By Kathy Williams, Features Editor
Dunkin’ Donuts released their updated spring menu with newly added items on Feb. 24. Two featured items, Dunkin’ avocado toast and The Charli cold foam, stirred the Dunkin’ community.
Dunkin’ introduced a new item to their food menu – avocado toast.
This snack item has increased in popularity especially amongst Gen Z and millenials. The avocado toast is made from an avocado, sea salt, black pepper and lemon juice spread on toasted sourdough bread. The concoction is then topped with an everything bagel seasoning consisting of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion and garlic.
Although customers were excited for new items, Dunkin’ has received criticism for their avocado toast.
Customers complained that the new item did not meet expectations and was lack-luster. The bread was less than toasted, and the spread left more to be desired on one’s taste palette. On the other hand, there was praise for Dunkin’ offering the brunch staple in a quick on-the-go way.
The introduction of avocado toast on Dunkin’s menu was a strategic business move for the company. It allowed the company to compete with their competitor Starbucks’ option for avocado spread on toasted items.
Dunkin’s avocado toast is available for $2.99 in a portable box.
From Feb. 24 through March 3, members of Dunkin’s loyalty program, DD Perks, can receive two times the points when they purchase the avocado toast. The promotional offer also applies to their hot, iced and frozen matcha lattes.
On Sept. 4, 2020, “The Charli” was a newly added drink to Dunkin’s menu.
Charli D’Amelio, a 16-year-old social media and TikTok star, collaborated with Dunkin’ to make her favorite drink, a Dunkin’ cold brew with whole milk and three pumps of caramel swirl, officially on the menu. The drink has now been revamped for the spring menu as “The Charli Cold Foam.”
Dunkin’ is launching cold brew with sweet foam. “The Charli Cold Foam” features the new vanilla-flavored cold foam, the traditional cold brew with three pumps of caramel from “The Charli” and is topped with cinnamon sugar.
D’Amelio took to social media to promote the drink. On Feb. 24, D’Amelio posted on Instagram pictures of her with the drink remix. She encouraged her fans to try her new drink.
D’Amelio also tweeted an ad with a gif of her promoting the beverage. The tweet had 748 retweets, 169 quote tweets and 22.7k likes as of March 3.
However, her TikTok account of 109.2 million followers gained the most attraction. D’Amelio’s TikTok video promoting the drink received 3.9 million likes, 136.4 thousand comments, 74.7 thousand shares and 20.3 million views.
Like the avocado toast, Dunkin’ has promotional offers for their cold foam beverages. Through March 23, Dunkin’ customers can get a $3 medium cold brew with sweet cold foam. DD Perks rewards members also received five times the points (25 points per dollar rather than five) when they purchased “The Charli Cold Foam” from Feb. 24 through Feb. 27.
