MW Krispy Kreme and McDonald's end their doughnut partnership, as it didn't make money

By Steve Gelsi

Fast-food giant and doughnut maker scrap their alliance, which rolled out nationally in March 2024, as demand kept falling

It turns out that McDonald's Corp.'s breakfast customers aren't as keen as expected to buy Krispy Kreme Inc.'s doughnuts along with their Egg McMuffins and hash browns.

So the doughnut giant (DNUT) and the fast-food titan $(MCD)$ said Tuesday that they're scrapping their sales alliance as of July 2.

The two companies had expanded the offering to 2,200 McDonald's locations but couldn't make the numbers work.

"Efforts to bring our costs in line with unit demand were unsuccessful, making the partnership unsustainable for us," Krispy Kreme Chief Executive Josh Charlesworth said in a statement.

Krispy Kreme's stock rose 1.5% in premarket trading after closing Monday at a record low, while McDonald's stock edged up by 0.4%.

The news isn't a huge surprise to Wall Street. Krispy Kreme said in May that it was reassessing the rollout, which was announced in March 2024.

Also read: Krispy Kreme rethinks McDonald's partnership, scraps dividend to save cash

McDonald's said Krispy Kreme sales amount to "a small, non-material part" of its breakfast business.

For its part, Krispy Kreme said it will focus on selling fresh doughnuts in more places via "profitable U.S. expansion through high-volume retail points of distribution and capital-light international franchise growth."

When the two companies announced plans for a national rollout for the partnership, McDonald's and Krispy Kreme had already completed a pilot program at 160 restaurants in Kentucky.

At the time, "consumer excitement and demand exceeded expectations," the companies said.

However, sales dropped after the first marketing push, as McDonald's customers became more focused on value, with discounted meal programs gaining traction in the face of an uncertain economy.

Krispy Kreme's stock has fallen 73.6% in 2025 and McDonald's shares are down 0.13% in 2025, while the S&P 500 SPX has risen 2.4%.

-Steve Gelsi

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June 24, 2025 09:22 ET (13:22 GMT)

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