78 /ENTREPRENEUR.COM/January-February 2018
TO THOSE WHOgrew up in
Dunkin’ Donuts’ North-
east stronghold, where the
orange-and-pink double D is
as ubiquitous as the Golden
Arches, this news may come
as a shock: Dunkin’ isn’t
everywhere! Only in the past
half decade has it ventured
into Colorado, California,
Minnesota, and Utah, and
2017 was the year Dunkin’
learned to say “aloha,” with
its first three stores opening
in Hawaii. In a few north-
western states, including
Idaho, there’s no Dunkin’ at
all. There, America evidently
runs on something else.
All of this means that
Dunkin’—despite having
12,435 global locations at the
end of 2017, of which 9,015
are in the U.S.—still has
plenty of room to grow. And
grow it does: A year ago, those
numbers were 12,258 units
worldwide, of which 8,828
were stateside. That expan-
sion is happening strategi-
cally. “It’s not so important to
us to just sprinkle new stores
over a wide area,” says Grant
Benson, the company’s senior
vice president of franchising
and development. “Once we
make a commitment to go
somewhere, we go deep. But
there’s certainly nothing unat-
tractive about any state, and
we look forward to being rep-
resented everywhere.” (Sorry,
Gem State residents: “It’s just
not time for Idaho today,” he
says. Maybe tomorrow!)
Meanwhile, Dunkin’ con-
tinues to scale globally. Like
a box with a mixed dozen of
strawberry frosted, blueberry
cake, and Boston kreme,
Dunkin’ Donuts’ units abroad
present a variety of flavors,
with each market reflecting
local tastes. A new store in
Amsterdam, for instance, is
testing a novel model: one
that’s “a bit upscale” and
“very beverage-focused,”
per Benson, more in tune
with Europe’s café culture.
America may run on Dunkin’,
but others prefer to relax with
it. And the brand will take all
kinds. —DAVID ZAX PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DUNKIN’ DONUTS
Dunkin’ Donuts
Founded/ 950, Quincy, Mass. 1
Worldwide units/ 12, 435
U.S. units/ 9,01 5
Cost to open a unit/ 228,620 to $1.69 million$