McDonald's Is Expanding Its Partnership With Krispy Kreme. Here's What We Know

While McDonald's apple pie, vanilla cone, and Oreo McFlurry have become some of the fast-food chain's staples, its dessert menu continues to grow. One step McDonald's has taken towards expanding its dessert selections is through a pilot partnership with Krispy Kreme. 

The chain first partnered with Krispy Kreme at the end of October 2022, starting with nine Krispy Kreme locations in Louisville, Kentucky. At those locations, customers can purchase the doughnuts separately or in a six-pack. And now, the company shared that it has decided to increase the number of Krispy Kreme test locations.

Currently, the option to get Krispy Kreme doughnuts will still only be available in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, where 160 new pilot areas will start selling three types of Krispy Kreme doughnut options, starting on March 21. Kentucky customers who'd like to add a doughnut to their order can choose from the doughnut selection using McDonald's delivery, the McDonald's app, the drive-thru, or by going into the store. According to the Feb. 27 press release, the larger partnership will allow the two retailers to better gauge potential interest in the partnership.

Customers can choose from Krispy Kreme's Original Glazed Donut, Chocolate Iced Glazed Doughnut with Sprinkles, and its Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled Doughnut. The companies stated in October that the doughnuts will only be around for a limited time.

During Krispy Kreme's 2022 Q4 earnings call, CEO Mike Tattersfield said that the partnership has offered valuable data on how to understand what quick-service restaurant customers are seeking in terms of time, quality, and execution, as well as how effectively their brand works with a different brand. He said he's hoping that in the future, the partnership will allow them to have a "growth story." And Roger Beahm, a marketing professor at Wake Forest University School of Business, told the Winston-Salem Journal in February that the partnership will provide a "go-to-market strategy that seems to offer strong upside potential."   

McDonald's takes the lead as the only quick-service restaurant currently offering Krispy Kreme doughnuts to customers (other than Krispy Kreme's retail locations, of course). But at least for now, the market test is still only a limited-time deal.