Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts
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Dunkin' Donuts

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2197447

Dunkin' Donuts

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Dunkin' Donuts

DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950. The chain was acquired by Baskin-Robbins' holding company Allied Lyons in 1990, its acquisition of the Mister Donut chain and the conversion of that chain to Dunkin' Donuts facilitated the brand's growth in North America that year.

Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins eventually became subsidiaries of Dunkin' Brands, headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, in 2004. Dunkin' Brands was purchased by Inspire Brands on December 15, 2020. The chain began rebranding as a "beverage-led company", and was renamed Dunkin' in January 2019; while stores in the U.S. began using the new name, the company intends to roll out the rebranding to all of its international stores eventually.

With approximately 14,000 locations in 39 countries, Dunkin' is one of the largest coffee shop and doughnut shop chains in the world. In addition to various varieties of coffee and doughnuts, products sold include bagels, breakfast sandwiches, muffins, and doughnut holes branded as Munchkins.

Bill Rosenberg opened the Open Kettle in 1948, a restaurant selling doughnuts and coffee in Quincy, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston), but in late May 1950, he changed the name to Dunkin' Donuts after discussions with company executives. He conceived the idea for the restaurant after his experiences selling food in factories and at construction sites, where doughnuts and coffee were the two most popular items. The company introduced its first logo in 1953, and the mascot Dunkie in 1954. The restaurant was successful, and Rosenberg sold franchises to others starting in 1955. It was during this time that Johnny Spartos, one of the men running the original Quincy location, convinced Rosenberg to produce a donut with a handle specifically for dunking into a cup of coffee.

In 1963, Rosenberg's son Bob became CEO of the company at age 25, and Dunkin' Donuts opened its hundredth location that year. Dunkin' Donuts was a subsidiary of Universal Food Systems at the time, a conglomerate of 10 small food-service businesses, and Dunkin' Donuts locations varied greatly in their menu options, with some selling full breakfasts and others serving only doughnuts and coffee.

In the following years, the other businesses in the Universal Food Systems portfolio were sold or closed, and the company was renamed to Dunkin' Donuts. The menu and shop format was standardized, and various new menu items were introduced. In the early 1980s counter service and ceramic coffee cups were replaced by self-service counters and paper cups. The chain went public in 1968 and was acquired by Baskin-Robbins owner Allied Lyons in 1990. By 1998, the brand had grown to 2,500 locations worldwide with $2 billion in annual sales.[citation needed]

Dunkin' Donuts expanded in the 1990s by buying out two rival chains: Mister Donut (which was founded by Bill Rosenberg's former partner Harry Winokur) and Dawn Donuts.

The 'Dunkin' Donut' with a handle fashioned on it was discontinued in 2003 (except in Singapore) because it was hand-cut and uneconomical compared to machine-cut doughnuts.

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