Donut shops run out of donuts due to high demand. Dunkin’ serves almost 2 billion cups of coffee every year, and donuts are a popular menu item. During peak hours, demand for donuts may exceed supply, especially if Dunkin’ is short-staffed or equipment isn’t working. Dunkin’ doesn’t bake donuts in-store; instead, they’re shipped from a central kitchen. It can be hard to predict sales and determine donut shipments to each location.
The first Dunkin’ Donuts opened in Quincy, MA in 1948 under the name "Open Kettle." The founder, William Rosenberg, wanted "to make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts." In 1950, he renamed it "Dunkin’ Donuts." Dunkin’ focuses on freshness and still bakes donuts daily. Most donuts only stay fresh for about two days at room temperature. To maintain freshness, some leftover donuts are discarded.
Running a successful donut shop requires professional training in donut making, effective business practices like monetization, a good location, consistent hours, and satisfying customer demand. Case Study #1 documents a shop that closed because the owner lacked professional training, didn’t monetize well, had a poor location, irregular hours, and didn’t satisfy community needs and wants.
There are many tips for running a donut shop:
- Perfecting donut recipes
- Managing finances wisely
- Acquiring necessary equipment
- Tracking earnings and expenses
- Troubleshooting problems
- Keeping donuts fresh
Following this advice can help a donut shop achieve profitability and success.
Why drop "Donuts" from the Dunkin’ name? Many consumers want healthy breakfasts. Donuts aren’t seen as clean food. Though some niche donut shops succeed, donuts aren’t a mainstream breakfast anymore. Other carb-heavy breakfasts like cereal also struggle. So distancing from donuts may not be bad, since Dunkin’ sells more coffee than donuts now.