SALES SWEET AS KRISPY KREMES COME TO RICE

ROSEANNE HARPER

HOUSTON -- Rice Epicurean Markets here has added Krispy Kreme brand doughnuts with good sales results, officials said.

The doughnuts, delivered fresh everyday, got a send-off at all eight Rice Epicurean Markets. Colorful banners with the Krispy Kreme name and logo were hung outside to announce their arrival and associates offered customers a taste of the new product at the front of the store.

The premium-priced doughnuts -- $4.99 a dozen or 60 cents each -- are merchandised in two locations in Rice Epicurean stores -- on a display table at the front of the store and at the service bakery counter.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts, even though they've been revered by consumers in the Southeast for years, are newcomers to Houston. They made their debut earlier this year when a franchisee of the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Krispy Kreme opened a freestanding store in the suburbs here. Soon thereafter, Rice Epicurean Markets officials knew they wanted the product in their stores, said Douglas Dick, vice president of food-service operations.

Dick explained that the retailer, which had never offered doughnuts in its in-store bakery, saw a niche for an item like Krispy Kreme.

"We never wanted a typical grocery-store doughnut, but this is a fantastic product, better than any around here and 10 times better than one you'd buy in a typical grocery store," Dick said.

While he wouldn't say how many dozen Krispy Kremes his company sells since their July debut, Dick said sales have been up to his expectations.

"[Sales] were great right away and they've stayed up. The product doesn't need any explanation. Once you've tried one, that's all you need."

The display of boxed dozens at the front of the store will be permanent, he said.

"We'll keep them up front because it's convenient for our customers to run in and grab a box and get out quickly."

Customers wanting to buy less than a dozen can buy them at the in-store bakery where they're displayed on top of the counter under a dome. Signs at both in-store locations clearly identify the products as Krispy Kreme.

Most sales are by the dozen and the standard glazed outsell boxes of assorted doughnuts three to one, Dick said. The boxes of assorted product contain three each of these varieties: apple-filled, chocolate glazed, standard glazed and cream-filled.

In addition to offering samples the first few weeks in its stores, Rice Epicurean Markets gave away whole doughnuts outside the store on the first day of the product launch. The company's flier also noted that the sought-after brand is available at all Rice Epicurean Markets.