This Popular McDonald’s Item Is Disappearing Next Week
McDonald’s will no longer sell Krispy Kreme donuts after the two companies decided to end their partnership, effective July 2. The donut experts are citing low profitability as a reason for halting the collaboration, but will continue to sell donuts at retailers across the United States—just not at the Golden Arches.
“We were excited and pleased to partner with Krispy Kreme,” said Alyssa Buetikofer, McDonald’s USA’s Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer. “We had strong collaboration with Krispy Kreme and they delivered a great, high-quality product for us, and while the partnership met our expectations for McDonald’s and Owner/Operators, this needed to be a profitable business model for Krispy Kreme as well.”
McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme first joined up to sell donuts in McDonald’s restaurants in 2022, starting the partnership in specific New York locations, to a significant amount of buzz. “Krispy Kreme doughnuts are being added to more and more McDonald’s menus every week. From Original Glazed and Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled to Chocolate Iced Glazed Doughnut with Sprinkles, they’re perfect alone or paired with your McCafé favorites, like Premium Roast Coffee,” McDonald’s said at the time.
While the initial McDonald’s/Krispy Kreme launch was successful, it was hard to keep the momentum going. “Ultimately, efforts to bring our costs in line with unit demand were unsuccessful, making the partnership unsustainable for us,” said Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth. Both companies insist the decision was a mutual one, so it seems the breakup is amicable. The news doesn’t come as a complete shock, as there were early signs and red flags all was not well with the McDonald’s/Krispy Kreme collaboration.
Krispy Kreme actually stopped its rollout of donuts in McDonald’s about a month ago, and fans had mixed feelings once they realized the partnership was in potential trouble and might end permanently. “What made Krispy Kreme doughnuts so good is they were made fresh in the store and you could get them coming off the conveyor belt hot. Getting a day old doughnuts for around the same price as a hot sausage mcmuffin with cheese is crazy,” one Redditor said. “It was a missed opportunity not releasing a donut sandwich,” another agreed.
Other customers said the partnership never really made sense in the first place, as McDonald’s breakfasts didn’t really “fit” with a stand alone donut option. “Yeah this was always such a weird pairing. It would probably work a little better at like Starbucks or something,” one said. Others pointed out there should have been better marketing for the partnership, especially in locations where there are no Krispy Kreme bakeries for customers to get their donut fix. “You’d think a few McDonald’s in Minnesota would have been good marketing considering there aren’t any Krispy Kremes there. Might have helped that whole sales thing,” another customer said.
Make better eating choices every day by signing up for our newsletter, and be sure to follow us on MSN!
