The doughnut giant dished out 36,000 free donuts in central London through the UberEats app.
But the timing of the giveaway has been questioned by the National Obesity Forum.
At one point, #KrispyKreme and #WorldDiabetesDay were the top two UK trends on Twitter.
Krispy Kreme tweeted: “FREE DOUGHNUTS TODAY ONLY, IN CENTRAL LONDON! We’re giving away 36,000 Original Glazed doughnuts, delivered by @UberEATS between 2pm & 6pm, simply download their app & order at 2pm! Be the office hero & brighten up Tuesday for the team!”
But Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: “I’m speechless. What a desperately unthinking and stupid idea to pick World Diabetes Day to strut its sugary stuff.”
The promotion was so popular that UberEats received tens of thousands of orders in just a few minutes.
The company said that this caused a technical issue.
Type 2 diabetes is linked to being overweight and occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells do not react to insulin.
– PA
