Dunkin’ Donuts, the Massachusetts-based coffee and breakfast chain with more than 11,300 locations worldwide, won praise today from animal protection non-profit Lever Foundation for committing to use only cage-free eggs at all locations globally.
The move was announced in an updated sustainability policy released by Inspire Brands, the Georgia-based holding company that acquired Dunkin’ in December 2020. “Globally, Inspire has committed to 100% sourcing of cage-free eggs across all brands by the end of 2025…Dunkin’ [is] continuing to make positive progress in their sourcing of cage-free eggs,” reads the new statement in part. Inspire had previously issued cage-free commitments for its other QSR brands that use eggs, Arby’s and Sonic, but not for Dunkin’.
“We applaud Dunkin’s commitment on this important animal welfare issue,” says Kirsty Tuxford, corporate engagement specialist at Lever Foundation, a global animal protection non-profit that worked with Dunkin’s teams in the US and Asia over the past year and a half on the commitment. “Ten of the world’s 25 largest fast food chains have now pledged that they will not source caged eggs anywhere in their global supply chains, including throughout Asia.”
Nearly 30% of Dunkin’s restaurants are located outside of the U.S., including 1,600 locations in Asia. The company’s announcement comes on the heels of similar pledges made over the past six weeks by rival donut brand Krispy Kreme as well as upscale coffee chains Caribou Coffee and Au Bon Pain, each of which also worked with Lever Foundation on setting global cage-free egg commitments.
Lever Foundation is an international animal protection non-profit with staff operating across Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America.
