Duck Donuts, one of the nation’s fastest-growing donut franchises, announced its shift in growth strategy for 2019. Since the franchising company’s inception in 2013, Duck Donuts’ growth has been organic, with much franchise interest stemming from personal experiences at the original locations in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
In order to continue the momentum of fastest-growing donut franchise, the company is looking at a more aggressive approach to selling franchise agreements domestically and internationally, particularly west of Missouri and in tourist and resort areas.
“In just over five years, Duck Donuts has sold more than 220 locations across 26 states, organically, with a heavy presence on the east coast,” says Russ DiGilio, founder and CEO of Duck Donuts Franchising Company. “We want to provide our unique experience of serving warm, delicious and made-to-order donuts throughout the country, which is why we have made the decision to be more proactive in searching for potential franchisees to join our growing family.”
To support the company’s growth strategy, Duck Donuts has partnered with Buxton, the industry leader in customer analytics. Duck Donuts will have access to the web-based Buxton Analytics Platform, which will allow the franchising company to score potential sites, visualize market data and run reports to support its growth and marketing strategy.
Duck Donuts, which currently operates 78 locations across 16 states and two countries, plans to open 24 stores in 2019, including new states such as Arizona, Michigan, Missouri and Utah. The franchising company recently celebrated the opening of its first international location in Santiago, Chile.
Duck Donuts specializes in Warm, Delicious and Made-to-Order!® donuts. Customers can create their own donut combination by choosing from a variety of coatings, toppings and drizzles, including traditional favorites such as chocolate icing with sprinkles and more adventurous creations such as maple icing with bacon. The family-friendly stores offer a viewing area where children and adults alike can watch their donuts being made. Duck Donuts also sells coffee, tea, donut breakfast sandwiches and now offers online ordering in many locations. To learn more about local promotions or locate the nearest Duck Donuts, visit duckdonuts.com/locations/.
Duck Donuts was founded in 2006 by Russ DiGilio in Duck, North Carolina. His intention? To solve a family vacation problem: “Our family wanted a place to buy warm, delicious, made-to-order donuts, and when we couldn’t find one, we decided to start our own.”
By 2011, Duck Donuts had expanded to four Outer Banks locations and the donut business was so successful that DiGilio was continuously approached about franchise opportunities by fans who begged for a Duck Donuts in their community. The first franchise opened in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 2013, and there are now 78 open franchise locations in two countries and more than 145 additional contracts in 26 states.