Your name doesn’t have to be Homer Simpson and you don’t need to be driving around
in a police car to love donuts. Approximately 10 billion donuts are made each year by donut
retailers in the United States, and the donut industry is estimated to bring in over 11
billion dollars in yearly revenue to retailers in the country. One of the dominating donut
manufacturers in the US is Dunkin’ Donuts, a fast food chain that is widely known for
their large selection of the round delicious snack. Like a donut into a coffee, let’s
dip into 10 more untold truths about Dunkin’ Donuts.
Dunkin Donuts Early Beginnings
In 1948, a coffee and donut shop named Open Kettle in Quincy, Massachusetts was opened
by a man by the name of William Rosenberg. Rosenberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts
in 1916 to Jewish immigrants from Prussia. He started working after being forced to drop
out of school when he was 14 in order to help his parents financially during the Great Depression.
After World War II, Rosenberg started working in the food industry when he created a food
catering company. Once he realized just how many people were purchasing coffee and donuts,
he decided to launch Open Kettle, a restaurant dedicated to those two products. In 1950,
he changed the name of his shop to Dunkin’ Donuts and the restaurant soon became a success,
gaining a lot of popularity. 5 years later Rosenberg franchised his shop and by 1963
the 100th Dunkin’ Donuts shop was opened. In 1965 the establishment was globalized and
its first restaurant overseas opened its doors in Japan in 1970. In 1990, the franchise was
purchased by the owner of Baskin-Robbins and continued to grow. By the year 2000 there
were 5000 restaurants opened worldwide and by 2011 that number had doubled. The franchise
will continue to grow and expand worldwide and continue to be known as one of the best
donut shops in the world.
More than 31 Flavors at Dunkin
Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin’ Donuts’ sister company, is famous for its 31 flavors of ice
cream, but the number of Dunkin’ Donuts donut flavors more than doubles that at a
whopping 70 different types of donut. However, not all of these flavors are available in
a store near you as many of them are unique to certain regions. The average store carries
a variation of around 20 different flavors that vary depending on which establishment
you visit. Some of the classic American donut variations are glazed, double chocolate, vanilla
frosted, jelly, blueberry glazed, powdered sugar, Boston kreme, and more. Consumers love
these classic flavors and Dunkin’ Donuts worldwide sells around 3 billion donuts every
year. What’s more interesting than the classic American flavors are the flavors of donuts
sold in the Dunkin’ Donuts around the world. In China, pork and seaweed flavored donuts
are sold, along with pizza flavored munchkins, making for a more savoury snack than sweet.
If you’re a cheese lover, head to a location in Indonesia where they sell chocolate frosted
donuts covered with parmesan cheese. If you’re craving something sweeter, try the Fruity
Paradise donut sold in Thailand, which is a classic glazed donut covered in a variety
of fresh fruits. Some more international variations include the mango chocolate donut from Lebanon,
the Kit Kat donut from Spain, and the kimchi donut from South Korea.
Dunkins Ingredient Issues
When a franchise is as big as Dunkin’ Donuts it’s hard to get by without any controversy.
Fast food restaurants are often looked down upon for the poor quality of their food and
the beloved donut franchise is no exception here. Dunkin’ Donuts serves a wide variety
of food and drink items like coffee, donuts and sandwiches, and they use a large amount
of ingredients, some of which caused controversy. There have been multiple lawsuits filed towards
the company arguing about the details in their menu and the quality of the ingredients being
used. In 2017, a class-action lawsuit was filed by a customer in Chicago because the
Blueberry Crumb Cake donut did not contain any real blueberries, only imitation ones.
The lawsuit stated that this induces, “unsuspecting customers into believing that the products
contain actual blueberries.” The customer demanded 5 million dollars from the franchise
because of this misleading information. Another lawsuit happened in 2012 when a man from Worcester,
Massachusetts accused Dunkin’ Donuts of putting margarine on his bagel when he wanted
real butter. An undisclosed settlement was reached between the donut franchise and the
man, and Dunkin’ Donuts stores now carry butter packets to give to customers who demand
the real thing.
Time To Make The Dunkin Donuts
If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, chances are you remember these classic Dunkin’ Donuts
commercials. From 1982 until 1997, the franchise ran a series of commercials featuring a character
named Fred the Baker whose catchphrase was, “time to make the donuts!”. Many of the
commercials featured Fred the Baker waking up early and telling himself that it’s,
“time to make the donuts” before heading off to work at Dunkin’ Donuts. Fred was
always cheerful about going to work and eager to happily serve customers at the restaurant.
Fred the Baker became such a popular figure that people were disappointed when the company
decided to retire him in 1997. Because people were so devastated, Dunkin’ Donuts decided
to honor Fred the Baker by treating him as if he was a real life honored friend and employee
and hold a full retirement party for him. On September 22nd 1997, Dunkin’ Donuts had
a free donut day, in which 6 million customers were served free of charge, and Fred the Baker
was honoured with a full parade in Boston, Massachusetts.
What Happened To Dunkins Fred The Baker
So now you may be wondering, what exactly happened to the “time to make the donuts!”
guy? Who was he? Fred the Baker was portrayed by a classically trained actor named Michael
Vale, a man from New York who was struggling to be recognized in the acting world. Michael
Vale was in a few movies and shows though, such as Marathon Man and A Hatful of Rain,
along with several Broadway shows. Before starring in Dunkin’ Donuts’ commercials,
Vale was featured in a series of commercials for cottage cheese for Breakstone. Michael
Vale landed his big role when he got the job as Fred the Baker in a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial.
However, he wasn’t the first choice for the role. In fact, when Vale went into his
audition, he was told that the role of the chef was already taken, but after seeing his
performance, the casting crew gave it to Vale instead. He stayed with the company for 15
years and made over 100 commercials for Dunkin’ Donuts, making him an iconic and beloved part
of the franchise. In 2005, Michael Vale passed away at age 83, but his legacy will never
be forgotten.
Coffee Is Key at Dunkin' Donuts
Coffee has always been a part of the Dunkin’ Donuts brand, as it was an original menu item
when the store first opened in 1948. For many years the focus was on donuts however, so
there wasn’t a large selection of coffees to choose from. In fact, Dunkin’ Donuts
only introduced their first companion flavors to the Original Blend in 1995. That’s almost
50 years of only one coffee option! But it was in 2003 that the franchise really stepped
up their coffee game by adding espresso, lattes, and cappuccinos to their menu to gain a larger
audience of coffee drinkers. This allowed Dunkin’ Donuts to expand their brand and
prove that they can do much more than just donuts. In 2006, Dunkin’ Donuts coffee became
the official coffee provider of JetBlue flights, which get served 35,000 feet up in the air
around America. In 2015, coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts became available to take home in the
form of K-cup pods, to be used in Keurig coffee brewers. The coffee empire of Dunkin Donuts
continued to expand and today there are dozens of coffee based drink options. These include
the famous original blend, Americano, latte, macchiato, espresso, cappuccino, a range of
iced coffees, and more. There are so many options that it’s easy for everyone to find
something that they like.
A Wide Range at Dunkin
Throughout the years, Dunkin’ Donuts has experimented with different flavors, products,
and promotions. One interesting new product released in summer of 2018 was the company’s
first ever gluten free product, the fudge brownie, which was a hit amongst customers.
This product was a part of an addition to the menu called “The Dunkin’ Run”, a
collection of snacks that also included ham and cheese rollups, pretzel bites and mustard,
waffle breaded chicken tenders, and probably the most delicious of them all, donut fries.
These fries are five pieces of donut dough covered in cinnamon sugar and they look and
taste amazing. One of Dunkin’ Donuts’ stranger promotions is the six pack of beer
it launched in 2018. The drink was a collaboration with the beer company, Harpoon Brewery, and
it’s a fusion of both beer and Dunkin’ Donuts espresso. The beer is 6 percent alcohol
and tastes of malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. This wasn’t the first time the chain launched
a beer though, its first beer release was actually in 2017. Dunkin’ Donuts partnered
up with Catawba Brewing to create a pumpkin spice flavor beer, but sadly it was an extremely
limited edition and not sold in the restaurants.
Dunkins Other Business Ventures
Dunkin’ Donuts is no stranger to venturing outside of their coffee and donuts box and
collaborating with other companies to make a new product. Like the beer mentioned earlier,
Dunkin’ Donuts has had some interesting collaboration over the years. In 2018, the
franchise collaborated with the athletic footwear brand, Saucony, to put out a pair of sneakers
branded with the Dunkin’ Donuts logo. The shoes were created for the 2018 annual Boston
Marathon and sold for $110. On the heel of the shoes reads, “America runs on Dunkin’”,
which makes the classic slogan turn quite literal. In 2017, another interesting collaboration
happened when the franchise teamed up with the cookie company Oreo to create a Dunkin’
Donuts mocha flavored Oreo as a limited edition product. The cookies are supposed to taste
exactly like an iced mocha from the franchise, but according to reviews they’re a bit more
chocolate-y than coffee-y which isn’t that bad of a mistake to make though. Perhaps the
strangest Dunkin’ collaboration though, is the co-lab it did with the soap brand Dove
in 2018. The two brands opened up a pop up store selling their products together and
for some reason it actually worked. No matter how strange the co-lab, Dunkin’ still manages
to be successful at selling it.
Dunkin Donuts’ Logo and Name Changes
Being nearly 70 years old, Dunkin’ Donuts has understandably gone through a few logo
changes. When the restaurant first opened in 1950, the logo was the name of the establishment
in dark red cursive script. This changed in 1956, when the logo was switched to a cartoon
image of a human figure made of a donut and a coffee cup holding up a platter of donuts.
In 1960, the brand started to use the hot pink colour that we associate with Dunkin’
Donuts today, showing the name of the brand in the spiral shape of a donut. From 1970
until 1979, the logo was switched to a black coloured font, but in 1980, the brand went
back to the iconic hot pink and added orange as well, creating the recognizable logo that’s
still used today. In September of 2018, Dunkin’ Donuts announced that they would be taking
the Donuts out of their name and be referred to as just “Dunkin’” starting in January
2019. Some people were annoyed by the change while others didn’t mind at all. After all,
the franchise’s slogan is “America runs on Dunkin’”, which doesn’t include the
second half of the original brand name. The company’s CEO, David Hoffmann stated that
the reason for the name change is to focus “on evolving Dunkin' into the premier, beverage-led,
on-the go-brand.” Like we mentioned before, Dunkin’s has really stepped up its beverage
game by adding dozens of new drinks to its menu, and it’s understandable that the growing
franchise want to be recognized for more than just its donuts in the future.
Dunkins’ International Success
Dunkin’ Donuts is the 8th largest fast food chain in the world, with nearly 11,000 restaurants
opened worldwide. 7,677 of these are located in the United States, but the other 3181 are
located internationally. Dunkin’ Donuts opened its first international restaurant
in 1970, in Japan, and since then its popularity worldwide has continued to grow. These stores
are located in 30 countries including Chile, Kuwait, China, Spain, Thailand, Columbia,
and more. Currently, the brand is focused on European expansion and in 2016 it opened
55 new locations in the continent. Dunkin’ Donuts most successful international location
is South Korea, with over 900 restaurants around the country. Dunkin’ Donuts in Korea
are a bit more formal, and the franchise is treated more as restaurant than a fast food
joint. Some locations offer valet parking, and buildings can be up to 4 stories high.
There are no drive-thrus, and many people go to Dunkin’ Donuts to relax and sit and
hang out with their friends or study for school. The Korean menu is also unique from the American
one, as it contains items like rice donuts, sweet potato donuts, jalapeno donuts, and
more.
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