Popular coffee chain Dunkin Donuts is testing out a new name, by dropping the Donuts portion, according to a report by Restaurant News.
A new location of the Dunkin Brands (DNKN) owned chain in Pasadena California will be called simply Dunkin' as a test of the possible name change.
The company wants people to view the stores as a destination for coffee, but it will continue to sell donuts. This is likely in a bid to continue to keep up with coffee rival Starbucks (SBUX) .
"While we remain the number one retailer of donuts in the country, as part of our efforts to reinforce that Dunkin' Donuts is a beverage-led brand and coffee leader, we will be testing signage in a few locations that refer to the brand simply as "Dunkin'," Dunkin Brands said in a statement to Restaurant News.
A company spokeswoman told TheStreet via email:
"While we remain the number one retailer of donuts in the country, as part of our efforts to reinforce that Dunkin' Donuts is a beverage-led brand and coffee leader, we will be testing signage in a few locations that refer to the brand simply as "Dunkin'." The signage will appear on a new restaurant scheduled to open in Pasadena this month, followed by a few other locations later this year. We have been referring to ourselves simply as Dunkin' in our advertising for more than a decade, ever since we introduced our "America Runs on Dunkin'" campaign.
