McDonald’s customers can order a Big Mac with a side of large fries and an original glazed Krispy Kreme donut in the future.
At the end of October, the two consumer giants kicked off the “unique” partnership. Both McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme are currently conducting a small trial of operations at nine McDonald’s restaurants in and around Louisville, KY.
Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield told Yahoo Finance that the collaboration is only in its early stages.
“It’s very early days, but what we’re really focusing on is doing fresh daily delivery (DFD). Can we deliver the donuts fresh, just like we do with McDonald’s, like we do with our other customers? And then take it to from there. We’ll update as time goes on,” Tattersfield said.
Trial offerings include a single pack of the brand’s Original Glazed Donut, Chocolate Chip Frosted Donut, or Raspberry Filled Donut, plus a six-pack of Original Glazed Donuts.
It’s all part of Krispy Kreme’s larger ambitions to boost its daily fresh delivery (DFD) business model and increase the ways customers can access the brand. This collaboration, while only limited to McDonald’s at this time, builds on DFD’s launch in convenience stores and supermarkets with the ultimate goal of leveraging the “50,000 AP opportunity” through similar channels.
In Krispy Kreme’s third-quarter results, the company added 294 access points and 1,276 year-to-date, exceeding its full-year target, with a total of more than 11,700 locations worldwide.
To make sure customers know this is a very preliminary test, McDonald’s noted in the statement that the fast-food giant “is always looking for ways to give our fans more of what they crave, and we often conduct tests to inform future menu decisions. “
In addition, McDonald’s noted that the small-scale trial “will help us understand how offering new bakery items like Krispy Kreme could impact operations at our restaurants.”
Some factors that Krispy Kreme seeks to offer in an attempt to win over fast food include:
“Are we arriving on time? Can we get the correct assortment that they are looking for?…So how are we delivering freshness and quality?…we do that with all of our customers,” the test stage reiterated, “that is what we’re measuring. This is a test of operations today, so we’ll continue to refine that,” Tattersfield said.
If it works, Krispy Kreme may have found a golden opportunity. According to McDonald’s third-quarter earnings results, there are currently 40,000 locations in more than 100 countries.
Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @brookedipalma or email him at [email protected]
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