McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme’s sweet partnership comes to an end
Subscribe to our free newsletter today to keep up to date with the latest food industry news.
McDonald’s plan to offer Krispy Kreme doughnuts nationwide will not move forward as expected. The two brands, which initially launched a limited pilot in Kentucky in 2022, confirmed they will officially end their partnership on July 2, 2025. The collaboration, which expanded to about 2,400 McDonald’s restaurants across the United States, aimed to bring fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts to McDonald’s customers each day. However, rising costs and logistical hurdles ultimately made the effort financially unsustainable for Krispy Kreme.
Background of the partnership
When McDonald’s first tested Krispy Kreme doughnuts in select Kentucky locations, the move drew strong demand. Encouraged by initial results, the fast-food giant and the iconic doughnut brand expanded the test to more restaurants, planning a full national rollout by 2026. For McDonald’s, the goal was clear: to strengthen its breakfast and snack offerings to attract more customers in the morning and afternoon. For Krispy Kreme, partnering with a chain as massive as McDonald’s promised fresh exposure and broader distribution beyond its stand-alone shops.
Reasons for termination
Despite strong initial demand, the financial reality of daily doughnut deliveries to thousands of McDonald’s restaurants proved to be more complicated than anticipated. Krispy Kreme struggled to balance the operational costs of producing and transporting fresh products with the margins the partnership generated. As a result, the company announced it will halt the partnership this summer, citing the need to focus on more profitable retail channels and its growing international business. Krispy Kreme’s stock dipped following the announcement, underlining how critical the deal had become to its expansion plans.
Implications for both companies
McDonald’s will shift its focus back to its core breakfast and snack menu items as it adjusts to the absence of Krispy Kreme products. The fast-food leader continues to face industry-wide challenges to boost customer traffic as consumer tastes evolve. For Krispy Kreme, pulling back from the McDonald’s rollout means doubling down on alternative growth strategies, such as retail partnerships with grocery chains and expanding franchised shops in new international markets. This pivot shows how even high-profile collaborations can falter without a clear operational fit and sustainable financial models.
Industry insights
The end of the McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme partnership underscores an important lesson for fast-food and snack brands: scaling partnerships at the national level demands more than demand alone. Aligning logistics, delivery, and cost structures is essential to making such deals work at scale. As companies look for ways to attract customers in an increasingly crowded market, they will need to weigh the risks of aggressive expansion against the realities of execution. For Krispy Kreme, the McDonald’s experience may inform future decisions about how best to broaden its reach without overextending operational resources.
Though the partnership did not deliver the nationwide rollout both brands once envisioned, it offered valuable insights into the limits of scale and the complexities of merging two distinct operational models.
Sources: