Krispy Kreme’s Doughnut-Decorating Robots Were a ‘Supermessy’ Disaster. Now It’s Hiring Humans.
The doughnut chain brought in humans to decorate limited-edition Harry Potter and He-Man designs for the social media crowd.
Krispy Kreme was in a hole. The company makes more than one billion doughnuts a year — but when it came to using robots to make its specialty doughnuts Instagram-worthy, the machines couldn’t do it. “It got supermessy,” CEO Josh Charlesworth told The Wall Street Journal.
The solution should be music to anyone’s ears who fears robots will replace us. The company is now hiring human artists to create limited-edition designs — Harry Potter, He-Man, Milk Bar collaborations — and doing 15 to 20 special runs a year plus seasonal collections. Customers lined up for a Harry Potter collection last year.
The human pivot is part of a broader turnaround. Krispy Kreme posted losses last year after a high-profile McDonald’s partnership fell flat. The company has since cut costs, shed unprofitable delivery routes and shifted distribution to Walmart, Target and Kroger. Only 25% of its machine capacity is currently being used — meaning there’s plenty of room to grow without adding automation.
In a world obsessed with AI, sometimes even a billion-doughnut operation needs a human touch.
Krispy Kreme was in a hole. The company makes more than one billion doughnuts a year — but when it came to using robots to make its specialty doughnuts Instagram-worthy, the machines couldn’t do it. “It got supermessy,” CEO Josh Charlesworth told The Wall Street Journal.
The solution should be music to anyone’s ears who fears robots will replace us. The company is now hiring human artists to create limited-edition designs — Harry Potter, He-Man, Milk Bar collaborations — and doing 15 to 20 special runs a year plus seasonal collections. Customers lined up for a Harry Potter collection last year.
The human pivot is part of a broader turnaround. Krispy Kreme posted losses last year after a high-profile McDonald’s partnership fell flat. The company has since cut costs, shed unprofitable delivery routes and shifted distribution to Walmart, Target and Kroger. Only 25% of its machine capacity is currently being used — meaning there’s plenty of room to grow without adding automation.
In a world obsessed with AI, sometimes even a billion-doughnut operation needs a human touch.
