Dunkin' Donuts is a beloved household name at this point, but now there are rumors that the popular brand is thinking about switching its iconic name [1] from Dunkin' Donuts to just . . . wait for it . . . Dunkin'. According to Nation's Restaurant News's report, the company will begin testing out the shorter, much less attractive "Dunkin'" moniker in California, starting with one store location in Pasadena.
"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','" the company said in statement [2]. "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."
If "Dunkin'" does test well with customers during its trial run this year, the brand plans to announce the permanent name change along with a larger redesign in mid-2018. Sigh. Can't we just have nice things?