CHICAGO — McDonald’s Corp. and Krispy Kreme, Inc., Charlotte, NC, are expanding their donut partnership to all McDonald’s restaurants in the United States. The expansion will begin during the second half of 2024 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Three Krispy Kreme donut varieties will be a part of the program, including original glazed, chocolate iced with sprinkles and a chocolate iced filled donut.
“Since the launch of breakfast nearly 50 years ago, we’ve continued to offer new menu items, flavors and experiences that have made McDonald’s an irreplaceable part of fans’ morning routines,” said Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald’s USA. “This partnership is an exciting next step in that journey and a chance to unlock new business opportunities in the breakfast category and throughout the day.”
Krispy Kreme first began working with McDonald’s in October 2022 when the latter began selling the former’s donuts at nine locations. The test was so successful that both companies expanded this partnership to 160 stores in February 2023.
Since the test began, Krispy Kreme has been scaling its supply chain to support further expansion of the program with McDonald’s.
“Significantly, by making Kreme Krispy accessible to fans nationwide through this partnership, we expect to more than double our points of access by the end of 2026,” said Josh Charlesworth, president and chief executive officer of Krispy Kreme. “The partnership accelerates the development of our existing delivered fresh daily channel, creating operating leverage through distribution density and production utilization.”
