Here’s Why Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s Are Breaking Up

It's going to get a little more difficult for some Krispy Kreme fans to get their morning sugar fix. 

On Tuesday, McDonald's and Krispy Kreme announced they are ending their partnership, with Krispy Kreme citing cost as the main concern. 

“Our two companies partnered very closely, each supporting execution, marketing, and training, delivering a great consumer experience in approximately 2,400 McDonald’s restaurants,” Josh Charlesworth, the CEO of Krispy Kreme, shared in a statement. “Ultimately, efforts to bring our costs in line with unit demand were unsuccessful, making the partnership unsustainable for us.” 

The partnership officially kicked off in 2024, with plans to roll it out to every U.S. location by the end of 2026. However, the two now say it will officially end on July 2. 

“We were excited and pleased to partner with Krispy Kreme,” Alyssa Buetikofer, the chief marketing officer and customer experience officer at McDonald’s USA, added. “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.”

According to Krispy Kreme, it will now focus on driving “future sustainable growth” by making its doughnuts available in more places through its own U.S. expansion, international franchise growth (including its rather popular opening in Paris in 2023 and recent expansion to Brazil) and ” high-volume retail points,” including its existing partnerships with regional supermarkets across the U.S. 

It's growth Krispy Kreme may desperately need. As NBC reported, Krispy Kreme posted millions of dollars in losses in its first quarter of 2025, with its stock down more than 73% this year. 

For its part, McDonald's noted that Krispy Kreme doughnut sales account for a “small” amount of its breakfast business. It also added that it will re-focus on delivering “delicious, affordable and convenient options to help fans start their day.” And like Krispy Kreme, it, too, may need a little brand refocus. According to CNBC, McDonald’s has also experienced “sluggish sales” as of late, with diners tightening their purse strings when it comes to restaurant spending. CNBC added that McDonald's posted its largest same-store sales decline since 2020 in the first quarter of this year. But maybe the brand's announcement that it's finally bringing back the Snack Wrap for good could turn it all around.