Dunkin’ is thinking about dumping “Donuts” from its name.
A new location of the chain in Pasadena, California, will be simply called Dunkin’, a move that parent company Dunkin’ Brands calls a test. The Canton, Massachusetts-based company said Thursday that a few other stores will get the one-name treatment too.
The chain wants people to think of its stores as a destination for coffee, although it will still sell doughnuts. Dunkin’ Donuts said it won’t make a decision on whether it will change its name until late next year, when it expects to start redesigning stores.
“While we remain the number one retailer of donuts in the country, as part of our efforts to reinforce that Dunkin’ Donuts is a beverage-led brand and coffee leader, we will be testing signage in a few locations that refer to the brand simply as ‘Dunkin’,” the company told CNBC.
The coffee chain has been referring to itself as “Dunkin” since it it began its “American Runs on Dunkin'” advertising campaign more than a decade ago.
“We do not anticipate making decisions regarding our branding until the latter half of 2018 when we begin rolling out our new store image,” the company said.
News of the test was first reported by Nation’s Restaurant News.