McDonald's plans to sell Krispy Kreme donuts in all of its more than 13,500 locations across the United States by the end of 2026.
The rollout will begin in the second half of this year, and it will take about 2.5 years to add Krispy Kreme donuts to McDonald's national menu as the bakery company ramps up its distribution to accommodate the partnership, the fast-food giant announced Tuesday.
This move, which was reported earlier by CNBCIt represents an exclusive partnership between McDonald's and Krispy Kreme in the United States for the duration of the agreement.
It was not immediately clear how long Krispy Kreme donuts will remain in McDonald's centers after the rollout is complete by 2026, at which point McDonald's customers will be able to order original chocolate iced donuts iced with sprinkles and donuts filled with chocolate icing. Either individually or in groups of six, a Krispy Kreme spokesperson confirmed to The Post.
Cakes will be available for purchase throughout the day.
To celebrate the partnership, Krispy Kreme said it will offer a free Original Glazed Donut to all guests who visit its bakeries in the United States between 5pm and 9pm today, Tuesday, March 26.
To stock its thousands of Golden Arches locations, Krispy Kreme will use a “hub-and-spoke” model, as it does to deliver its popular fried and glazed treats to the 6,800 third-party stores where its donuts are sold as of Dec. 31. .
The production centers — which are either Krispy Kreme stores or donut factories — send fresh donuts daily to retail locations like grocery stores and gas stations, according to CNBC.
“We think we can serve about 6,000 restaurants with our existing infrastructure, most of which are donut shops, which have excess capacity,” Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth told CNBC.
However, McDonald's has an additional 7,500 restaurants – and has revealed plans to open 900 new locations across the US by 2027.
Although Krispy Kreme is increasing its production capacity primarily for the McDonald's partnership, Charlesworth noted that the deal represents a big opportunity for the donut shop — which operates more than 300 locations of its own — to expand its reach, CNBC reported. .
Krispy Kreme will also seize the opportunity to reach grocery stores and convenience stores that prefer national suppliers.
“This means that the overall efficiency and productivity of our distribution network will improve dramatically over time, and not just because of all these local deliveries,” Charlesworth told CNBC.
Efficiency will also come in the form of less waste, as Krispy Kreme locations often produce more candy than they can sell on a given day.
With the additional demand from McDonald's and other new vendors, Krispy Kreme will be able to produce more donuts without incurring additional production costs.
“So, developing the new daily delivery channel makes our system more profitable, and McDonald's is the accelerator of that,” Charlesworth told CNBC.
A McDonald's spokesperson also told The Post, “This partnership will open up additional growth opportunities for McDonald's restaurants across the country — especially at breakfast (because who doesn't like a fresh muffin with their McCafé in the morning?) but also throughout breakfast.” day.”
Krispy Kreme's relationship with McDonald's began in late 2022 when the fast food chain sold the brand's beloved donuts at nine locations in Kentucky.
The successful pilot saw McDonald's add Krispy Kreme donuts to an additional 146 restaurants across the state, according to McDonald's websitePlus more than a dozen locations in Indiana.
Charlesworth said that demand from McDonald's customers during the tests exceeded the chains' expectations, according to CNBC.
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