The Dunkin’ Donuts menu is slimming down.
As of Monday, stores in New York and New England will see a smaller menu, with “slow moving” items such as smoothies, afternoon sandwiches, and some breakfast items eliminated. Franchises throughout the rest of the country will see the changes by March.
Chris Fuqua, the company’s senior vice president of operations strategy and supply chain, told the Boston Herald that the changes are intended to help maximize profitability for franchisees and streamline employees’ work. He said the franchisees have been “asking for something like this for quite some time.” The company tested the menu changes at select stores throughout 2017.
The tweaks are the latest in a series of efforts Dunkin’ Donuts has made to change its image. Last week the company announced it was getting rid of all artificial dyes in its donuts and over the summer it experimented with changing its name from “Dunkin’ Donuts” to simply “Dunkin’,” a move intended to foreground the chain’s famous coffee.
The menu items set for elimination were already optional for individual franchises, and 90% of the menu will remain unchanged. The full list of items on the chopping block include smoothies; turkey, cheddar and bacon, ham and cheddar, tuna and chicken salad afternoon sandwiches; the Big N’ Toasted and Angus steak and egg breakfast sandwiches; flatbread items; some muffins and bagel and cream cheese combinations that were optional for restaurants; and peach, caramel and mocha flavor coffee shots.
