At Dunkin’ Brands, we approach everything we do – from product development to restaurant operations to communications – through a guest-centric lens.
Improving Menu Quality
We strive to offer Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins guests high-quality menu items. To do so, we understand the need to continuously improve our menu ingredients and items to better suit the needs of our guests.
As part of our ongoing efforts to offer our guests great tasting, high-quality products and cleaner menu labels, both Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins have eliminated artificial dyes from key categories on their menu. Dunkin' has successfully removed artificial dyes from donuts, baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, coffee flavorings and nearly all frozen beverages. Additionally, Baskin-Robbins has removed artificial dyes from its ice cream sold at both its restaurants and in quarts and pints at retail locations as well as from its syrups, sauces, and beverages including Cappuccino Blast®. The exception for both brands' menus include select supplier-branded ingredients produced by other companies and used as topping, ice cream inclusions and decorative elements.
To further our commitment to offer our guests better-for-you menu items and ingredients, in 2017 we removed artificial flavors from cream cheese spread on the Dunkin' U.S. menu. We continue to develop our menu items and from 2012 to 2018 we reduced sodium by 12% across the Dunkin' menu.
Transparency and Labeling
We believe it is important to provide clear, simple nutrition and ingredient information on menus and labels. All of our ingredient information is available on the Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins websites. Our guests have the ability to easily see the caloric content of our food and beverages at the point of purchase in restaurant or on mobile apps. In addition, our Guest Support team members are trained to respond to all nutrition-related inquiries.
Optionality
We are constantly evaluating our menu in order to meet the needs of our guests. We strive to offer a variety of menu options that meet a wider array of health and wellness concerns. From better-for0you to vegan and plant-based options, our goal is to serve and provide all guests with options no matter their dietary preference. Providing choice is a key element of our menu innovation at Dunkin' Brands, and so we have made a commitment to expand our vegetarian and vegan offerings on both the Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins menus by 2020.
Responsible Sourcing
While our supply chains for Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins are complex and different in the U.S. and internationally, we strive to source all of our products as sustainably as possible.
Palm Oil
While Dunkin’ Brands is a relatively minor user of palm oil, we recognize the importance of sourcing palm oil sustainably. In 2014 Dunkin’ Brands created guidelines to share our commitment to sourcing responsibly produced palm oil, set forth clear requirements for our suppliers, and to guide our own decision-making regarding palm oil in our global supply chain, which we updated in 2017. You can read the guidelines here (link to statements and policies page).
Since 2016, we have been working with the Rainforest Alliance, a recognized leader in sustainable supply chains, to assist us to revise and update our policy, as well as to strengthen our implementation capacity. As part of our work together we are undertaking significant investment to advance our policy implementation. Dunkin' Brands issues annual palm oil progress reports, which can be found here (link to statements and policies page).
Animal Welfare
Dunkin’ Brands is committed to continuing to research and improve our Animal Welfare Policy based on advances in science and changing consumer concerns. We work closely with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to understand NGOs’ and consumers’ expectations of QSR brands’ practices, and we have regular dialogue with our suppliers to understand what is feasible for our system from a logistics and cost perspective. In December 2015, we announced a commitment to source 100% of the eggs for our U.S. menu from cage-free sources by 2025. According to the Humane Society of the United States, Dunkin’ switch to 100% cage-free eggs will benefit approximately 1.4 million egg laying hens annually.
In 2015, we also made a commitment to source gestation crate-free pork by the end of 2022. In 2015, we also made a commitment to source gestation crate-free pork by the end of 2022. We issued our first progress report in December 2018.
Additionally, as of December 2018, 100% of the chicken offered in Dunkin' restaurants has been raised antibiotic-free following the USDA guidelines for No Antibiotics Ever.
Finally, in 2017 we required all of our U.S. Baskin-Robbins' milk suppliers to participate in Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (F.A.R.M.). F.A.R.M. is a nationwide program that reflects the commitment of U.S. dairy farmers to providing a high level of animal care and quality assurance. Baskin-Robbins was one of the first ice cream brands to set goals around greenhouse gas emissions, waste reduction, sustainable packaging and responsible sourcing.
For more information, please view our Animal Welfare Policy.
Certified Products
We believe in offering products containing certified ingredients when possible. We offer 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified™ espresso in the U.S. and select international markets, and our Dark Roast Coffee is 30% Rainforest Alliance Certified™.
Since 2010, Dunkin’ Brands has provided the Rainforest Alliance with more than $400,000 in grants to improve the lives of smallholder coffee and tea farmers in Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India and Peru. Most recently, we granted funds to the Rainforest Alliance for a two-year project providing technical support to smallholder farmers in Peru.
In September 2018, Dunkin' and National DCP (NDCP) announced a five-year agreement with World Coffee Research (WCR), a nonprofit collaborative research and development program of the global coffee industry, to boost coffee sustainability. A percentage of sales from every pound of Original Blend coffee beans sold to Dunkin' franchisees for use in Dunkin' restaurants will now go to WCR in support of coffee sustainability efforts.
To help protect the coffee our customers love, Dunkin' joined the Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC), a collaborative effort among companies, governments, NGOs, research institutions, and others dedicated to making coffee the world's first fully sustainable agricultural product. Together with the SCC, Dunkin' will work to find solutions designed to ensure coffee sustainability for Dunkin' and for the industry.
Our Commitment to Food Safety
Food Safety continues to be a key priority for Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins restaurants and our supply chain. For more information, please view our Food Safety Statement.
