Krispy Kreme to use student as an “independent operator” after previously preventing him from selling their donuts

After controversially issuing a “cease and desist” warning to an enterprising Minnesotan student, donut giants Krispy Kreme have decided to change tack and make him a paid-up partner in their ongoing pastry operations. The dramatic turnaround came after Jayson Gonzalez of Champlin, Minnesota, was forced to halt his original Krispy Kreme resale operation, much to the dismay of the local community. It was partly as a result of their anger at the situation that the powers that be have ultimately changed their mind. 

Initially, the company had insisted that they had asked Gonzalez to stop his enterprise in order “to ensure product quality and regulatory compliance to protect both Jayson and Krispy Kreme.” In a statement released this week, the company wrote:

“Our main concern is that the doughnuts Jayson sells maintain our high product quality standards, given the distance and manner in which he is transporting and distributing them.”

Previously, Gonzalez’ process had involved making a 270-mile round trip to neighbouring Iowa in order to purchase around 100 boxes of the donuts, before reselling them back in Minnesota, where Krispy Kreme has not had a store for over a decade. 

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In light of the popularity of Gonzalez ploy, coupled with the potential PR backlash if they had forced him to stop sales completely, the company has decided to adopt a different approach. As part of their statement on the situation, the company wrote:

“…we are happy to work with Jayson as an independent operator to ensure consistent delivery of our high-quality doughnuts to our fans in Minnesota. We wish Jayson great success and we’re thrilled to help him achieve it by donating 500 dozen doughnuts when he re-starts his business.”

The news was soon confirmed by Gonzalez, who wrote on the Krispy Kreme Run Minnesota Facebook page:

“Hi everyone, here is the next important update! I am pumped to announce that I will be able to continue the business soon, and have the support of Krispy Kreme. They want to ensure I become an independent operator and make sure the brand is represented well. On both ends, there are things that are being worked on right now to achieve that as this is being made as a special exception. But nonetheless, we can get started up again soon once certain things are in place.”

“This being said, I am definitely going to need a bigger vehicle with how much this has grown over the past few days. I know a couple of you have asked about a GoFundMe. I decided to create one because I won’t be able to cover the costs on my own I realize. Any donation would mean the world to me, no matter how small. Maybe I can decal it with some donut stickers! I am happy that things turned out positive, and this can continue to strive and grow over the next couple of years. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that has supported me on this journey.”

Given that the future of the Krispy Kreme run now looks relatively secure, Gonzalez’s story just goes to show that innovation can still pay dividends.