Krispy Kreme, McDonald's End Partnership

Sad news for people who wanted a doughnut instead of fries with that: McDonald's and Krispy Kreme have ended their partnership just six months after the doughnuts first appeared at the fast food chain. Last year, the companies said they planned to have Krispy Kreme doughnuts in all of McDonald's US restaurants by the end of 2026, but Krispy Kreme struggled with costs, reports Reuters. Krispy Kreme said it was pausing the rollout last month, NBC News reports. At the end of March, the doughnuts were available in just 2,400 of McDonald's 13,500 US locations.

"Ultimately, efforts to bring our costs in line with unit demand were unsuccessful, making the partnership unsustainable for us," Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charleswort said Tuesday. The company said demand wasn't strong enough for it to cover its costs, the AP reports. Alyssa Buetikofer, McDonald's chief marketing officer, said Krispy Kreme "delivered a great, high-quality product for us, and while the partnership met our expectations for McDonald's and owner/operators, this needed to be a profitable business model for Krispy Kreme as well." (More McDonald's stories.)