| Donut King | |
| Type: | Subsidiary and franchise system |
| Foundation: | in Sydney, Australia |
| Location: | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
| Locations: | 360 + |
| Industry: | Restaurant |
| Owner: | Retail Food Group |
Donut King is an Australian multinational doughnut company and quick service restaurant. It specialises in Australian-style doughnuts and coffee. Signature menu items include hot cinnamon donuts, quakeshakes, thickshakes, milkshakes and barista-made DK Coffee Blend.
The Donut King chain was founded in 1981 in Sydney.[1] The Donut King Brand System was established in Australia in 1989 and has been operating as a franchise system since 1991. It is currently managed, under licence, by the Gold Coast-based Retail Food Group Limited. Retail Food Group also manages Gloria Jeans Coffee, Michel's Patisserie, Brumby's Bakeries, Crust Pizza, and bb's Café, with a total of 1050 stores within Australia and New Zealand.
As of January 2020, there were over 250 Donut King stores in Australia[2] and a number of stores internationally across New Zealand, Fiji, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea, China and the United Kingdom. In July 2008, Donut King entered into a master licence agreement with Shanghai-based Mak Brands, marking the Australian brand's first foray into the China market. There are now 14 stores in China.[3]
Donut King is not related to a restaurant with the same name that is located in St. Charles, Missouri, United States,[4] or several other Donut King located across the United States.
On 5 December 2007, Donut King oversaw construction of the World's Largest Doughnut, in order to celebrate The Simpsons Movies DVD release. It was created from over 90,000 doughnuts, using half a tonne of pink icing and 30 kg of sprinkles from Donut King. Taking 40 people over nine hours to build, the giant doughnut measured six metres and weighed 3.5 tonnes.[5]