 77 provinces by year end." Central has also stated it is considering expanding Mister Donut in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Vietnam In May 2016, plans were announced for Mister Donut stores to open in Vietnam through Central Restaurants Group (CRG). Europe and Middle East On March 31, 1987, Elie G. Saheb and associates acquired the Mister Donut trademark rights for the United Kingdom and opened the first Mister Donut bakery and pilot shop in Fulham, London. The trademark rights for the European markets were acquired on May 2, 1988, and for the Middle East region on October 14, 1995. The Americas United States After Mister Donut was acquired by Dunkin' Donuts in 1990, most stores either closed or became Dunkin' Donuts. There were nine outlets in the Pennsylvania and Ohio region that remained Mister Donut, mostly due to being close to existing Dunkin' Donuts stores. Their owners formed a cooperative to continue receiving bulk pricing on materials. As of May 2006, these stores rebranded as Donut Connection, serving the same items as Mister Donut. Some locations of the Donut Connection partnership have retained the original fixtures of the original Mister Donut location, such as the outlet in Shakopee, Minnesota, which still has the orange motif and original Mister Donut price board. Most of the stores, while located in areas where Dunkin' remains prominent, also compete with Starbucks and (largely through grocer distribution) Krispy Kreme alongside mom-and-pop shops, but largely do not overlap with Tim Hortons. Only one store located in 2720 Grovelin Street, Godfrey, Illinois, continues to operate as Mister Donut. Canada Mister Donut operations downsized in the late 1990s, and the final surviving three in the Toronto, Ontario area closed quietly around or prior to June 2006. El Salvador In El Salvador, Mister Donut has a large cultural presence as the menu includes traditional Salvadoran cuisine. It has sponsored local football teams such as CD Águila and Alianza F.C. which are major football teams in the country. As of 2026, there are 24 Mister Donut stores in the country, with a few offering 24-hour service. The rights are held by Adolfo Salume. ==Menu==
Menu
mochi donut Mister Donut specializes in coffee and doughnuts. However, it also serves a wide variety of other foods, such as hamburgers and noodle soups. As of 2004, the first Mister Donut shop opened in Taiwan, featuring "doughnuts in 50 different flavors every day. Each flavor comes with a label indicating the level of sweetness." The store also sold around 15 kinds of drinks and beverages. In June 2013, Mister Donut in Thailand debuted the SushiDo, sushi-themed donuts created as a part of "a special sushi-themed menu." At the time, they had not been added to the menu in Japan or other countries. Options included "sweet donut versions of ebi, tamago, maguro, salmon, with sugary frosting replacing raw fish." On May 27, 2014, Mister Donut collaborated with the Japanese fast food franchise Mos Burger on the MOSDO!, a burger using "a spiral-shaped chorizo, lettuce and spicy chili sauce sandwiched between Mister Donut's French Cruller donut as the buns." The menu item was released at Mos Burger stores, while Mister Donut stores at the time were selling "Mos Burger's famous rice burger with sweet bean paste, sweet potato paste, and custard cream stuffing." In April 2015, Mister Donut released new items such as the "Brooklyn Merry-Go-Round, which uses both cookie and bagel dough." At the time, the company announced that it would "launch new key products quarterly while maintaining its standard menu." In 2015, Japan revealed a summer doughnut menu themed to Brooklyn, New York. Japan Times explained that the menu was "'Brooklyn themed' in the sense it combines several foodstuffs into one, in the style of New York-born fusion treats such as the Cronut." Items included "berry or lemon doughnuts cut in half, with a layer of yogurt added to the middle, or a chocolate option with sugary cream in the center."{{cite web As of May 2016, "some 80% of the menu at Mister Donut bakery and cafe is made up of coffee drinks and the rest is doughnuts." In Japan, current items as of July 2016 may include the old-fashioned doughnuts covered in chocolate or cinnamon-flavored. There is also a "chocolate almond croissant muffin," a salty donut, a chocolate-covered churro, a financier donut, and a Japanese-style matcha kuromitsu stick.{{cite web In Japan, Mister Donut's "signature" is the "Pon de Ringu, with its cartoon lion mascot." The Japanese stores also sell the "pon de ring, Mister Donut's signature item that's made of a connected circle of dough balls." Pon de ring varieties include the pon de angel, which is cream-filled, and the pon de kokuto, or a pon de ring with brown sugar. == In media ==
In media
The 1998 album Good Humor by English indie pop band Saint Etienne features a song titled "Mr. Donut", which was inspired by their visit to one of the chain's cafés while on tour in Japan. == Gallery ==
Gallery
File:Mister Donut Pon de Eclair.jpg|Pon de Eclair File:Green tea donuts.jpg|Green tea donuts File:Mister Donuts Pon De Double Chocolet - Akihabara shop, Sotokanda 3 (2006-09-30 02.24.00 by Dave Walker (ffg)).jpg|Chocolate donuts File:Mister Croissant Donut.jpg|"Mister Croissant Donut", a cronut-inspired donut in Japan File:Pikachu Donut and Psyduck Donut.jpg|Pokémon-themed donuts File:Mister Donut Azuki Mochi Chou.jpg|Red bean mochi-flavored donut File:Curry-filled donuts by opencontent in Fukuoka.jpg|Curry-filled donuts in Japan File:Bunny Donuts.jpg|Glazed donuts shaped like rabbits File:Mister Donut halloween donuts in 2012 (8203603035).jpg|Halloween themed donuts ;Other foods File:Chloe of Mister Donut in Japan.jpg File:Double berry yogurt cream muffin of Mister Donut in Japan.jpg File:Mister Donut Pon de Chigiri-pan Qeema Curry & Cheeze.jpg File:Sesame dumpling like pie of Mister Donut in Japan.jpg File:Mister Donut Tapioca Mango Orange.jpg File:Shrimp wonton noodle of Mister Donut in Japan.jpg File:Thick sliced meat noodle of Mister Donut in Japan.jpg File:Bon bon chicken on cold noodle of Mister Donut in Japan.jpg File:Doughnut Burger at Mister Donuts.jpg|Burger using Mister Donut items as the bun ==See also==
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