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McDonald’s + Krispy Kreme = match made in heaven?McDonald’s + Krispy Kreme = match made in heaven?

The quick-service restaurants are jumping on the cobranding trend

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, Managing Editor

October 20, 2022

 

Welcome to First Bite, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, your daily source of news from NRN.

Today, we’re talking about a collaboration between two quick-service giants.

McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme this week announced a new test that offers three Krispy Kreme doughnuts at participating McDonald’s restaurants in the Louisville, Ky., market.

Starting Oct. 26, nine McDonald’s locations will begin selling Krispy Kreme’s Original Glazed, chocolate iced with sprinkles and raspberry-filled doughnuts. They will be available all day, on-premises and at the drive-thru, while supplies last. Customers can order them individually or in packs of six. According to a joint release from the companies, the Krispy Kreme doughnuts will be delivered fresh daily to participating restaurants.

This collaboration illustrates a bigger trend that has emerged throughout the past few years with the advent of virtual concepts generating business through already-existing kitchens, as well as more co-branding opportunities that leverage brand equities and efficiencies.

For more on the topic, let’s go to executive editor Alicia Kelso.

Be sure to subscribe to First Bite wherever you get your podcasts or on Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

Read more about:

McDonald’sKrispy Kreme

About the Author

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

Managing Editor

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister is a managing editor for Informa’s Foodservices Vertical, specifically Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, and Foodservice Director.  Leigh Anne works on all of the brands’ special reports, including Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual Top 500 report and Restaurant Hospitality’s Best Cocktails and Best Sandwiches contests. She also manages the group’s digital engagement team, and was the managing editor for Supermarket News until December 2024.

Leigh Anne lives in New York City, but also claims Phoenix, Dallas and Cleveland as hometowns. Leigh Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where she also studied European history. 

Email Leigh Anne at [email protected] 

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister’s experience: 

  • Group Managing Editor, Informa’s Foodservices Vertical (Aug. 2021-present)

  • Group Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (Feb. 2020-Aug. 2021)

  • Digital Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (April 2018-Feb. 2020)

  • Digital Content Producer, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (June 2016-April 2018)

  • Community Moderator, Mail Online (March 2014-June 2016)

  • Wire Editor, Gannett’s Phoenix Design studio (The Arizona Republic, The Reno Gazette-Journal, The Statesman Journal, The Great Falls Tribune, The Visalia Times-Delta, The Tulare Advance Register, The Salinas Californian, The St. George Spectrum, The Desert Sun, The Coloradoan) (Jan. 2012-March 2014)

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