Dunkin’ Donuts Has A Plan To Compete With McDonald’s: Pointing Out That It Also Serves Breakfast All Day

In October Dunkin’ Donuts admitted that it was “obviously” paying attention to McDonald’s all-day breakfast menu, but didn’t seem too worried. Three months later, Dunkin’ is revealing how it plans to tackle the competition in the breakfast arena: remind people that Dunkin’ Donuts also serves breakfast all day.

In the face of declining sales and the threat of Ronald McDonald on its doorstep, Dunkin’ is making a few moves to bring people in the doors again, one of which is revamping its menu boards at counters and drive-thru windows at 8,400 U.S. locations to emphasize coffee and bring attention to its own “all day” breakfast foods, reports Bloomberg News.

The company’s brands chief executive Nigel Travis has said that “revitalized burger players” are hurting the chain, amid a same-store sales drop of 0.8% last quarter, and declining customer traffic in the same time period.

Dunkin’ is now clinging to its breakfast business: instead of focusing on new sandwiches and wraps, as it has been introducing recently, it’ll focus on core breakfast fare, including coffee drinks, which are actually more profitable than food.

You can tell the menus are new because they use a cursive lettering and use images like dark-roast coffee, Coolatta drinks, and egg sandwiches. Combo meals will fall by the wayside, as Dunkin’ will pull back on touting those deals. Before, about 60% of the menu board was taken up by combo meals, despite the fact that they account for a small percentage of the company’s sales. Calorie counts will also be added to the menus.

Though the timing would appear to be in response to McDonald’s, the company says the new menus have been in the works for 18 months.

“Our menu boards were due for a redesign,” said Scott Hudler, the company’s vice president of global consumer engagement. “The menu board helps clear up any confusion on how to order, and shows that our entire menu is available all day.”

Dunkin’ Donuts Fights to Reclaim Breakfast in McDonald’s Battle [Bloomberg News]