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Free Food Alert: National Doughnut Day Giveaways

YumSugar — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:00:53 -0700

Fridays just keep getting better: in addition to taking advantage of some free Mars chocolate, tomorrow is National Doughnut Day - which mean you can enjoy free doughnuts courtesy of both Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts. There's no purchase required at Krispy Kreme, where all you have to do is saunter over to your participating local store to score a free pastry. From there, you can cross town to hit up Dunkin' Donuts, where you get a gratis doughnut of your choice with the purchase of any beverage.

To further honor this American classic and breakfast of champions, see if you can dunk my doughnut identification quiz. Will you partake in tomorrow's breakfast pastry bargain?

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Next Up at Starbucks: Value Meals

YumSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:00:05 -0800

Feeling the sting from other chains such as McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, a desperate Starbucks announced last week that it will soon be introducing value meals of its own. The chain plans to launch value pairings in all its company-owned US stores on March 3. Although regular prices for food and drink items vary by store location, Starbucks claims the pairings will provide customers with an average savings of as much as $1.20. This strategy is the latest in a slew of tactics - from creating loyalty programs to ceasing brewing of decaf after noon - that the company has tried over the past year to recover from troubling sales numbers. To see the recession-friendly $3.95 breakfast pairings, which were revealed today, read more.

Tall latte and Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal
Tall latte and slice of reduced-fat cinnamon swirl cake
Tall drip coffee and new bacon sandwich with egg and gouda cheese
Tall drip coffee and new ham sandwich with egg and cheddar
Tall drip coffee and classic sausage, egg, and aged cheddar breakfast sandwich
Tall drip coffee and peppered bacon, egg, and aged cheddar breakfast sandwich
Tall drip coffee and Reduced-fat turkey bacon, cholesterol-free egg, and reduced-fat white cheddar breakfast sandwich

Considering the saga behind Starbucks' breakfast sandwiches, I'm interested in trying out the two new breakfast sandwich options come March.

Do you plan to utilize this new value pricing to your benefit? Do you think it will help the coffee chain turn its sales numbers around?

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Biggest Headline of 2008: The Reign of Starbucks Fades

YumSugar — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:30:59 -0800

For the world's largest café chain, 2008 has been a bumpy roller coaster ride. This year, Starbucks made more than its share of headlines. Click on the slideshow to see more.

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Dunkin' Donuts Claims to Beat Starbucks in Coffee Taste Test

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:30:32 -0700

As colossal coffee chain Starbucks struggles to keep up with past profit margins, its competitors continue to move in for the kill. Earlier this month, breakfast chain Dunkin' Donuts introduced its version of a recession deal. Now, in its latest ad campaign, the chain is claiming it beat Starbucks in a blind taste test.In the campaign, Dunkin' Donuts, which is currently in the middle of a national expansion effort, airs a new TV spot and launched a website, Dunkin' Beat Starbucks, that will highlight the results of the taste test.

The blind taste test, conducted by A&G Research, polled 476 adults in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. According to a press release from the chain, 54.2 percent of participants surveyed preferred Dunkin' Donuts coffee to the 39.3 percent who preferred Starbucks coffee. Another 6.3 percent had no preference between the two.

I'm slightly surprised by the results: I recently had Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and found that I still prefer the coffee from Starbucks. What about you? Are you impressed by the study's results, or are you skeptical of the findings?

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Dunkin' Donuts One-Ups Starbucks With New Special

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:12:23 -0700

Responding to the economic hardship, breakfast chain Dunkin' Donuts has come out with its version of a recession deal.

Beginning today, small hot and iced lattes will cost only 99 cents from 2 to 5 p.m. The new special, dubbed "America's Latte Break," is the doughnut chain's response to the Starbucks $2 afternoon coffee deal that ended last month. The restaurants will also offer a 99 cent Egg and Cheese Sandwich - all day long - with the purchase of a medium or larger hot coffee. Both specials will run through Nov. 11.

What do you think of "America's Latte Break"? Will it edge out the competition? Will you visit Dunkin' Donuts for afternoon coffee over Starbucks?

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Advertising Advances May Change Your Food Decisions

YumSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:45:57 -0700

Recently grocers and restaurant chains have started to employ a sophisticated type of digital advertising. The videos and images influence a shopper's decisions as they browse supermarket aisles or wait in line to pay. At select Dunkin' Donuts in New York, people who order coffee in the morning see ads promoting breakfast items at the register. Then while they wait for their orders, the television screens show different images that encourage the customer to return for lunch. In Germany, grocer Metro Extra uses digital screens to sway a shopper. Certain goods have special tags attached to them, so when you grab a box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, the eye-level screen changes its message to display a sale price for, say, Wheaties.

At a time when shoppers are more cautious about how they spend their money, this could give certain food companies an edge. What do you think: Is this new advertising scheme brilliant, or does the technology to increase impulse buys creep you out?

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Dunkin' Donuts Cold Beverage Breakdown

FitSugar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:30:00 -0700

So you stopped off at Dunkin' Donuts for a coffee, but it's so hot out that you're in the mood for something cooler. Check out the chart below to see how their cold specialty drinks compare. You may be surprised at how many calories, sodium, and sugar they contain.

To see the rest read more

Rachael Ray a Terrorist?

partysugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:13:03 -0700

Dunkin Donuts has pulled an advertisement featuring Rachael Ray because some people believe she is wearing what could be construed as a terrorist symbol. Apparently, the black and white scarf she wears in the ad resembles a traditional headdress, known as a keffiyeh, worn by Arab men.

The criticism of the scarf was spearheaded by Michelle Malkin, a conservative Fox News commentator. On her blog, she complains about the trendiness of such a powerful symbol:

Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant and not-so-ignorant fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons.

At first Dunkin Donuts dismissed the complaints but later pulled the ad and released the following statement:

In a recent online ad, Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by her stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial.

I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion. How about you? Do you think anyone could mistake Rachael Ray for a terrorist?

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Raise Your Hand If You Like Freebies!

YumSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:00:51 -0700

Tomorrow, May 15, there are two fast-food freebies for you to catch. The first involves free chicken sandwiches, and the second involves free coffee.

First up, McDonald's is promoting their new Southern Style Chicken Biscuits and Sandwiches by giving them away at 14,000 of their US locations. If you purchase a medium or large beverage you can get a free chicken biscuit from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. or a free chicken sandwich from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. They're expecting to give away over eight million sandwiches, so be sure to get yours!

If you're not a chicken or McD's fan, then head over to your local Dunkin' Donuts where you can score yourself a free iced coffee with no strings attached. It's a small 16 oz. iced coffee and is available from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

So tell me, are you going to hunt down one of these freebies?

Dunkin' Donuts Offers Some Tax-Day Relief

YumSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:03:51 -0700

Doing some last-minute work on your taxes this weekend? Well maybe they'll be a bit easier to do if you know there's a reward at the end of the tax-form tunnel. Next Tuesday, April 15, Dunkin' Donuts is offering a bit of tax-day relief in the form of a free donut. However, I should warn you, much like your taxes, you need to read all the fine print. The donut is only free when you buy any sized hot coffee. If you're interested, find a Dunkin' Donuts store near you.