Dunkin’ Mission Statement Analysis

• Company: Dunkin’  
• CEO: David Hoffman
• Year founded: 1950
• Headquarters: Canton, Massachusetts, USA
• Number of Employees: 250000
• Type: Private
• Annual Revenue (2024): $11.918 Billion

Products & Services: Baked Goods | Frozen & Hot Beverages | Coffee Beans & Grounds | Sandwiches | Snacks & Wraps | Dunkin’ Rewards App | Dunkin’ at Home (Coffee products for at-home brewing)

Competitors: Starbucks | McDonalds | KFC | Subway | Peet’s Coffee | Tim Hortons | Pizza Hut | Domino’s Pizza | Burger King | Krispy Kreme | Panera Bread | Wendy’s | Costa Coffee | Caffe Nero | Caffe Ritazza | Dutch Bros | Scooter’s Coffee

Did you know? Dunkin’ is America’s second-largest coffee brand.

Dunkin’, formerly Dunkin’ Donuts, is an American coffee and donut brand and a QSR (quick service restaurant) specialist. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in 1950 and acquired by Inspire Brands in 2020. Dunkin’ mission, values, and sustainability strategy drive growth and success. In 2018, the brand shortened its name from Dunkin’ Donuts to Dunkin’ to reflect its expansion beyond doughnuts. It offers a diverse menu, including coffee, espresso, tea, donuts, and sandwiches. Customers can also buy coffee beans and K-Cup pods to brew coffee at home. [1]

Dunkin’ is one of the world’s largest coffee and donut brands, with over 13,200 restaurants in around 40 global markets. It operates under Inspire Brands with Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC Drive-In. In 2023, Dunkin’ made $11.9 billion in annual sales. It ranked second after Seattle-based Starbucks. [2]

To understand why Dunkin’ is thriving, here is an in-depth analysis of its mission statement, values, and sustainability goals:

Dunkin’s Mission Statement

Dunkin’ doesn’t have an explicit mission statement. The brand relies on the slogan America Runs on Dunkin’ to define business.

We serve fresh-brewed excitement across the globe but haven’t moved too far from our Quincy, MA roots,

states Dunkin’. [3]

Dunkin’ doesn’t have an explicit mission statement. The brand relies on the slogan America Runs on Dunkin’ to define business.

Dunkin’ shares Inspire Brands’ mission and purpose with Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC Drive-In. However, each label has unique values and brand identity. Inspire Brands’ purpose is to “Ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.” This statement guides Dunkin’ operations. [4]

Here is our analysis of Dunkin’s mission:

1. Dominate the beverages and baked goods space

Dunkin’ aims to be the go-to destination for beverages and baked goods. The brand uses the “America Runs on Dunkin‘” slogan to convey its position as one of the dominant players in the US coffee niche. Millions of Americans visit Dunkin’ restaurants daily to drink coffee, tea, or espresso and energize. In 2024, visits to Dunkin’ remained close to 2023 levels, a testament to its coffee’s enduring draw. The brand attracted 39.9% of its visitors in the early morning, from 6:00 AM to 9:59 AM, while Starbucks received only 29.9% of its customers. [5]

Dunkin’ seeks to dominate the QSR sector, not just the coffee and donuts niche. The brand achieves this mission by expanding its menu beyond coffee and baked goods. For example, in Feb 2024, the chain introduced Dunkin’ Energy, a new, fruit-flavored iced sip to keep America running. The drink offers a revitalizing burst of energy with vitamins, minerals, and caffeine kick. The brand also expanded its spring delectable seasonal offerings with new items, including cinnamon-forward sips, Churro Donuts, Breakfast Empanada, and Banana Chocolate Chip Bread. These products can help Dunkin’ grab market share from rivals and dominate the sector. [6]

2. Ignite flavorful experiences

Dunkin’ aims to serve fresh-brewed excitement and flavorful experiences. The restaurant chain positions itself as the preferred choice for US coffee lovers. However, its menu includes hand-crafted espresso drinks, hot and iced teas, frappuccinos, sandwiches far, muffins, bagels, and specialty donuts like Boston Crème and Glazed Ring. In Jan 2019, the chain upgraded its menu with a new espresso range, iced coffee, and premium iced tea. The brand introduced over 20 new items in 2022. Its continuous menu innovation keeps customers excited and ignites flavorful experiences.

Dunkin’ understands the impact of the dining environment on diners’ experience. The brand announced a large-scale modernization program in 2018 to revamp its restaurants. In Jul 2024, the chain opened the 4,000^th Dunkin’ NextGen store in the US. These remodeled outlets serve premium coffee and provide world-class dining service and experiences. [7]

3. Deliver customer-centric service

Dunkin’ seeks to deliver customer-centric service. The brand focuses on customer satisfaction and strives to provide the best experience across its chain. In 2024, Dunkin’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score was 77. Its US ACSI score remained unchanged from 2023 to 2024. [8]

Dunkin’s customer-centric approach combines a rewarding program, mobile integration, and personalized offers. It creates a robust loyalty ecosystem that boosts customer retention. In 2014, Dunkin’ launched DD Perks to drive customer engagement. Members gets 5 points per dollar spent and redeem 200 points for a beverage, birthday points, special menu items, and early access to new products. The brand’s loyalty members visit 2.5 times more often than non-members, translating to an 80% customer retention rate versus the industry average of 65%. DD Perks members also spend more than non-members to earn more points. Dunkin’s customer-centric approach is paying off. [9]

Checkout: Largest Global Restaurant Chains Companies by Market Cap

Dunkin’s Values

Dunkin’ values diverse and inclusive teams, community, and collaboration. These values define Dunkin’. The brand believes diversity and inclusion strengthen its business. [10]

1. Diversity and inclusion

Dunkin’ strives to build an inclusive culture and workplace where all workers are respected and appreciated for their talent. The brand believes it needs diverse perspectives and experiences to achieve its mission. Its business resource groups (BRGs) elevate team members of all backgrounds. For example, the Champions of Women Leaders (COWL) BRG empowers women and uplifts, recognizes, and honors their contributions. BRGs operate across Inspire Brands’ ecosystem, including company-owned and franchised locations. [11]

2. Community

Dunkin’ strives to build a business that empowers people and communities. For example, the brand established the Joy in Childhood Foundation to help kids feel like kids. The foundation’s signature programs include Dogs for Joy, Connecting Joy, Dunkin’ Prom, and Joyful Spaces. They provide dogs and gaming equipment in children’s hospitals, host prom events for hospitalized teens, and collaborate with health facilities to create playgrounds, healing gardens, and teen rooms. In 2024, the Joy in Childhood Foundation awarded $9.5 million in grants, supported 171 children’s hospitals and non-profits, and impacted 2 million kids. Dunkin’ franchisees and team members have volunteered over 30,000 hours to local hunger relief organizations and children’s hospitals in the past 9 years. [12]

3. Collaboration

Dunkin’ values strategic, mutually beneficial partnerships. The chain nurtures collaboration by pairing new team members with Shift Leaders in employee training and development. This approach allows newcomers to learn from the best and gain hands-on knowledge. Dunkin’ also lives by this value by partnering with external parties. For example, Dunkin’ collaborated with Saucony to create limited-edition running shoes ahead of the Boston Marathon. This collaboration helped the brand appeal to coffee enthusiasts and runners. [13]

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Dunkin’ Donuts’ Sustainability Goals

Dunkin’s sustainability strategy aims to deliver sustainable food and establish sustainable restaurants. The brand is committed to building a business that protects the environment and empowers people. It shares Inspire Brands’ sustainability goals with sister labels: Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC. [14]

How is Dunkin’ progressing on its sustainability goals:

1. Sustainable Food

Inspire Brands states, “Through innovation, we ensure the service of quality sustainable food.” Dunkin’ shares its parent company’s sustainability philosophy. It takes pride in the food and drinks it serves. In 2014, Dunkin’ launched Rainforest Alliance Certified Iced Green Tea. It transitioned to 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified Iced Green and Black Tea and became the first national restaurant chain to offer oat milk at 100% of its US restaurants in 2020. Dunkin’ added omelet bites to its classic breakfast in Jan 2022. 

Dunkin’ is committed to providing sustainable beverages and baked goods. The brand uses its Coffee Policy and third-party verification with Enveritas to audit its US coffee supply chain, ensuring policy compliance. Its verification efforts also improve roasting and international licensing standards and track performance indicators for continuous improvement. In Sep 2022, the café chain launched the Dunkin’ Drive-To Sustainability Program to achieve 100% responsibly sourced coffee by 2025. It drives Dunkin’s verification, partnerships, and improvement efforts. [15]

Dunkin’ strives to achieve its sustainability goals by partnering with like-minded businesses and non-profits. It has collaborated with Conservation International under The Sustainable Coffee Challenge since 2018. In 2021, Dunkin’ donated $450,000 to One Tree Planted. The non-profit used the funds to plant 450,000 trees in coffee-growing regions in Honduras and Guatemala. Dunkin’ has donated over $400,000 to Rainforest Alliance and $60,000 to coffee suppliers in Guatemala and Colombia. These donations support sustainable coffee and tea projects and improve producers’ lives and communities. [16]

2. Sustainable Restaurants

Inspire Brands has over 33,000 restaurants globally, including 13,200 Dunkin’ outlets. It seeks to create sustainable shops by improving packaging, recycling, and reducing waste. For example, in 2020, Dunkin’ restaurants replaced polystyrene cups with double-walled paper cups made with paperboard certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard. Dunkin’ and its sister brand, Baskin-Robbins, switched from plastic to wooden stir-sticks and paper-based packaging across their US locations. This move eliminated around 300,000 pounds of plastic from the waste stream annually.

Dunkin’ has accelerated its recycling and waste reduction efforts in recent years. The brand created stringent composting guidelines. It provides a recycling toolkit to help its franchisees compost coffee grounds and other organic waste and recycle packaging from their restaurants.

In 2014, Dunkin’ launched the DD Green Achievement program to integrate sustainability into its cafés. Its new Next-Gen restaurants meet DD Green Achievement specifications. For example, Dunkin’s Next-Gen outlets are 25% more energy-efficient than its previous Fresh Brew cafés. [17]

References

1. Smith, C. (2024, Dec 13). Dunkin Donuts Statistics and Facts for 2024. Expanded Ramblings
2. Statista Research Department (2024, Nov 7). Leading coffee shop and café chain sales in the US in 2023. Statista
3. Dunkin’. About Us: America Runs on Dunkin’®. DunkinDonuts.com
4. Inspire Brands. Purpose: Paul Brown’s letter to Inspire Brands. InspireBrands.com
5. Arnold, B. (2025, Jan 21). Coffee Fix: Starbucks and Dunkin’ in 2024. Placer.ai
6. Dunkin’ (2024, Feb 21). Dunkin’ launches Dunkin’ Energy and limited-time offerings for spring. DunkinDonuts.com
7. WCP (2024, Jul 4). Dunkin’ reached the US store revamp milestone with its 4,000^th Next-Gen outlet. World Coffee Portal
8. Statista Research Department (2024, Jul 26). American Customer Satisfaction Index score of Dunkin’ in the US 2023-2024. Statista
9. Hure, D. (2024, Aug 31). Dunkin’ Donuts: A Case Study in Customer Loyalty. Reward the World
10. Dunkin’. Culture: Our values. DunkinDonuts.com
11. Dunkin’. Inclusion and Diversity: Stronger together. DunkinDonuts.com
12. Dunkin’ Joy. What We Do. The Joy in Childhood Foundation
13. Dunkin’. Development: Supporting our people. DunkinDonuts.com
14. Inspire Brands. Sustainability: Our strategy. InspireBrands.com
15. Dunkin’ (2022, Sep 29). Dunkin’ commits to 100% responsibly sourced coffee by 2025. DunkinDonuts.com
16. Inspire Brands (2023, Jan 30). Sustainability: Sustainable Food. InspireBrands.com
17. Inspire Brands (2023). Sustainability: Sustainable Restaurants. InspireBrands.com
18. Featured Image by Jenn Causing