Dee-Ann Durbin, Associated Press
McDonald’s US menu will soon have a donut-sized hole.
McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme said Tuesday that they had ended their partnership on July 2, more than a year after it was announced. Krispy Kreme said the demand for donuts at McDonald’s is not strong enough to recover the costs.
Chicago-based McDonald’s announced that after a successful pilot in Kentucky in March 2024, it will begin selling three types of Krispy Kreme doughnuts at participating locations. Donuts were sold individually or in boxes of six people.
The companies have planned a phased rollout to take McDonald’s nationwide by the end of 2026. At the time, Krispy Kreme President and CEO Josh Charlesworth said the partnership would give customers “unprecedented daily access” “unprecedented access” to Krispy Kreme’s donuts.
However, the company decided to call it quits after introducing donuts at just 2,400 people in McDonald’s nearly 14,000 US stores.
“We had a strong collaboration with Krispy Kreme and they provided great high quality products for us. This had to be a beneficial business model for Krispy Kreme, while the partnership met the expectations of McDonald’s and owners/operators.”
Charlesworth said North Carolina-based Krispy Kreme Charlotte will continue to provide donuts to US groceries and other large retailers.
Original issue: June 24th, 2025, 3:41pm EDT
