It sounds like a James Bond plot… Our man dispatched to make sure a secret formula safely reaches a military base in edgy South Korea. But it’s really just a move by Krispy Kreme to get its doughnuts to the troops…
Can Armed Forces bakers duplicate Krispy Kreme’s Original Glazed Doughnut
– even though they’re being allowed to use the real deal Original Recipe?
It’s a crucial question soon to be answered ‘in the field’. KK has decided to trust bakers at Camp Humphreys, a massive US Army base in South Korea, with its coveted Original Glazed (KKOG) Recipe…
Why risk it?
You might ask, “What if the secrets fall into enemy hands?” Not a chance. Security on the base has always been high. And as far as we know, it’s never been breached.
The first thing I wondered was, “Why not just open a Krispy Kreme store on the base?” After all McDonald’s went to Kandahar…
A command decision
The idea is to give US troops stationed on the doorstep of unstable, problematic North Korea a comforting taste of home. It’s a relatively small gesture that could go a long way to helping keep US personnel on the emotional straight and narrow as tensions between the two bitter enemies continue to rise.
But, you say (again), “But there are 22 Krispy Kreme locations dotted all over South Korea – particularly in Seoul and Inchon. Why make them on base?”
To which I answer: ‘You’ve never been in the army, have you?” Armed forces personnel are only able to go into town to get KKs if they’re on leave. That plays hell with the typical daily KK habit.
But there’s more to it than that…
A matter of taste
CNN asked Seoul natives and visitors if they could detect any difference between the KKOGs available in town and those made on base. The one thing they agreed on was, the version made on the base is decidedly sweeter than the one from civvy street.
But one native connoisseur commented, Koreans don’t like things as sweet as Americans do. And American treats imported to the Penninsula are often made with less sugar.
Makes sense… There are notable differences in the salt and sweet balances in many McDonald’s and other Fast Food chains’ main menu items to adapt them to regional tastes.
My take
The high-profile, low-cost, low-effort gesture, to make home-side style KKOGs available to US troops stationed in Korea, is a great idea. It’s guaranteed winner as a morale booster, both in concept and substance. And it will return its investment many fold.
KKOGs are also being shipped to other US bases in South Korea, daily, from Humphrey’s. Inclusivity is a big factor in maintaining the ‘cultural integrity’ of the US military community in what is becoming an increasingly nerve-wracking location…
~ Maggie J.