Dunkin' Donuts recently made an announcement sure to please its regulars and late risers alike. The breakfast chain may soon be delivering coffee and donuts to customers' doors, according to Delish.com.
During a media summit at the Dunkin' Donuts headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts, the company revealed that they will soon update DD Perks, their mobile app, to allow for third party delivery as well as curbside and in-store pickup.
The breakfast franchise will join Starbucks, McDonalds and Chipotle, who are also developing ways to test food delivery.
Dunkin' Donuts will release the new version of the app next year, where they will first test delivery at limited locations, with the intention to expand nationwide.
"We're now developing mobile ordering," Dunkin' CEO Nigel Travis told CNBC. "We're doing a private test. We'll move to a more public test later this year. We'll probably launch mobile ordering sometime next year."
Travis, who has run the company, which includes Baskin-Robbins as well as the Dunkin' brand, since January 2009, said that he sees delivery as an important way to serve the growing number of customers who rely on technology.
"The trend in this country is convenience," Travis explained. "So I think delivery plays very strongly. I think the next few years you're going to see us get more and more into delivery."
It may be a while, however, before the breakfast franchise has delivery services at all of its 8,000 locations. The company is in no rush, Travis said.
"The key thing is we have to make sure we can operationalize all these procedures. That's why I've slowed up mobile ordering to make sure it's operationally simple at the store level."
While the store is known for its pastries, the company's namesake is not where they make the majority of their profits.
According to Travis, "about 60 percent is beverages; coffee, tea, iced coffee …and smoothies." Still, "donuts are still a significant part" of the menu, and they expect it to continue expanding, as it has done for 17 quarters in a row.
"People see it as a treat, as a reward," Travis said. "It's an indulgent desert that people can just pick up and it's fairly affordable."