In Paris, Krispy Kreme takes on the croissant
| Paris
I was riding the Paris metro when I saw it: a floor-to-ceiling advertisement featuring a half-eaten glazed doughnut, boasting that it was 鈥渢he best croissant in Paris.鈥�
I鈥檇 just spent four hours at a circus with my children and thought that, perhaps, my corneas had been burned out by all the strobe lights. But no, it was true.
As the metro doors closed, I had a moment to digest 鈥� though not yet literally: Krispy Kreme had arrived in France.
Why We Wrote This
Krispy Kreme has opened in Paris. Is this the end of French civilization as we know it? McDonald鈥檚 and Burger King, both flourishing in France, will tell you differently.
Last Wednesday, around 500 people lined up at the crack of dawn 鈥� some having camped out overnight 鈥� to attend the grand opening of the latest American fast-food chain to hit town. Paris鈥� first Krispy Kreme store, ironically located in the space once occupied by French multi-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, will be joined by 11 more around the French capital over the next three months. The sugary delights will also be available soon in supermarkets.
This should not have come as a surprise to me. Over the 15 years that I have lived here, I鈥檝e seen the French love-hate relationship with American fast food play out in a number of ways. McDonald鈥檚 has become the lazy go-to Sunday meal for Parisian hipsters and French families alike. Starbucks is always so packed that you鈥檙e lucky to get a table and, if you do, more than likely to accidentally end up in someone else鈥檚 selfie.
And I鈥檒l never forget the day my Spanish husband came home from work and told me excitedly about the new restaurant he鈥檇 discovered where they sold made-to-order burritos! You guessed it: Chipotle.
That all adds up to a substantial American presence. France is the biggest market outside the United States for both McDonald鈥檚 (鈧�6 billion, or $6.5 billion,聽in sales last year) and Burger King (鈧�1.2 billion).
Domino鈥檚 Pizza, Five Guys, and KFC, among others, have all set up shop here, with plans to expand.
Like the rest of the pack, Krispy Kreme can hope to build a French market through the Gen Z generation of customers, who have grown up watching their favorite celebs munching those rings of greasy dough on American TV series or in TikTok videos.
Still, if you are like me, you鈥檙e probably having trouble imagining a French person choose an unsophisticated, sugar shock-inducing doughnut over a refined, flaky croissant. And, surely, a French patron wouldn鈥檛 be caught dead actually聽诲耻苍办颈苍驳听that doughnut into their聽caf茅 au lait?
But like McDonald鈥檚 鈥� which has added French-produced meats and croissants to its local menu 鈥� Krispy Kreme is one step ahead of you. They鈥檙e offering delights such as gingerbread-flavored doughnuts and a less-sweet strawberry frosting to appeal to the Parisian palate.
That might be enough to sway French food snobs. And speaking for myself, while I can鈥檛 say I鈥檇 choose a doughnut over a聽pain au chocolat, I will admit that one of my secret 鈥渕usts鈥� each time I go back to the U.S. is a sour cream glazed doughnut from 鈥� Krispy Kreme. If I could avoid taking a nine-hour flight to sink my teeth into one of those little pieces of heaven, it wouldn鈥檛 be the end of the world.
Maybe the famous croissant and its ugly American stepsister, the doughnut, can coexist. If there鈥檚 one thing the French know, it鈥檚 food, so I鈥檓 confident they鈥檝e got this.
Now, onto more pressing matters. I wonder how you say 鈥淐hocolate Iced Custard-Filled鈥� in French?
