Today, only 36 of roughly 2,100 Dunkin' Donuts in the Northeast make doughnuts from scratch in stores.
The owners of one store in Weymouth, Mass. bake their doughnuts on the premises and believe it provides them with a competitive edge by giving them greater control over production costs and enabling them to offer a wider selection (35 items) than stores supplied by commissaries (20 items).
Sisters Lynne McLaughlin and Sharon Holdcraft who run the store told The Boston Globe that customers bypass other Dunkin' Donuts and drive to their shop even though it is farther away.
"I wouldn't go to any of the others. They have the best jelly doughnut out there,' said Mary Crowley, one of those customers who puts more miles on her car to buy the sisters' doughnuts.
While most Dunkin' Donuts franchisees choose to go the commissary route, Stuart Morris, president of QSR Consulting Group, understands the attraction of goods baked in stores.
"Doughnuts are an indulgent and 'sinful' purchase that we all love," Mr. Morris told the Globe. "Having them made fresh is a statement of quality to the product and a reward to the consumer. It is no wonder that this Dunkin' Donuts is among the busiest in the country."
Despite the Weymouth store's success, the simple fact is that having doughnuts baked elsewhere and shipped in is less expensive than the do it yourself variety.
Discussion Questions: Are stores being short-sighted by focusing on the savings of bake-off operations rather than the marketing and customer experience value of baking in stores? Do you see any scenario moving forward where baking will be done more on-premises than off?