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Yes, 1.5 Million Krispy Kreme Donuts Can Help Make a Difference
Krispy Kreme deployed a simple, tried and true tactic to perform as a solid, credible corporate citizen: Use your product or service for the greater good.
Consumers have expressed that they believe brands should be at the forefront of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and it appears that Krispy Kreme is leading the charge.
As reported widely in the wee hours yesterday, the venerable donut chain has given away at least 1.5 million donuts to customers who proved that they were vaccinated. If there’s one company that should be changing its stores’ signage, it should be Krispy Kreme, riffing off the Golden Arches’ longtime boast that billions have been served. The company would have to update that sign fast, however: Krispy Kreme has said that the offer to trade in a jab for a donut is good for the rest of 2021, so that could number could rise a fair bit.
As anti-vaccine rhetoric still is in the works, hysteria over digital vaccination passports fester, and social media companies flail in stopping the spread of misinformation, Krispy Kreme is just sticking to its guns, or should we say, glaze. At a bare minimum, its efforts are raising awareness.
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The process is simple. Folks simply need to bring their vaccination cards. Period. The end. No, you can’t bring mom’s or dad’s cards, no one is taking pictures of those cards or taking your personal info, and for those who had their own personal reasons for not getting the vaccine, up until last month Krispy Kreme offered the same courtesy to those customers on Monday.
And on Friday, National Donut Day (June 4), the offer for vaccinated customers will double.
Some nutritionists may have winced at some of the brands offering a similar promotion: Along with your donut and coffee, you could have complemented your vaccination spread with a beer, hot dog and cheesecake. But in the grand public health scheme of things, any effort helping the vaccination campaign here in the U.S. is welcomed: As of press time, just over 41 percent of the total U.S. population is vaccinated, with about 295 total vaccines been given so far.
In the end, Krispy Kreme deployed a simple, tried and true tactic to perform as a solid, credible corporate citizen: Use your product or service for the greater good. It can work for technology, cardboard packaging, personal care products, and yes, certainly for donuts.
Image credit: xandreaswork/Unsplash
Leon Kaye has written for 3p since 2010 and become executive editor in 2018. His previous work includes writing for the Guardian as well as other online and print publications. In addition, he's worked in sales executive roles within technology and financial research companies, as well as for a public relations firm, for which he consulted with one of the globe’s leading sustainability initiatives. Currently living in Central California, he’s traveled to 70-plus countries and has lived and worked in South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.
Leon’s an alum of Fresno State, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Southern California's Marshall Business School. He enjoys traveling abroad as well as exploring California’s Central Coast and the Sierra Nevadas.
