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Foodservice Industry

McDonald’s to Add Krispy Kreme to Menus Nationwide

We know nothing hits the spot quite like a fresh, melt-in-your-mouth doughnut paired with your go-to McCafé order…and McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme have a sweet update for doughnut fans everywhere.

The Golden Arches and Krispy Kreme, one of the most beloved sweet treat brands in the world, are teaming up for a national expansion. Fans will begin spotting Krispy Kreme doughnuts in their local McDonald’s restaurants later this year as part of a phased market rollout across the country. Nationwide availability at participating restaurants is expected by the end of 2026.

Three of Krispy Kreme’s most popular doughnuts will be delivered fresh to McDonald’s restaurants every day. They’ll be available individually, or in boxes of six, starting at breakfast and lasting throughout the day – while supplies last:

  • The iconic Original Glazed Doughnut: A melt-in-your-mouth doughnut covered in Krispy Kreme’s signature glaze. The doughnut that started it all.
  • The Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles Doughnut: A chocolatey twist on the original, dipped in chocolate icing and covered in rainbow sprinkles.
  • The Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled Doughnut: Made with a light, fluffy dough and filled with a smooth Kreme™ filling then dipped in chocolate icing.

This follows a successful test at 160 McDonald’s restaurants in the Lexington and Louisville, Ky., areas where consumer excitement and demand exceeded expectations. These pilot restaurants will continue to serve Krispy Kreme doughnuts during the nationwide rollout.

“Since the launch of breakfast nearly 50 years ago, we’ve continued to offer new menu items, flavors and experiences that have made McDonald’s an irreplaceable part of fans’ morning routines,” said Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s USA’s chief marketing and customer experience officer. “This partnership is an exciting next step in that journey and a chance to unlock new business opportunities in the breakfast category and throughout the day. Our fans’ love for Krispy Kreme runs deep, and we can’t wait to make it even easier for them to satisfy their sweet tooth at McDonald’s restaurants across the country.”

“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 and the joy that is Krispy Kreme,” said Krispy Kreme President and CEO Josh Charlesworth.

Krispy Kreme More Than Doubles Points of Access

“Significantly, by making Kreme Krispy accessible to fans nationwide through this partnership, we expect to more than double our points of access by the end of 2026. The partnership accelerates the development of our existing Delivered Fresh Daily channel, creating operating leverage through distribution density and production utilization,” said Charlesworth.

Krispy Kreme has been scaling its supply chain, building a support team, adding technology and new equipment, and enhancing field training to support its Delivered Fresh Daily expansion, which includes this phased rollout.

The companies will provide more details regarding the nationwide rollout in the coming months. So, get ready to sweeten up your day as these delicious treats make their way to your local McDonald’s restaurant soon!

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Pepper, Ferraro Foods Launch Pepper App to 8,000+ Customers

Pepper, a leading provider of AI-driven solutions for the food distribution industry, is partnering with Ferraro Foods, known for its commitment to delivering fresh ingredients and quality service in foodservice. This collaboration marks the launch of the highly anticipated Pepper App, designed to revolutionize how Ferraro Foods interacts with its extensive network of more than 8,000 customers across 23 states.

“Our alliance with Pepper represents a significant milestone in our journey towards embracing digital transformation in foodservice,” said Faris Faris, CIO, Ferraro Foods. “The Pepper App allows us to offer a great eCommerce experience to our customers, enable our reps to grow their business and maintain our leadership in delivering high-quality products.”

The Pepper App will transform how Ferraro Foods takes orders from customers and arms sales reps with mobile-first solutions to manage their business. As Ferraro Foods rolls out the Pepper App, customers can expect a robust online shopping experience while sales reps will enjoy a suite of tools that help them become more consultative sellers.

Pepper’s platform is designed to meet the specific needs of independent distributors such as Ferraro Foods, by leveraging a team of industry experts who truly understand the food distribution business. This partnership underscores Pepper’s commitment to empowering food distributors with the tools they need to thrive in a competitive marketplace.

“Teaming up with Ferraro Foods reinforces Pepper’s position as the growth engine for independent distributors,” said Erin Graham, vice president of sales at Pepper. “We are passionate about working with our customers to build solutions that will help them dominate their markets.”

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DoorDash, Wing Launch Drone Delivery Pilot in US

DoorDash and Wing have launched their drone delivery partnership in the United States, starting in Christiansburg, Va. Select local consumers will be able to order eligible menu items from Wendy’s – the pilot’s first restaurant partner – through the DoorDash marketplace and have them delivered via drone. 

This follows the drone delivery pilot program that DoorDash and Wing launched in Australia in 2022 and has since expanded to three locations in Queensland with more than 60 participating merchants, marking the first time that Wing integrated its drone delivery service within another marketplace.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Wing in the U.S. to integrate drone delivery into DoorDash’s ecosystem,” said Harrison Shih, senior director of DoorDash Labs. “At DoorDash, we are committed to advancing last-mile logistics by building a multi-modal delivery platform that serves all sides of our marketplace. We’re optimistic about the value drone delivery will bring to our platform as we work to offer more efficient, sustainable, and convenient delivery options for consumers.”

“Expanding our partnership with DoorDash and launching in the U.S. is a direct result of the success we’ve seen from our initial collaboration in Australia, where Wing has served tens of thousands of customers via the DoorDash app for over a year now,” said Cosimo Leipold, head of partnerships at Wing. “Wing has now made over 350,000 deliveries across three countries and looking ahead we are focused on providing a fast, affordable and safe service to our partners so they can better serve their customers. 

“This moment continues our meaningful expansion of this service in the U.S. and advances our shared goal to better the last-mile delivery ecosystem.”

When DoorDash customers with an eligible address in Christiansburg place a qualifying order in the DoorDash app from the Wendy’s located at 2355 N. Franklin St., they will see the option to have their meal delivered by drone on the checkout page. Once they select drone delivery and place their order, it will be prepared and packaged at the Wendy’s location and delivered via a Wing drone, typically in 30 minutes or less.

Through this partnership, DoorDash aims to provide access to an innovative delivery solution for consumers and merchants, complementary to traditional Dasher-fulfilled orders. The new offering provides a quick and sustainable delivery option for small, short-distanced orders while creating the potential for incremental order growth across the platform. 

The pilot will initially be available in Christiansburg with plans to explore other cities later this year.

The drone delivery partnership with Wing was born out of DoorDash Labs, DoorDash’s robotics and automation arm. DoorDash sees automation as a means to develop the right platform solution to satisfy consumer demand, while improving efficiencies within the platform.

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