Krispy Kreme UK has opened its first standalone motorway outlet at Oxford Services on the M40, operated by Welcome Break.

The specialist doughnut retailer said the trial store, which opened on 6 December, is manned by Welcome Break’s staff which have been trained by Krispy Kreme UK, and will serve the same range of doughnuts found it the firm’s 53 outlets across the UK.

Rob Hunt, Krispy Kreme UK’s joint managing director, told British Baker: “We have a relationship with the three major motorway providers because of our doughnut cabinets, similar to those found in Tesco, which we have been doing for the best part of three years. Welcome Break approached us to talk about ways of expanding that offering, so this was a natural next step along that route.”

Hunt added that the trial would not be running for any set period of time, but if both Krispy Kreme UK and Welcome Break are happy with its progress, then it will become a permanent feature and the company will look to roll out elsewhere.

“It’s too early days as to how successful the site has been,” he said. “The early weeks have been encouraging, sales have been strong and, interestingly, there is not much sign of it cannibalising our existing cabinet sales as well, which is one of the key areas we were looking at. It’s a model we are keen to talk to Welcome Break about, as well as Moto and Roadchef in the future.”

Looking ahead at the next 12 months, Hunt explained that Krispy Kreme UK will be opening 10 new stores, including its first site in Scotland on 13 February, which will be based at Hermiston Gait in Edinburgh.

Hunt said: “The Edinburgh outlet will be one of our Hotlight stores, which will not only give us our first presence in Scotland, but the capability to expand across the rest of the region. We are looking at a number of outlets around Edinburgh at the moment and we are currently in negotiation with a number of landlords at present.”

Krispy Kreme UK is headed up by Hunt and his business partner Richard Cheshire, who will be British Baker’s guest speaker at the invitation-only BB75 Lunch next month. The event will reveal the top 75 retail bakery businesses in the UK based on store count.

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