Dunkin’ drops 10% of menu offerings
Dunkin’ Donuts will roll out a new simplified menu with the aim of faster, more accurate service and ease for its workers.
The Canton chain, which started testing the streamlined food and beverage lineup in February, will unveil it Monday in New England and at all U.S. locations by midMarch.
“Franchisees have been asking for some- thing like this for quite some time,” said Chris Fuqua, Dunkin’s senior vice president of operations strategy and supply chain. “They’re facing challenges with labor, and we’re always looking to maximize profitability for franchisees. If you can remove products that are more difficult to make or ... consumers aren’t asking for as much, you can make the stores easier to work in, and you can positively impact their (profit and loss statement).”
Dunkin’ eliminated 10 percent of its menu items, including smoothies, afternoon sandwiches (turkey, cheddar and bacon, ham and cheddar, tuna and chicken salad), the Big N’ Toasted and Angus steak and egg breakfast sandwiches, flatbread items, some muffins and bagel and cream cheese combinations that were optional for restaurants, and peach, caramel and mocha flavor coffee shots. Dunkin’ also said it has removed all artificial dyes from its doughnuts in the United States. Parent company Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. previously had announced it would remove the dyes from all products at Dunkin’ and the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain by the end of 2018, except for supplier-branded ingredients used as toppings, ice cream inclusions or decorative elements. It also will take Baskin longer to replace decorative elements of its ice cream cakes.
Fuqua said, “Consumers have been looking for less artificiality in their food in general.”