Dunkin’ Donuts Takes on Europe

After success in Asia, the chain is expanding into the Old Country.

May 07, 2014

AMSTERDAM — Will Europe embrace the doughnut? That’s what Dunkin’ Donuts is counting on, as the chain readies for an expansion into Europe after its hasty retreat two decades ago, the Associated Press reports.

While the doughnut-and-coffee chain has found success in Asia, the competition is stiffer in Europe, with its Danishes, Belgian waffles and Austrian strudels already entrenched. Dunkin’ Donuts now has around 120 locations scattered throughout Britain, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia and Spain. The company will soon open outlets in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Holland.

“[Europeans] are sophisticated, and they're culturally very open (to trying new foods),” pointed out Jeremy Vitaro, who leads international development for the chain.

While doughnuts and coffee will be prominent on the menu, Dunkin’ Donuts also gives a nod to the locality with offerings, such as “Bacon Buttie” and porridge in London. “Hot cereal, yes,” said Vitaro. “We also do a Croistrami sandwich, that's a pastrami croissant. So we do localize. We have a curry doughnut in India.”

Some analysts predict the chain will have to do more than add a bit of local flavor to the menu to succeed. “They don't have much name recognition, if any,” said Joost Kling, a food industry entrepreneur in the Netherlands. He also has concerns about educating the Dutch people on what a doughnut is. “[They] won't really have any basis for value comparison: they don't know what makes a good doughnut.”

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