kayb - But, is the dough (for Krispy Cremes) prepared on site (even if they fry the doughnuts there) or is it pre-made and trucked in?
Around here I have never seen a 'fresh' Krispy Crème doughnut - they all come in bags in the grocery store and are marked with expiration dates at least a week away. Occasionally I have seen them in truckstops/gas stations - where they put a light on that warms up rows of single doughnuts in a case to give the impression that they might be 'fresh'. I know they are not made there, or even fried/baked there however. I once, years back, did eat a Krispy Crème doughnut that may have been completely made on site - maybe even from scratch as opposed to using a mix (when the chain was new) - it was ok but I found it disappeared when I bit into it - there wasn't much except air (and sweetness) there - but then I prefer a cake doughnut most of the time since it has some substance so perhaps I am biased.
I also know (because I have to know what soy ingredients may be lurking in everything so I ask) that 'freshly baked' bread at the grocery store (or any bakery product there for that matter) may be 'hot from their ovens' but the dough is trucked in - and most of the time, the so-called 'bakers' don't even have a clue about the ingredients in a loaf/bun/whatever - that information can only be obtained when it spits out of their price marking/label machines for them. Real bakeries (particularly small niche ones) DO still make their products, usually from scratch, as far as I know - but chains of most kinds are after mass profits (and consistency across their distributors/resellers, etc.) as opposed to highlighting hand-made quality these days.