Krispy Kreme doughnut resale generates fresh profit.

Byline: RETAIL NOTEBOOK By Edward Russo The Register-Guard

Maybe you've noticed the sugar-inspired buzz. The hype over Krispy Kreme doughnuts is rising in Lane County.

With the opening of two Krispy Kreme stores in the Portland area in the past six weeks, the company's famous doughnuts are showing up in Eugene-Springfield.

But that's not just because Lane County residents who happen to be in Clackamas and Beaverton are stopping at the Krispy Kreme franchises to bring back a few of the doughnuts for family, friends or co-workers.

Some entrepreneurs are making the Portland-and-back runs in hopes of making a profit by selling the goodies here for a steep markup.

Two weeks ago, Brian Bach sold 110 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts - that's 1,320 doughnuts - in front of the Pak Mail store in North Eugene's Delta Oaks shopping center. Bach, operator of More of Everything in Valley River Center, said it was a chance to earn money while generating exposure for his friend and Pak Mail franchise owner, Todd Henry.

It took Bach and helpers 1 1/2 hours to sell all the doughnuts to a stream of people, many of whom had read his ad in that morning's newspaper. Others were drawn to the card table decorated with Krispy Kreme paraphernalia and topped with white, green and red doughnut boxes.

Bach said he paid the retail price of $6.50 a dozen for the doughnuts, or 54 cents apiece, and sold them for $12 a dozen. Many people didn't seem to mind paying $1 a doughnut. On 110 dozen, that's a gross profit of $605, before Bach paid for travel to and from Portland and other expenses.

Krispy Kreme says it discourages such resales. The company prefers to sell doughnuts warm from its stores or through outlets of approved vendors. "We can't control the quality of the experience" with resellers, said Kevin Bruzzone, Oregon and southwest Washington franchise developer for Krispy Kreme.

Also, peddling doughnuts for twice the retail price is "gouging" customers, he said.

Yet Krispy Kreme, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., encourages another type of reselling. It helps nonprofit groups by selling them doughnuts for half the retail price, Bruzzone said. Charitable groups then can make a profit by selling the doughnuts at the full retail price.

Bruzzone said his development group based in the Seattle area is looking for sites in Eugene-Springfield. "We expect to be in that market" someday, he said.

Retail Notebook runs Thursdays. Edward Russo can be reached at 338-2359 or [e-mail].