Dunkin Donuts
By: Elle Riegert
Almost
every single fast food chain restaurant has expanded their menus to satisfy its
customers. Many companies have taken big
risk and gone out of their comfort zone to do so. Taco Bell is a perfect example of this situation. Recently Taco Bell has added breakfast to
their menu. For restaurant food chains
to survive in today’s economy they must do whatever it takes to satisfy their
customers and to compete with other chains.
If that means making big changes to their menus or even rebranding their
image to stay relevant they will do so.
One
such company who has recently had to rebrand themselves to what their customers
want is Dunkin Donuts. Initially they
were knows as an inexpensive donut shop but today they are branded as a
beverage company. They are trying to
compete with businesses such as Starbucks, Caribou, and even McDonalds. A recent article on forbes.com states that
Dunkin Donuts now calls itself a beverage company or rather “a cheaper, down-home alternative to
pricey, hoity-toity Starbucks.” With the years of success that Starbucks has
had with its drinks other companies are trying to compete against them. They’ve been trying to create the same types
of drinks but for cheaper to attract more customers because Starbucks is known
to be quit pricy.
Just
last year Dunkin Donut started rebranding their image by adding coffee and
other drink to their menu. Their new and
improved menu includes: hot beverages, iced beverages, frozen beverages, and of
course at home brewing. Another articles
states that “with coffee and
other drinks accounting for 58% of US franchisee-reported sales in 2012, the
outfit’s CFO has admitted that the future is not in Powdered Sugar or Boston
Kreme. Their drinks include: iced
coffee, iced latte and my personal favorite their new frozen Arnold Palmer
Coolatta. It seems that Dunkin Donuts
has had much success with their new and improved brand.
Along with Dunkin Donuts’ new and
improved menu to satisfied customers needs they have also been thinking about
trying to satisfy their health needs as.
A recent articles states that “the chain seems to be aiming squarely at
health-conscious customers…It’ll start selling gluten-free muffins and donuts
later this year, becoming the first major fast food outlet to jump on the
anti-wheat bandwagon.” Not only is
Dunkin Donuts being smart by adding drink to their menu but it’s also drawing
in gluten-free customers that normally wouldn’t come to Dunkin Donuts.
In conclusion, it seems that Dunkin
Donuts hasn’t really had a hard time drawing in customers again. Not only are they still having continues
success with their famous donuts but they are also making a lot of their money
with their new drinks. It looks like
there will be a lot of new completion between Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin
Donuts. With Dunkin Donuts and their new
Coolatta drink on the menu I’m sure many teens including me will be spending
their time waiting in the Dunkin Donuts line rather than the Starbucks line for
their summer drinks.
Works
Cited
I believe that it is impressive that Dunkin Donuts have gone this far just to get more people to come and buy stuff at the restaurant. I have not have any drinks at Dunkin's, but my sister has said that they have the best coffee in the state. Even better than Starbucks. But I only go there for Donuts but I believe that it was a great idea for DD to do that
ReplyDeleteTo be completely honest, I didn't know Dunkin Donuts was still around. However it is expected to see them making the switch to coffee based drinks, since that is the hot new thing and they will need that revenue to stay in the business. It is also very smart of them to have lower prices then Starbucks, because I know that when I go to Starbucks, I am not looking forward to the pretty penny that will be leaving my pocket. Coffee is also a very competitive market, seeing as all different types of markets are trying to make their own signature drinks that will entice customers taste buds.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that Dunkin Donuts views themself as more of a drink place than a doughnut place because I know every time I plan on going to Dunkin Donuts, its for the doughnuts and not the drinks. It is smart for companies to do things like that, to make changes like Taco Bell because so many people go to Taco Bell to get breakfast now. It is a great way to market a business and to make a come back, and Dunkin Donuts I still believe needs to take another step forward to take them back in the game.
ReplyDeleteI used to love Dunkin Donuts, but after they got rid the one in Brook-field I haven't gone. But with coffee being the 3rd highest growing business in the world right now not a surprise at all that they are going more coffee based. If they don't give the people what they want there isn't going to be a steady revenue which means no business. The coffee world is crazy, I know from being a past barista, and it is going to play in their favor that they have lower prices than busy, popular businesses such as Starbucks. However, I think it will take people awhile to realize this and go there for their coffee beverages and a doughnut, but if they are able to tough that out I think this change will be very much successful and in their favor.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for Dunkin' Donuts, they probably won't ever be as high on the popularity list as Starbucks. The lack in stores doesn't help their expansion, and without determination, they won't make it much longer. I agree that many coffee places have jacked up prices to compete with Starbucks, but many fall short and lose customers instead. For these coffee shops, the products often do not compare to the Starbucks recipes yet they list their prices just as high. Consumers know that the product isn't as good, so they know not to pay such high prices for something that may not be worth it. I think Starbucks will have the number one spot for a while to come and their success will continue for a long time.
ReplyDeleteDunkin Donuts is being incredibly smart in noticing that the demand for coffee drinks is high and that many people do not want to spend insane amounts of money to get them. They are jumping into the coffee drink market, and there is no doubt that they will bring in good revenue. If they start to become more successful, more Dunkin Donuts buildings will start to pop up -- yet, they probably will not be able to overcome Starbucks, at least for now.
ReplyDeleteDunkin Donuts is very smart to start selling gluten free products, especially for having a popularity in donuts. They are also very smart to start selling coffee drinks. The demand for coffee drinks is increasing. Dunkin Donuts could start to become very successful and their chain could grow. They will be bringing in new customers with their new menu. However, it is very unlikely for them to catch up to or overcome Starbucks, they could still grow and overcome Caribou coffee.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Dunkin Donuts has always been behind the ball when it comes to competing with other franchise restaurants. However, with this new gluten free path they are trying to be ahead of the game to make more money. One of the biggest problems in our society today is that fast food restaurants do not always meet all the needs we'd like. Sure, they are fast since Americans are always in a hurry, but the health benefits of Dunkin Donuts will soon be liked among the population. Many will see Dunkin Donuts as the perfect combo: Cheap, offers gluten free, and is still good. Soon many will be getting coffees and breakfast at Dunkin Donuts due to their drive to see "the next big thing" before it is here.
ReplyDeleteDunkin Donuts is doing an excellent job of reaching out to the needs of their consumers. When a company adds another industry to their portfolio, such as beverages in this case, they are able to maximize their potential for success. Also along the lines of the company selling more healthy items, health conscious customers will be drawn in. Not only will this also increase profits, it helps the economy by lowering health costs. When people are healthier, we do not have to spend as much on healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
ReplyDeleteDunkin Donuts still has yet to strike my fancy when I can get donuts that are just as good, for less than half the price, plus better service. I have nothing against them nor do I dislike them - in fact I very much enjoy eating there when I do. However, like any type of company in the world, once they get to a certain size, they start lacking in areas that will eventually drive consumers away. These being proper service, a "perfect balance" of speed and quality, and cleanliness. Some Dunkin Donuts shops definitely don't meet up to these standards yet others pass them with flying colors. As far as the economy goes, they aren't huge and they probably aren't doing a whole lot to give back to the community or really give their customers wonderful reasons to come there instead of other places. Aside from that, though, Dunkin Donuts has definitely come way out of what it used to be and for that I give them credit.
ReplyDeleteThis post was really interesting because I didn't know much about the history of Dunkin' Donuts. I figured they always sold both exceptional donuts and drinks; however, competition from other producers led them to reinvent their image and add more items to the menu. McDonald's is also a great example because they retired Ronald McDonald and re-branded themselves with the McCafe. Both of these major fast food companies had to adjust their products for the health-conscious society today, and in doing so, expand their market.
ReplyDeleteI think Dunkin Donuts is making a smart move by switching their focus to drinks; their donuts are really cheap and I doubt they have a very high profit margin. Restaurants make most of their money off of drinks, and expanding their options will probably bring in more customers. Dunkin Donuts is also expanding; we never had them around here, and now there are several. If you go to the east coast, they are everywhere, but they are only just starting to get into the midwest.
ReplyDeleteNot only does Dunkin Donuts have to compete with other drink places like Starbucks, but it also has to compete with other donut and food places like Krispy Kreme. Dunkin Donuts has done a good job with branding themselves and having a variety of options, but that just makes them more competitive with other companies. Also when you were talking about the prices of Starbucks compared to Dunkin Donuts, you are correct but it also has to do with peoples preferences and locations of the stores. I would rather pay a little more to get my Starbucks in the morning then going to Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks knows that to; that’s why they can make their prices as high as they are.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a big risk to add or change the menu while in competition with benefiting companies such as Starbucks. It's is a good idea to attract customers with differing interests which is why I think that although gluten-free food is a risk, it could become a great benefit for Dunkin' Donuts. Also, changing their focus to coffee will hopefully help their profit and business increase. The disadvantage here is that there are not many Dunkin' Donuts around our area so I know that I would still go to Starbucks that there since it's more convenient. However, for people that don't mind the drive, then it wouldn't be a problem.
ReplyDeleteDunkin Donut’s best decision was to expand into beverages; especially coffee, considering its high demand and high profit margin. Branching away from donuts was a very smart marketing decision. However, competing with Starbucks will be very tough, but lowering their prices is a great way to combat that. Very nicely written article, especially since I love donuts.
ReplyDeleteIt’s great that dunkin donuts are trying to expand their horizons. I’ve never really been a fan of dunkin donuts, but now that they have more items on the menu, maybe I’ll give them another chance. But that’s what all fast food restaurant do to stay in the game. Mcdonald’s added cold and hot coffee based beverages onto their menu to compete with starbucks. They use to just have regular coffee, but they added more choices to satisfy more consumer’s wants. McDonald’s even extended their breakfast hours (extended until 11am) to compete with taco bell who stop serving breakfast at 11am. The fast food business is a tough one, and only the big dogs make it out alive. (R.I.P Krispy Kreme)
ReplyDelete