Client: Dunkin’
Location:Â Multiple Locations Nationwide
Project Type:Â Quick Service Restaurant
Area(s) Supplied:Â Dining Room Floors & Walls, Restroom Floors & Walls, Back of House Floors & Walls, Exterior Thin Brick on Select Projects
Products: Lava Light Grey 12″x24″, Brickworld Soho Black 3″x12″, Custom 12″x24″ wall tiles produced with a matte & glossy surface, Quarry tile, Endicott Manganese Ironspot thin brick, Logic 8″x8″, and Mapei Grout and Setting Materials
Dunkin’ came to life in 1950 when Bill Rosenberg opened the first shop in Quincy, MA. Within five years the Dunkin’ brand became a franchise providing customers premium baked goods and the freshest coffee. Today, Dunkin’ serves more than 3 million customers a day across 8,500 restaurants in 41 U.S. states and 3,200 restaurants in over 36 countries!
Challenge | Design Next Generation Prototype, Keeps Costs Down
With re-branding comes new designs. The re-brand from Dunkin’ Donuts to Dunkin’ was the first step of many to grow and modernize the top on-the-go beverage-led restaurant. Dunkin’ was determined to embrace their heritage while designing a space that kept them relevant for the next generations to come. This new store prototype would be no small feat seeing that Dunkin’ has over 11,000 stores and a very active group of franchisees that must accept the new designs and be responsible for the costs of those changes. The design had to be suitable for customers but also cost-effective. Dunkin’ understood that with an overhaul this massive they would need to keep costs low when it came to finishes and reached out to Creative Materials to create a well-designed economical tile package.
Solution | Fully Consolidate Tile Supply
Dunkin’ consulted a branding agency, who has a long-standing working relationship with Creative Materials. Creative Materials was able to work with the agency and Dunkin’ to develop a fully consolidated tile supply program.
The feedback received from the prototype stores was positive, and as with many re-branding efforts for large, franchised brands, the next step was to look at ways to make the tile package meet a budget that would satisfy Dunkin’ and its franchisees. Creative Materials used its network of over 100+ manufacturing partners to investigate existing and custom options that would stick to the original design intent at more budget-friendly prices.
On top of delivering a budget-friendly, consolidated tile program, Creative Materials also utilized its internal Design Services & Product Sourcing team to draw elevations that showed installers the intended patterning for the feature wall behind the service counter, leading to less confusion in the field. In order to better understand the NextGen program and provide future guidance, Creative Materials had its internal Quality Assurance team attend multiple NextGen installations, which allowed the team to understand potential questions that could arise in the field and proactively communicate answers at the time of order.
Result | Dunkin’ Runs on Creative Materials
Creative Materials provided Dunkin’ a fully consolidated tile supply program that allowed for the over 125 locations to be remodeled and 30 new next-generation stores to be built nationwide. With the new design still being rolled out, Dunkin’ knows they can rely on the Account Team at Creative Materials to monitor their inventory and ensure constant availability of material. Creative Materials is ready to run with any changes in Dunkins’ future!
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