Dunkin' Brands' Dunkin' Donuts has quietly been testing the idea of shortening its name, as a soon-to-open California location will be branded simply, Dunkin'. The Canton, Mass.-based company is testing the shortened name to change how consumers perceive the brand. News of the test was first reported by Nation's Restaurant News.
The chain's new location in Pasadena, Calif., will be the one using the Dunkin' name, and the company said a few other stores will get the one-name treatment as well. The chain wants people to think of its stores as a destination for coffee, although it will still sell doughnuts.
Dunkin' Donuts said it won't decide if it will permanently change its name until late next year, when it expects to start redesigning stores. There are more than 12,000 Dunkin' Donuts locations worldwide. If the Donuts-less name is a hit with customers, the abbreviated name could be adopted more widely.
"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.' 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," the company was quoted as stating.
