Krispy Kreme pays tribute to Benguet’s strawberries

KRISPY Kreme goes to Baguio City, opens its first factory store in the Summer Capital. PHOTOS BY EV ESPIRITU

BAGUIO CITY—’Twas five days before Christmas when international doughnut brand, Krispy Kreme, opened its first factory store here, the 75th outlet it put up in the country in nine years.

Krispy Kreme Baguio at the SM City Baguio’s Cyberzone II will also be the only store to offer its new product, the Double Chocolate Strawberry Cake, said Ariane Valinton, the firm’s senior marketing manager, during the media launch on Dec. 19.

The new product is a reinvention of Krispy Kreme’s Double Chocolate, which will be topped with fresh strawberries supplied by organic farmers in Benguet.

“We will be very willing to sell the Double Chocolate Strawberry Cake nationwide or even globally, in time. But for now, it will be available only in our very first factory store here in Baguio City,” she said.

Being an international brand, Krispy Kreme needed its local market to have something which it could identify with, she said.

“Baguio has really been known for its sweet juicy strawberries [produced in Benguet capital, La Trinidad town]. We also want to give back to the community, so we are tapping local farmers for supply,” she said, citing the La Trinidad Organic Producers Organization (Latop).

Valinton said the Baguio store would offer 30 to 40 dozens of Double Chocolate Strawberry Cake each day.

KRISPY Kreme Baguio is the chain’s 75th in the Philippines.

A second Baguio store may open in 2016, added Jimmy Trota, a director of the Max’s Group Inc. (MGI), which owns the Krispy Kreme Philippine franchise.

“Baguio City is part of my childhood memories, from strolling at Burnham Park to falling off the horses, so opening a store here brings [me] joy,” he said.

MGI owns a “family of restaurants,” among them Max’s Restaurant, Pancake House, Yellow Cab, Teriyaki Boy, Dencio’s Restaurant and Max’s Corner Bakery.