After a trial run where Krispy Kreme doughnuts showed up at select McDonald’s locations in Kentucky and Indiana, availability is expanding nationwide, the companies announced Tuesday.
The rollout will start in the second half of this year and is expected to be complete by the end of 2026.
Three varieties are on the menu: the original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, the chocolate iced doughnut with sprinkles, and a chocolate iced doughnut filled with the chain’s trademark Kreme filling.
Doughnuts will be delivered fresh and will be available for purchase all day while supplies last.
The first trial run started in 2022 at nine locations in the Louisville, Kentucky, area, with four in that state and five in nearby Indiana, before expanding to 160 stores and including the Lexington area.
“The top request we receive from consumers, every day, is ‘please bring Krispy Kreme to my town.’ Partnering with McDonald’s on a national scale will provide our fans and doughnut lovers unprecedented daily access to fresh doughnuts. … We expect to more than double our points of access by the end of 2026,” Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth said in a statement.
Krispy Kreme is expanding its distribution infrastructure to eventually supply all McDonald’s U.S. locations.
“We think we can service about 6,000 restaurants with our existing infrastructure, mostly doughnut shops, which have excess capacity,” Mr. Charlesworth told CNBC.
To celebrate the deepened partnership, Krispy Kreme is offering a free glazed doughnut to anyone who visits any of its American stores from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday.