The Franchise King®

An Open Letter To Dunkin’® Attention: Recipe Dept.

To Whom It May Concern,

It’s come to my attention that your donuts don’t taste very good. And I have proof.

Earlier today, I stopped by my local Dunkin’ franchise business and ordered a cup of coffee and a maple donut. To put it bluntly, it was papery and lacked moisture. It was certainly not what I had expected, although the maple-flavored frosting wasn’t bad.

Note: I went to the drive-through. Happily, I was in and out in 6 minutes. Good job. Back to your donuts…

Admittedly, I’m within driving distance of Biagio’s Donut Shop & Pizzeria, a Cleveland, Ohio favorite. Biagio’s pretty much sets the standard for donuts in these parts.

There is no better donut in the world! Have been going here since I was 8 years old and the donuts have remained just as delicious as the first time I had one in the 90s. These donuts could create world peace!” (A review of Biagio’s from their Facebook Page.)

Dunkin’ Can Do Better

I think your your recipe dept. can do better. Way better. I
know in my heart that your company has the ability (and the budget) to produce a high-quality donut.

To be sure, I know that this letter isn’t coming to you at the best time. That’s because I saw that you recently removed the word “Donuts” from your brand. Are you thinking of not selling donuts anymore? I hope not. They’re still part of your brand. Right?





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But if I’m wrong, if you really are thinking of discontinuing the “donut” part of your business, you can go ahead and place this letter in your shredder. Pretend you never got it.

Dunkin’ Has Just Been Named The #1 Franchise For 2020

Entrepreneur® just named Dunkin’ #1 on their Annual Franchise 500 list.

From the Franchise 500 article:

Dunkin’ Donuts, minus the Donuts. It was once unthinkable. But the weirdest thing has happened: Doughnut sales grew. It’s happening at the nearly 500 U.S. stores that have adopted a store redesign. It turns out people became more impulsive when the doughnuts jumped from behind the counter to a front-facing pastry case by checkout. It didn’t matter if the word was in the title. Now, worldwide, Dunkin’ is moving two billion doughnuts a year — in 70 varieties, no less.”

How the heck did that happen?

Even though the name “donuts” is gone from the brand, Dunkin still serves donuts.

Donuts that are average at best.



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Call me crazy, but I fee that the products being sold by the #1 franchise on the Franchise 500 should be at least “above” average.

In other words, Dunkin’ execs, if your franchisees are going to continue to serve donuts, could you please put a little more oomph in your recipe. Wouldn’t it be great if your company was known for it’s great coffee and amazing donuts?

I bet your franchisees would benefit tremendously if that happened.

P.S. Please leave Biagio’s alone. They’re not a threat to Dunkin’.

But apathy is.

The Franchise King®

Joel Libava

Cleveland, Ohio

Dunkin' Donuts
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

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About the Author
Joel Libava is The Franchise King® — an independent franchise advisor with 25+ years in the industry, two published books on franchising, and his writing has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, CNBC, Entrepreneur® Magazine and others. In addition, he wrote exclusively for the U.S. Small Business Administration blog for eight years. He doesn't sell franchises. Instead, Joel helps you figure out if franchise ownership is actually right for you — and if it is, teaches you his powerful, proven-to-work franchise research techniques, so you can make a smart, informed decision on a franchise to own and be your own boss.

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