Services

McDonald's Wants to Sell You Doughnuts

doughnuts
bhofack2 / iStock via Getty Images

A new product may appear near you somewhere on the miles-long menu at McDonald’s. The massive fast-food chain has begun experimenting with selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts. (Click here for brands that customers are abandoning.)
[in-text-ad]
It is a frontal assault against Dunkin’, which sells doughnuts nationwide from its 9,468 stores. If the McDonald’s plan works, Dunkin’ has a problem. McDonald’s has 13,269 stores in America. It also has a much larger amount of foot and drive-through traffic.

Few people know Dunkin’s revenue because it is privately held. McDonald’s has revenue of $32 billion, which must be much higher.

The McDonald’s playbook to devour competition has been in place for decades. It adds to its menu and captures customers who come to its stores. It has partially flanked Starbucks, and it has undermined breakfast sales at several other midsized fast-food locations, such as Burger King and Chick-fil-A.


McDonald’s was a destination for people who wanted lunch or dinner. It found that this capped its revenue. It pushed into the breakfast business. It also opened most of its stores 24 hours a day. It may lose money at 3 a.m., but it offers every potential customer service. This, in turn, engenders a level of brand loyalty.


CNBC summed up McDonald’s efforts: “McDonald’s saw its U.S. traffic increase in the second half of the year, bucking the industry trend thanks to its cheap deals. The burger chain has also been leaning into coffee — a common pairing with doughnuts —to encourage diners to visit more frequently.”

McDonald’s has carpet bombed the competition and will continue to do so.

Get Ready To Retire (Sponsored)

Start by taking a quick retirement quiz from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes, or less.

Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.

Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.