Mister Donut facts for kids
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| Wholly owned subsidiary | |
| Industry | Food and beverage |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Founder | Harry Winokur |
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Area served
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United States, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, El Salvador, Middle East |
| Products | Doughnuts, coffee, bagels |
| Parent |
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Mister Donut is a well-known international chain of doughnut shops. It started in the United States in 1956, created by Harry Winokur. You can find many tasty treats there, like doughnuts, coffee, muffins, and pastries.
In 1990, most Mister Donut stores in North America changed their name to Dunkin' Donuts. This happened after a company called Allied Domecq bought them. But don't worry, Mister Donut is still very popular in other parts of the world! You can find their shops in countries like Japan, El Salvador, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Contents
History of Mister Donut
In 1955, Harry Winokur worked with his brother-in-law, William Rosenberg. Rosenberg was the person who started Dunkin' Donuts. After a while, Winokur decided to start his own doughnut business. He teamed up with his son-in-law, David Slater, to create Mister Donut that same year.
Their doughnut shops quickly became very popular across North America. Winokur and Slater decided to let other people open Mister Donut shops too, through a system called franchising. This helped Mister Donut grow very fast. Soon, there were 275 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
In 1970, a big food company called International Multifoods Corporation bought Mister Donut from Winokur. This helped the company grow even more.
Mister Donut Around the World
The first Mister Donut shop in Japan opened in 1971. A training center was also built there to teach people how to make their delicious doughnuts. In 1973, the French cruller doughnut became available in Japanese stores.
In 1978, two brothers, Sutthichai and Sutthikiat Chirathiwat, opened the first Mister Donut store in Bangkok, Thailand. They helped make doughnuts very popular in Thailand.
In 1983, a Japanese company named Duskin Co., Ltd. got the rights to open Mister Donut shops all over Japan and Asia.
Changes and Growth
In the 1980s, Mister Donut was a big competitor to Dunkin' Donuts. By 1989, a large British company called Allied-Lyons plc bought Dunkin' Donuts. Soon after, Dunkin' Donuts bought Mister Donut from International Multifoods.
After this, most Mister Donut stores in North America were given the choice to become Dunkin' Donuts. However, Mister Donut shops in other parts of the world, like Japan and El Salvador, continued to operate on their own.
In 2005, a group of companies bought Dunkin' Brands, which owned both Dunkin' Donuts and Mister Donut. Later, in 2020, another company called Inspire Brands bought Dunkin' Brands. This meant Mister Donut's brand management became part of Inspire Brands.
As of 2017, there was only one Mister Donut store left in the United States, located in Godfrey, Illinois. But worldwide, there were about 10,000 Mister Donut stores! In Japan, Mister Donut had over 1,300 stores in 2016, making it the biggest doughnut chain in that country.
Marketing and Mascots
Mister Donut has a fun orange and white logo that looks like a chef with a mustache. Recently, they also created cute mascot characters based on their doughnuts.
In Japan, one popular mascot is called "Pon de Lion." He is a lion whose mane looks like the special "pon de ring" doughnut.
In El Salvador, the mascots are five doughnuts that look like people, plus a rooster. The rooster is used for their breakfast menu. The company uses the same logo as Japan and has a slogan that means "The great variety."
Mister Donut Stores Around the World
Asia
Mister Donut shops are very popular in many Asian countries. You can find them in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Singapore.
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Mister Donut Japanese headquarters
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Mister Donut in Sendai, Japan
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Mister Donut in Shanghai, China (now closed)
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Mister Donut in Taipei, Taiwan
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Mister Donut stall in Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Japan
In Japan, the Duskin Co., Ltd. company runs the Mister Donut franchise. They are part of a large group called Mitsui. Mister Donut is the biggest doughnut chain in Japan. As of March 2021, they had 961 shops!
When Mister Donut first came to Japan, the recipes were changed to make them even better. This helped the company become very successful. Before Mister Donut, Japanese people often thought of doughnuts as just snacks for kids.
In 2007, a newspaper wrote that Mister Donut became popular with younger Japanese people. They liked the American-style doughnuts, the shop's look, and the music. In 2013, a survey asked Japanese people about their favorite fast food. Mister Donut came in third place, which shows how much people love it there.
Philippines
The first Mister Donut shop in the Philippines opened in 1982 in Manila. It has become the second largest doughnut chain in the country.
Many of their 1,800 shops are small stalls, often found inside shopping malls. About 200 are full-size stores. You can even buy Mister Donut products in 7-Eleven stores and KFC restaurants.
Mister Donut in the Philippines focuses on doughnuts. They are often bought as pasalubong, which are gifts that visitors bring to friends and family. The doughnuts are made smaller and cheaper to fit the local market. They also have different flavors that people in the Philippines enjoy.
Taiwan
In 2004, a company called Uni-President Group brought Mister Donut to Taiwan. They planned to open 100 shops in Taiwan within three years.
Thailand
In Thailand, Mister Donut has been a top doughnut brand since 1978. Their slogan is "Donut for Fun." As of 2011, Thailand was the biggest market for Mister Donut outside of Japan in terms of sales.
Mister Donut has over 320 shops across Thailand, and more open every year. You can find them as stand-alone stores or inside shopping malls and supermarkets. In 2015, the company planned to open 30 new shops. They also said they might expand Mister Donut to Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Vietnam
In May 2016, there were plans to open Mister Donut stores in Vietnam.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, Mister Donut is managed by Indomaret. The first store opened in 2015. They have 7 stand-alone shops and 1,350 small stands inside Indomaret stores. These are often found in city centers, malls, airports, and train stations.
Singapore
Mister Donut opened its first shop in Singapore in May 2023. This happened after a successful test run in August 2022.
China
Mister Donut shops in China closed down in 2019. They had been operating for almost 20 years. The reason for closing was high costs to run the shops and high labor costs. Ten shops in Shanghai closed in April 2019.
Europe and Middle East
In 1987, the first Mister Donut shop and bakery in the United Kingdom opened in London. The rights to the Mister Donut brand for Europe were bought in 1988, and for the Middle East in 1995.
The Americas
United States
After Dunkin' Donuts bought Mister Donut in 1990, most Mister Donut shops in the United States either closed or changed into Dunkin' Donuts.
A few shops in Pennsylvania and Ohio stayed as Mister Donut. This was often because they were close to existing Dunkin' Donuts stores. These remaining stores later changed their name to Donut Connection. They still sell many of the same items that Mister Donut used to sell.
Today, only one Mister Donut store continues to operate in the United States. It is located in Godfrey, Illinois.
Canada
Mister Donut shops in Canada became fewer in the late 1990s. The last three shops in the Toronto, Ontario area closed around 2006.
El Salvador
In El Salvador, the Mister Donut menu includes some local foods from Salvadoran cuisine. As of 2014, there were 30 Mister Donut shops in the country. Some of them are even open 24 hours a day!
Mister Donut Menu
Mister Donut is famous for its coffee and, of course, its doughnuts!
In 2004, the first Mister Donut shop in Taiwan offered 50 different doughnut flavors every day. Each flavor had a label to show how sweet it was. The store also sold about 15 kinds of drinks.
Mister Donut often creates special doughnut lines for different events. For example, in Thailand, they made soldier-themed doughnuts for National Doughnut Day. The money raised helped military personnel.
In June 2013, Mister Donut in Thailand launched "SushiDo." These were sushi-themed doughnuts! They looked like sushi but were sweet. Options included sweet doughnut versions of shrimp, egg, tuna, and salmon, with sugary frosting instead of raw fish. For Halloween in October 2013, Mister Donut made Hello Kitty jack-o’-lantern doughnuts in pumpkin or strawberry flavors.
In 2014, the stores in El Salvador offered a menu that felt more "homey." They sold local favorites like pupusas and tamales alongside their big, cream-filled doughnuts.
In April 2014, the company launched a doughnut that looked like a croissant. It became very popular!
In May 2014, Mister Donut worked with the Japanese fast food chain Mos Burger. They created a special burger called MOSDO! This burger used a Mister Donut French Cruller doughnut as the bun!
In April 2015, Mister Donut released new items like the "Brooklyn Merry-Go-Round." This doughnut used both cookie and bagel dough.
In 2015, Japan had a summer doughnut menu inspired by Brooklyn, New York. These doughnuts combined different foods into one, like the famous Cronut. For example, they had berry or lemon doughnuts cut in half with a layer of yogurt inside.
As of May 2016, about 80% of the menu at Mister Donut shops was coffee drinks, and the rest were doughnuts.
In Japan, a "signature" item is the "Pon de Ringu." This doughnut has a cartoon lion mascot. It's made of a connected circle of dough balls. There are different kinds of Pon de Ring doughnuts, like the "pon de angel" (which is cream-filled) and the "pon de kokuto" (with brown sugar).
Gallery
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"Mister Croissant Donut", a cronut-inspired donut available at Mister Donut stores throughout Japan
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Coffee cup and tray
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Rice congee at a store in 2006
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Curry-filled donuts in Japan in 2007
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Burger using Mister Donut items for the bun in 2009
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Green tea donuts in 2009
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Glazed donuts shaped like rabbits in 2011
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Themed donuts in 2012
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Crème brûlée donut in 2016 in Japan
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Images for kids
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A honey-glazed churro from a Japanese Mister Donut shop in 2006
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A former Mister Donut in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which became Dunkin' Donuts in 1994. The store was rebuilt in 2003, with a Baskin-Robbins and a drive-thru added.
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Interior of the sole Mister Donut store in the United States located in 2720 Grovelin Street, Godfrey, Illinois.
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Mister Donut in San Salvador.
See also
In Spanish: Mister Donut para niños
- List of doughnut shops
- List of coffeehouse chains
