McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme say they are ending their partnership in the United States on July 2, a little more than a year after it was announced.

Krispy Kreme said demand for its doughnuts at McDonald’s was not strong enough to recoup its costs.

Chicago-based McDonald’s announced in March 2024 that it would begin selling three types of Krispy Kreme doughnuts at participating US locations after a successful pilot in Kentucky.

The doughnuts were sold individually or in boxes of six.

The companies planned a phased rollout that would bring doughnuts to McDonald’s across the United States by the end of 2026.

At the time, Krispy Kreme president and CEO Josh Charlesworth said the partnership would give customers “unprecedented daily access” to Krispy Kreme’s doughnuts.

But the companies decided to call it quits after introducing doughnuts in just 2400 of McDonalds’ nearly 14,000 US stores.

“We had strong collaboration with Krispy Kreme and they 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,” McDonald’s chief US marketing and customer experience officer Alyssa Buetikofer said in a statement.

Charlesworth said Charlotte, North Carolina-based Krispy Kreme will continue to offer its doughnuts at US groceries and other high-volume retailers.

—AAP