After burgers, the donut war has been declared in France

Donuts are invading the land of croissants

They had sniffed out the sweet vein before anyone else. In Paris, The French Donuts adapted the famous American donuts to the artisanal tricolor sauce in 2013. Two years later, the donut assumed its American recipes in the kitchen of an Irish-American couple who opened Boneshaker Doughnuts, also in the French capital.

And then, Homer Simpson’s favorite cake – who, let’s be clear, contributed to the legend of this donut by eating it in a big mouthful in the series “The Simpsons”, silenced the evil tongues who indicated it as a fatty, sugary and tastelessly uninteresting delicacy. In 2022, the Californian chef Raamin Samiyi sent it into the gastronomic spheres by swapping the oil bath for cooking in coconut oil. At Momzi Donuts, the donuts take on the appearance of French pastries dressed to the nines, prepared with good, well-sourced products.

The ground was thus perfectly plowed for the American giants to land on a land usually promised to éclairs and brioche. And it was the king Krispy Kreme who first opened a store in the heart of Paris. Last December, the arrival of Homer Simpson’s favorite brand created a riot in the Châtelet les Halles district. The iconic Original Glazed is wasting no time in nibbling away at the City of Lights. Store openings are coming one after the other in the Lyon and Saint-Lazare train stations, and as far as Val d’Europe, near Disneyland Paris, in Seine-et-Marne.

Dunkin’ arrives in France

In this sugary effervescence, another donut was conspicuous… by its absence: Dunkin’! Present in more than forty countries in the world with more than 13,700 points of sale, the coffee chain was frequented by French travelers during their stays in the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom… Starting next year, they should no longer need to bring back the donuts with flashy colors or topped with a smiley face in their suitcase.

The Belgian QSRP group, specializing in fast food, has obtained authorization to develop the Dunkin’ brand in France, initially in Paris. The company from the flat country, which already manages giants such as Burger King, Quick and O’Tacos, “then plans to expand Dunkin”s presence throughout France by offering different types of points of sale, adapted to each location and each consumption opportunity.“, the site emphasizes Franchise Magazine. Facing Krispy Kreme, Dunkin could well relaunch the cards of the donut business, not only with its prices but also with its broader offer which includes hot drinks, customizable boxes but also savory dishes.

France, country of burgers and donuts

This new battle that is looming has a serious taste of déjà vu in France, both in the symbolism and in the dynamics of restaurant openings. In the country of Paul Bocuse, we love the contradictions between the pride of a culinary heritage that the whole world envies and an ogre’s appetite for the emblem of fast food, the burger. The French swallowed around 1.5 billion of them in 2023. We can thus highlight the same paradox at dessert time (or snack time) with this craze for the donut in the country of Antonin Carême.

Remember: in 2013, when Burger King decided to reopen a point of sale in Paris after closing its restaurants in 1997, its French fans were ready to wait several hours to order the famous whopper. For about fifteen years, the never-confirmed announcement of this return had created the legend of the fast food chain in France. Its successful comeback had then seriously whetted appetites, arousing the covetousness of American giants such as Five Gyus, Popeyes, Wendy’s (whose arrival had been announced but never materialized), Steak n’ Shake…