Dunkin’ Donuts Doesn’t Deliver, But That Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Get Dunkin’ Donuts Delivered
The so-called sharing economy has been described as disruptive to any number of industries. From Uber’s effect on cabs to Airbnb’s effect on hospitality to Haystack’s effect on human decency, many longstanding ways of life have been challenged by the digital commoditization of just about everything.
Another example? Dunkin’ Donuts—specifically, its resistance to delivering its goods. Dunkin’ has been steadfast in the past with its refusal to allow franchisees to explore ways of getting their products to people’s doorsteps.
Earlier this year, for example, a franchisee-led effort to partner with the delivery services Dashed and Foodler to deliver in Boston received a little bit of media attention shortly after it launched. Dunkin’s corporate offices quickly stepped in and shut those deliveries down.
It didn’t take long before another attempt at Dunkin’-by-delivery took hold.
About a month after the Dashed delivery attempt was shut down, an Austin-based company called Favor launched its app in a second city—Boston. Here’s how it works: You download the app, which is available for iOS and Adroid devices. For the price of the order plus a $5 charge, you can call for things like frisbees from REI, dog food from Petco, laundry detergent from Shaw’s, and a whole lot of food…including offerings from Dunkin’ Donuts. On the other end, Favor’s ‘runners’ pick up your order and bring it your way. Favor’s “delivery area’’ in Boston covers parts of downtown, the Fenway area, parts of Allston, Brighton, and some of the South End.
Given the delivery charge, you probably wouldn’t order an iced coffee to your home on a Sunday morning. But in the case of a big office order or any other reason to pony up the $5, you can indeed currently get Dunkin’ Donuts delivered, at least in certain parts of Boston.
The reason Favor is able to provide those deliveries, and earlier this year Dashed could not, is pretty simple. With Dashed, a franchisee was partnering with the delivery service—something Dunkin’ could explicitly forbid.
But Favor, which did not respond to requests for an interview for this article, works on its own. A user orders the given item, and the runner gets it and brings it to the user. Favor acts like a pure middle man—not all that different from asking a roommate to pick something up on the way home from work and offering to pay for his gas.
That’s not to say Dunkin’ is happy with Favor delivering its products. Or to say it’s unhappy. Or to say whether it’s trying to find a way to stop it. Dunkin’ wouldn’t answer those questions.
The Canton-based chain did provide a statement, saying:
We have been made aware of Favor’s local delivery service in Boston and we do not have any agreement with the company. We are always looking for new ways to make sure our products are more accessible and convenient for our guests, while continuing to offer the high-quality coffee and baked goods they expect from their local Dunkin’ Donuts. Our franchisees are not permitted to enter into arrangements with any companies for delivery of Dunkin’ Donuts products.
That doesn’t say much, except to clarify what we already knew: Dunkin’ isn’t working with Favor, and franchisees aren’t allowed to find a way to deliver. It’s not quite an admission that Dunkin’s iron fist on delivery issues can only reach so far, that the sharing economy has outdone its best efforts at control. But it’s hard to see what Dunkin’ could even do to stop Favor from buying, and then delivering, its products.
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