July 12, 2005
Mister Donut has sold over four million doughnuts since it opened in Taiwan just a half a year ago in December. Having opened its fourth shop in mid June, the Japanese doughnut franchise aims to have a total of ten stores up and running by the end of the year, and to reach the 100-store mark within three years.
As with its first four shops, Mr. Donut's fifth and sixth outlets will be located in Taipei City. The opening of these two shops is scheduled for July and August respectively. In addition to the capital city, the franchise says that it is also considering setting up stores in the counties of Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu.
The doughnut shop's menu in Taiwan offers a selection of over eighty percent of the donut varieties available at Mister Donut outlets in Japan. Its donuts, made according to the franchise's Japanese recipes, are reported to be generally less sweet than donuts in the United States.
With this venture, we once again see Taiwan's Uni-President joining forces with a foreign company to create and dominate new domestic markets. Uni-President has helped such major brands as Starbuck's, 7-Eleven and the express delivery service Takkyubin become ubiquitous in Taiwan.
The long lines seen in front of Mister Donut since its opening highlight the perennial draw of all things Japanese in Taiwan.
The doughnut brand has been so successful here in fact that a number of freewheeling entrepreneurs have even begun to mimic the storefronts and cardboard boxes of Mister Donut. Consequently, Mr. Donut, adamant about maintaining the sanctity of its brand image, has filed lawsuits against these imposters.
(United Daily News, Taipei Times)
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