High octane coffee is powering Dunkin' Donuts
It's certainly not the doughnuts. They aren't bad but there are plenty of other franchises and local bakeries around that put Dunkin' Donuts doughnuts to shame.
Those rubbery, spongy muffins are not drawing customers in on their own either.
Sure, the bagels are passable. But you can find higher quality bagels in the frozen food department of your favorite supermarket.
Without high quality hot coffee, the parking lots and drive-in lanes at Dunkin' Donuts would be empty. Krispy Kreme learned this the hard way in trying to invade Dunkin' Donut territory without premium coffee.
All the new products Dunkin' keeps adding, like blueberry coffee, may spread the overall appeal to an even wider audience. However, the standard coffee, without any gimmicks, is the strength that the other businesses can't seem to match. For years, Dunkin' Donuts didn't even find it necessary to keep up with the competition and add spill-proof lids to its Styrofoam cups.
Funny, isn't it, that something so easy to fix at home is such a popular item to buy on the road. And while The Enterprise Page 1 story today reveals that prices vary from one location to another, no matter where you buy Dunkin' Donut coffee, you are spending five times as much as if you brewed a pot of java at home.
Early in the franchise history, the founders discovered the appeal of good, strong coffee and the high profit margin of mixing coffee beans with hot water. Most other establishments have failed to recognize the power of a potent cup of coffee. How many times have you gone to an expensive, high-quality restaurant and had a gourmet meal ruined by a bad cup of coffee? Conversely, aren't there plenty of occasions where finishing up with a great cup of coffee will take some of the disappointment out of a bad meal?
New Englanders love potent coffee with decent flavor and enough caffeine to sharpen the senses, even on the earliest and foggiest of mornings.
We've all heard, from time to time, a person at work who doesn't usually buy coffee, announce, "I'm going down to Dunkin' to get a coffee. This is going to be a tough day and I really need a shot of rocket fuel."
When you are driving on a trip and want a cup of coffee, you go out of your way to find a Dunkin' Donuts. You know the restrooms will be clean, the counter service quick, and the coffee strong and fresh.
It's not gourmet coffee. If you want some exotic blend from another continent, go to Starbucks and deal with their grandiose terminology necessary for ordering their products. Dunkin' Donuts did experiment with silly coffee nicknames, like the Great One, which was an insult to Jackie Gleason and Wayne Gretzky. But the term "extra large," which is more in tune with the unpretentious atmosphere in a Dunkin' Donuts, has returned.
What you are guaranteed at Dunkin' Donuts is you will always get a steaming cup of fresh coffee with the same taste. The glass pots get emptied quickly and don't sit around and the coffee isn't turning to mud like at many places. Personally, in the last 20 years of patronizing Dunkin' Donuts all over New England, I've had just one bad cup, where the coffee proportions were off.
Amazingly enough, the best for Dunkin' Donuts is probably yet to come. A recent study done by Harvard researchers indicates drinking coffee may lower the risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer.
The coffee lines will only be getting longer if this beverage that puts people in a better mood is also proven to be good for you. Who would have ever figured a doughnut chain might also become a health food franchise?
|
