Ever had such a hankering for donuts that you've genuinely considered opening a whole
store of them?
If not, it might be time to hop on board the Dunkin' Donuts franchising bandwagon.
From the sounds of it, there's never been a better time to get involved.
"The best part of my day is when I'm at Dunkin'.
Do you think that's sad?"
"Yes, very."
"Real customers know the holidays run on Dunkin'"
While Dunkin' Donuts is considered an icon in the Northeastern U.S., it's just as strong
a presence across the globe.
The brand serves an estimated 3 million customers a day, and 8 million are enrolled in their
mobile app DD perks program.
With more than 12,000 locations around the world and 8,500 in the U.S., Dunkin' Donuts
and its sister franchise Baskin Robbins together have 98 percent brand recognition among their
customers.
And while the company faces competition from chains like Starbucks and McDonalds, the annual
sales of a branch of Dunkin' Donuts can range from $620,000 to $1.3 million a year.
As an added bonus, a drive-through window can boost sales by about $200,000 to $300,000
a year.
Of that, a franchise owner can expect to make up to $124,000 a year — or about $60 an
hour.
Entrepreneur magazine even named Dunkin' Donuts No. 2 on its list of Fastest Growing Franchises
Rankings for 2019.
The ranking reflects the brands' ability to scale up — and to take their franchisees
with them.
Fun fact: In the same survey, only one of two of Dunkin's strongest competitors, McDonald's,
made it to the top 20, and it came in as low as No. 18.
Dunkin' Donuts - or Dunkin', as it's now officially known - was founded by Bill Rosenberg, who
started with a catering business that kept workers in the Boston area fed with meals
and snacks.
Because that business was a success, Rosenberg decided to open a donut shop in Quincy, Massachusetts
called The Open Kettle, which renamed itself Dunkin' Donuts two years later.
The first Dunkin' Donuts franchise opened in 1955, and a decade later they were up to
100 stores.
The year Dunkin' Donuts was born, however, the company actually underwent a pretty major
split.
Bill Rosenberg's business partner and brother-in-law, Harry Winouker, went his own way and set up
his own coffee and donut shop, which you might today know as Mister Donut.
Mister Donut was sold in 1970 to Minneapolis-based International Multifoods.
Then, in 1989, Dunkin' Donuts was acquired by British company Allied-Lyons PLC, in a
move that strengthened the company's position as what was then the world's largest coffee-and-donut
chain.
In 1990, International Multifoods sold the U.S. and Canadian franchises of Mister Donut
brand back to what was then known as Allied-Lyons.
That sale, at least in the U.S. and Canada, meant that the Dunkin' Donuts and Mister Donut
brands back where they started - under the same roof.
Today, Allied-Lyons has become Dunkin' Brands, who owns Dunkin' Donuts, Mister Donut, and
Baskin Robbins ice cream.
This is why you see both Dunkin' and Baskin Robbins stores appear as co-branded shops
from time to time, although Mister Donut usually appears as a standalone store.
Above all else, it's been innovation that has helped Dunkin' stay on its toes.
Today, the seemingly-ubiquitous donut chain has opened more than 12,000 stores in 45 countries,
of which 73 percent of stores are in the United States, and 27 percent are located overseas.
The chain also sells as many as 70 different kinds of donuts, as well as coffee drinks,
sandwiches, bagels, and other baked goods.
Dunkin' Donuts prides itself on adapting to the tastes of its local consumers, too.
Because of this, the company appears to be happy to make tweaks to the menu, in order
to make flavors and offerings more relevant and appealing to the markets they are in.
For instance, Caramel Macchiato is served with coffee cubes in South Korea.
In Japan you can get a Mochi Ring made with glutinous rice flour, which comes in flavors
such as mango, banana, chocolate, and green tea.
Indian Dunkin' Donuts customers, meanwhile, can ask for a donut with saffron-flavored
icing and sprinkled with pistachios, and durian donuts are sold in Thailand.
Clearly, the company knows what it's doing when it comes to the global markets.
And that's as good a reason as any to partner up with them.
Aside from the donuts themselves, obviously!
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