Mister Donut

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Mister Donut in Tokyo, Japan
Mister Donut in Tokyo, Japan
Mister Donut in Taipei, Taiwan
Mister Donut in Taipei, Taiwan

Mister Donut is a large doughnut franchise. Once an American icon, the franchise now operates mainly in Japan and other Asian markets.

Contents

[edit] Corporate history

[edit] North America

Mister Donut was founded in 1956 and had locations across most of North America.

Mister Donut was the largest competitor to Dunkin' Donuts, which was founded in 1950, prior to being acquired by Dunkin' Donuts' parent company, Allied-Lyons, in February 1990.

After the acquisition of Mister Donut by Allied-Lyons, all Mister Donut locations within North America were offered the chance to change their name to Dunkin' Donuts. Now only a scattered few locations still hold the name Mister Donut.

[edit] Japan and Asia

In 1983, Duskin Co. Ltd of Osaka Japan acquired the rights to franchise Mister Donut throughout Japan and Asia. Mister Donut is the largest donut chain operating in Japan.

[edit] Marketing presence

Mister Donut has a distinctive orange and white logo in the likeness of a moustachioed chef (see photo above). More recently, the chain developed a set of mascot characters based on its donuts. One character in particular, "Pon de Lion" (a lion with a mane shaped like its "pon de ring" donut line) has become equally recognizable (if not moreso)to customers in Japan.

One popular Mister Donut advertising jingle featured a song sung by two people in various settings:

Hey, Mister, that's a doughnut!
Hey, Mister, that's a Mister Donut doughnut!

[edit] Global locations

Mister Donut in Shanghai, China
Mister Donut in Shanghai, China

[edit] Asian market

Today, the Mister Donut brand survives in Japan, Thailand, China, and the Philippines, and the company is expanding into other areas of Asia such as Taiwan, and South Korea. In Taiwan, the chain is owned by a joint venture between Duskin and the Uni-President Enterprises Corporation, which also operates 7-11 and Starbucks stores in Taiwan.

[edit] Japan

In Japan, Mister Donut is owned by Duskin Corporation. Mister Donut is the largest Donut franchise chain in Japan. Many Mister Donut stores in Japan house Yamucha sub-stores that serve a small variety of dim sum. These sub-stores are usually advertised with the phrase "San Francisco Chinatown," reinforcing the chain's American image even while selling Chinese food.

[edit] Central America

[edit] El Salvador

There are also numerous Mister Donut locations throughout El Salvador in Central America.

[edit] North America

[edit] Canada

Mister Donut operations downsized in the late 1990s with its stores located mostly in Toronto, Ontario. Of the five stores, only three survive today with the name but are not associated with the current chain.

[edit] United States

A former Mister Donut in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which converted to Dunkin' Donuts in 1994. The store was completely rebuilt in 2003, with a Baskin-Robbins and a drive-thru added to the location.
A former Mister Donut in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which converted to Dunkin' Donuts in 1994. The store was completely rebuilt in 2003, with a Baskin-Robbins and a drive-thru added to the location.

There are many stores in the Pennsylvania and Ohio region that did not convert to Dunkin' Donuts, mostly due to being too close to existing Dunkin' Donuts locations at the time. Nine Mister Donut owners formed a cooperative to continue to receive bulk pricing on materials. These stores are now known as Donut Connection and serve the same menu and recipes as Mister Donut once did. There are hundreds of Donut Connection franchises in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and nearby states. Only 9 stores left with the Mister Donut name in the United States that did not change their name to Dunkin Donuts. They are:

[edit] External links