Krispy Kreme Kills Its Relationship with McDonald’s: ‘Unsustainable’
Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s have mutually decided to terminate their partnership effective July 2, 2025, due to challenges in maintaining a profitable business model. The decision came after Krispy Kreme evaluated the costs associated with supplying doughnuts to approximately 2,400 McDonald’s locations in the U.S., which ultimately proved unsustainable. Although both companies expressed satisfaction with their collaboration, Krispy Kreme’s CEO Josh Charlesworth noted that the earnings could not align with operational costs, making the partnership untenable.
McDonald’s chief marketing officer, Alyssa Buetikofer, emphasized the success of their collaboration but acknowledged the necessity for it to be profitable for Krispy Kreme as well. Following the termination agreement, Krispy Kreme will not supply doughnuts to other fast food chains in the U.S. until the end of 2026. Prior to this decision, Krispy Kreme had already paused the expansion of the partnership to assess its profitability, as the company reported a decline in organic revenue amidst increased competition and economic pressure. The partnership was initially announced in March 2024 with the intent to distribute Krispy Kreme doughnuts across all U.S. McDonald’s by 2026.
Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s announced Tuesday that they are ending their partnership.
The two companies jointly decided to terminate their business together, effective July 2, according to a Krispy Kreme news release.
“Our two companies partnered very closely, each supporting execution, marketing, and training, delivering a great consumer experience in approximately 2,400 McDonald’s restaurants,” Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth said in the release.
“Ultimately, efforts to bring our costs in line with unit demand were unsuccessful, making the partnership unsustainable for us,” Charlesworth added.
Alyssa Buetikofer, McDonald’s USA’s chief marketing and customer experience officer, also made a statement.
“We were excited and pleased to partner with Krispy Kreme,” Buetikofer said.
“We had strong collaboration with Krispy Kreme and they delivered a great, high-quality product for us, and while the partnership met our expectations for McDonald’s and Owner/Operators, this needed to be a profitable business model for Krispy Kreme as well,” she said.
As part of the termination agreement, Krispy Kreme agreed not to supply doughnuts to any other fast food restaurant in the U.S. through the end of 2026, according to Reuters.
Krispy Kreme also said in its statement that it represented a small and non-material part of the McDonald’s breakfast business.
The unfortunate thing about the end of the McDonald’s-Krispy Kreme deal is that we never got to see it fully work because it didn’t get far enough for marketing to really start. https://t.co/xlCdTfRwUD
— Jonathan Maze (@jonathanmaze) June 24, 2025
The two food giants announced their partnership in March 2024.
The plan was to sell Krispy Kreme doughnuts at all U.S. McDonald’s locations in the United States by the end of 2026.
But in May, Krispy Kreme announced a pause to reevaluate the profitability of the partnership, according to Fox Business.
A few comments about the @krispykreme & @McDonalds partnership 🪦
For this contract to be broken during the middle of the rollout is historical. I’m not sure this has ever happened at McD before with a vendor. Contracts signed, 24 month test in multiple markets. POP in… https://t.co/o046bnHsdZ pic.twitter.com/xM8WOJ8dap
— McFranchisee (@McFranchisee) June 26, 2025
The May announcement followed after Krispy Kreme’s sales began to fall earlier this year, according to Restaurant Business.
Despite an increase in locations that sold the doughnuts, Krispy Kreme’s organic U.S. revenue declined by 2.6 percent in the first quarter.
Before its May announcement, Krispy Kreme said it was likely to overhaul its board of directors and shift its focus to cutting costs and fixing profitability problems, Restaurant Business reported.
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