Dunkin Donuts An Overview of Dunkin' Donuts

There are few names that are as recognizable to morning commuters as Dunkin' Donuts. The nationwide fast-food style purveyor of fried donut pastries, coffees, bagels and a limited assortment of other breakfast and snack items is a household name that has achieved a rarified level of cultural and economic success in the United States. However, like any company, Dunkin' Donuts is not impervious to the challenges wrought by competitive markets, economic recession and shifts in the cultural paradigm where food retail and food services are concerned. The discussion hereafter offers a concise overview of the company with consideration to its balance between sustaining its existing success without resting on its laurels.

Brief Background:

It is appropriate to begin with a brief look at the background of the company that would go on to be most explicitly associated with the doughnut. According to Daszkowski (2009), the company traces its origins to a Bostonian entrepreneur named William Rosenberg, who invested $5,000 in a local coffee break snack delivery company called Industry Luncheon Services. Rosenberg parlayed the success of Industrial Luncheon into the Open Kettle coffee and donut shop before, in 1950, opening the first Dunkin' Donuts in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Daszkowski, p. 1) As Daszkowski reports the success of Dunkin' Donuts was almost instantaneous, with the Quincy location performing well enough to encourage franchising within only five years. Daszkowski notes that "by 1963, there were over 100 Dunkin Donuts shops open and by 1979 over 1000 locations open." (Daszkowski, p. 1)

Key Success Factors:

Dunkin Donuts' long-term success is largely driven by a business model that promotes franchising. This allows for a more centralized coordination of marketing efforts than most of its competitors are capable of achieving. According to Taulli (2011), "almost all Dunkin' Donuts' locations are franchises. Because of this, the company can spend more time on marketing and menu innovation. What's more, the franchise model is fairly capital-light, which allows more resources for expansion of new locations." (Taulli, p. 1)

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Its brand recognition is fully unmatched in its markets, a result of its ability to create nationwide campaigns that correspond with feature length films, chain retail and department stores kiosks, mall food court stalls, television commercials, food specials, sales or holiday specials. All of these have contributed to a logo, brand and identity that are highly familiar to most Americans.
Strengths and Weaknesses:

This underscores the key strength of Dunkin' Donuts, which is its accessibility. The low cost of its food and the array of options within the low cost framework make it a type of fast-food establishment specializing in breakfast, dessert and coffee-break snacks. Within its own industry, it has had a resurgent capability in the face of all comers, many of them registering as immediate threats but long-term also-rans. Indeed, this is largely attributed to Dunkin Donuts' effective balance between a coffee shop experience and a low cost to consumers. According to Van Riper (2007), "Dunkin' Donuts, a brand that seemed to be losing its luster a decade ago, is continuing a run of success since beating back Krispy Kreme during the early 2000s. Dunkin' has forged a strong identity as a kind of Starbucks-Krispy Kreme hybrid, a coffee destination with ample seating and a tasty menu board that grows incrementally." (Van Riper, p. 1)

Its primary weakness, it would seem, is its slow willingness to evolve to certain prevalent consumer demands. As its competitors respond to rising consumer interest in nutrition and acknowledgement of latent food allergies, Dunkin' Donuts leans heavily on traditional fried snacks and freeze-dried coffee. This has delayed it in offering a wide variance of options for the modern nutrition or health conscious consumer. According to Chen (2011) in, an interview with Dunkin' Donuts' Vice President and Executive Chef of Product Innovation Stan Frankenthaler, the officer would indicate that "at this time, none of our items are gluten-free. We've been asked that question in the past. I can tell you that we're continually adding to and changing our menu, and are examining ways to make more offerings at Dunkin' Donuts for guests with a variety of food allergies." (Chen, p. 1) This is…