"For starters, our doughnuts are not as sweet," she said, "and all of our ingredients come from Japan."
She explained that in addition to the wide variety of flavors, toppings, and fillings that can be found at Mister Donut, its doughnuts also come in three different textures. In addition to the more traditional cake and bread-like doughnuts, Mister Donut also offers mochi-textured doughnuts. Mochi is a Japanese dessert made of glutinous rice. Mister Donut's selections are also smaller in size when compared with their counterparts at Dunkin Donuts.
Most who braved the lines to try the doughnuts found them satisfactory, if a little on the chewy side.
"It's the best donut you can get in Taiwan, but it's not as good as Dunkin Donuts," Fu told the Taipei Times. "If someone bought some for me, I'd eat it," he said, but indicated that he would not buy the doughnut again for himself.
He noted that the doughnuts, priced between NT$25 to NT$35 each, were acceptable even in comparison with similar food products sold at local vendors and bakeries.
Another consumer however said indignantly, "They were chewier than I expected. I don't want my doughnut to taste like mochi."
But despite these complaints, the franchise's success in Japan indicates that Mister Donut might be here to stay. There are currently 1,319 outlets in Japan. Mister Donut Taiwan is a joint venture formed between Taiwan's Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業) and Japan's Duskin Co. The partners plan to take Taiwan on a similar trajectory, aiming to open 100 outlets within the next three years.
A cursory glance at the rapid expansion of the 7-Eleven convenience stores in Taiwan also suggests that the nation is franchise-friendly.
Japan and Taiwan boast, perhaps not coincidentally, the largest number of 7-Elevens in the world. According to the convenience store's Web site, Taiwan is second only to Japan in terms of the total number of stores per nation. Since the establishment of the first 7-Eleven in 1980, the franchise has opened upwards of 3,470 locations in Taiwan whereas there are just under 1,000 7-Eleven outlets in the US and Canada together. Japan has over 10,000 outlets.
Apart from 7-Eleven stores, the Uni-President family also introduced the Starbucks coffee chain to Taiwanese consumers in 1998.
While the lines that have formed outside the shop should be testament enough to the popularity of Mister Donut, the franchise relied on nothing but the power of word of mouth to promote itself. Lai confirmed that no advertisements were placed on television or in newspapers.
"The lines that have formed have been beyond what we expected," she said.
However, whether the doughnut chain can keep people in line and coming back for more will be critical to its future success.
"Just as Starbucks created a sort of `coffee culture,' our doughnuts offer people new choices. And these new choices will soon become new consumer habits," Lai said, citing the wide variety of flavors available at Mister Donut.
Whether Mister Donut will be able to continue expanding its turf in Taiwan and become an established "consumer habit" in the future remains unclear. But for the time being, those who want a doughnut will just have to get in line.
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