McDonald’s & Krispy Kreme Split: Fast Food Collab Lessons

The doughnut deal is done. After a short-lived run that sparked buzz but didn’t hold up logistically, McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme are parting ways—with a reminder that brand fandom alone can’t carry a business model.

The Doughnut Deal That Didn’t Last

McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme are parting ways on July 2, quietly ending a doughnut partnership that once promised big things. They first teamed up in 2022 to bring Krispy Kreme to McDonald’s nationwide, but after just 18 months, the trial is done. What this really shows is a simple truth fast food keeps learning: even a wildly popular idea, loved by fans, needs more than hype to stick.

In a Q1 2025 earnings call, Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth explained the decision, pointing to a steep drop in demand following the initial launch. While the doughnuts performed well during the early marketing push, sales didn’t hold. The numbers simply didn’t justify the operational complexity it added to McDonald’s restaurants. Charlesworth noted that the model wasn’t profitable—and the effort wasn’t sustainable.

Strong Buzz, Short Shelf Life

In the early phases of the partnership, there were signs of momentum. According to YouGov BrandIndex data, McDonald’s saw a measurable uptick in favorability among Krispy Kreme fans. Both satisfaction and consideration scores rose from late 2022 through early 2024, peaking during the national rollout. The buzz was real, and it reflected a kind of brand halo effect—consumers liked the idea of the partnership, and it generated genuine goodwill.

But that initial bump in good feeling didn’t last. The enthusiasm faded fast, and it didn’t turn into steady traffic or doughnut sales. This is where ‘brand love’ hits the reality of the business. Unlike quick viral promotions, this partnership needed serious day-to-day support: delivery, storage, and constant effort from McDonald’s. Simply put, there just wasn’t enough customer demand to make all that operational heavy lifting worth it.

Why This Collab Failed to Stick

Unlike attention-grabbing limited-time promotions, such as the popular Minecraft and Pokemon Happy Meals—this partnership was built to be ongoing. It was never meant to be a novelty moment. But that might have been part of the challenge.

Perhaps the reality is that the role of Krispy Kreme doughnuts on the McDonald’s menu was too minor to meaningfully impact foot traffic. Most customers weren’t making a trip solely for doughnuts, and McDonald’s already has a stacked breakfast lineup. Without sustained demand, the added complexity created more friction than value. For Krispy Kreme, the costs of servicing McDonald’s locations simply outweighed the return.

It all comes down to this: When logistics don’t work, love can’t bridge the gap. Strong brand love, while nice, can’t replace operational ease, and that feel-good sentiment doesn’t always result in sales that stick for the long haul.

A Sign of the Moment

This exit lines up with McDonald’s broader simplification efforts. Across the industry, fast food chains are rethinking the complexity that’s crept into their menus over the past decade—and stepping away from concepts that are expensive to maintain, even if they’re popular on paper.

As for Krispy Kreme, the pullback reflects a pivot to what Charlesworth called a “more capital-efficient model,” with a focus on branded shops, grocery expansion, and strategic partnerships where the logistics pencil out. This exit lines up with McDonald’s broader simplification efforts… That doesn’t mean crossovers are over—but it does suggest they’ll be smaller, sharper, and more cautious than they were in the peak mashup era. The message is clear: the age of relying purely on a fun idea or fan excitement is fading. Future fast food collabs will need to prove their real-world value from day one.