How This Buzzy Brand Manages to ‘Attract My 18-Year-Old Niece and Not Frustrate My 83-Year-Old Father’
The #3 brand on our franchise 500 has proven masterful at selling to multiple generations
This story appears in the January 2026 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
To view our entire 2026 Franchise 500 list, including category rankings, click HERE.
Dunkin’ rang in 2025 by “Shakin’ that Ess.’” That’s the wink-and-nod tagline of an iced espresso drink collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, the pop star who dominates Spotify and TikTok — and more broadly, Gen Z hearts and minds. It was so successful that when summer rolled around, Dunkin’ and Carpenter teamed up again to create the Strawberry Daydream Refresher.
“We had our best summer in five or six years — and that wasn’t originally on the calendar,” says Scott Murphy, president of Dunkin’ and chief brand officer of parent company Inspire Brands. “[Carpenter] herself is a media channel, so we connected with a whole new segment of teen females. We did a drop code for a free Refresher, so now we have all these new people in our loyalty program.”
Carpenter is one of the latest stars in Dunkin’s celebrity- and influencer-studded campaign to convert the next generation of Dunkin’ lovers. But for the 75-year-old brand with 10,000-plus U.S. locations, striking the balance between old and new has been a delicate dance.
Related: Dunkin’ Made a Big Change to Its In-Store Experience — Here’s Why Gen Z Can’t Get Enough
“It’s a challenge for a marketer to attract my 18-year-old niece who likes Sabrina Carpenter and wants to drink a Refresher, and not frustrate my 83-year-old father who wants a black decaf coffee and a corn muffin,” says Murphy. So traditional media channels still reach older folks, while social media connects with the younger crowd. The messages get bifurcated, and no one feels alienated.
Now, Dunkin’ — which has spent four consecutive years in the Franchise 500’s Top 10 — is attempting to bifurcate its in-store experience as well. More than two-thirds of business occurs before 1 p.m., which leaves a lot of opportunity in the remaining hours of the day. In the fall, at about 300 stores, Dunkin’ introduced Project Chill — effectively a vibe shift. At 1 p.m., menu boards change to display brightly colored, iced, trending drinks with names like Starlight Lemonade. Employees change into colorful, even tie-dyed gear, and playlists pump artists like Megan Thee Stallion and, of course, Carpenter.
“Every little bit of Project Chill is things we were doing anyway,” Murphy says. “We’re just leaning into it. Leaning into iced, leaning into beverages, leaning into the afternoon, leaning into younger.”
Murphy hints that a wider rollout of Project Chill should be expected in the near future.
“If someone told me five years ago that we’d be serving iced lattes and avocado toast and doing deals with Sabrina Carpenter, I would have laughed,” he says. “But somehow, it’s really cool to be associated with Dunkin’.”
Related: Dunkin’ Brews Up Cross-Generational Buzz With This Odd Celebrity Pairing
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To view our entire 2026 Franchise 500 list, including category rankings, click HERE.
Dunkin’ rang in 2025 by “Shakin’ that Ess.’” That’s the wink-and-nod tagline of an iced espresso drink collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, the pop star who dominates Spotify and TikTok — and more broadly, Gen Z hearts and minds. It was so successful that when summer rolled around, Dunkin’ and Carpenter teamed up again to create the Strawberry Daydream Refresher.
“We had our best summer in five or six years — and that wasn’t originally on the calendar,” says Scott Murphy, president of Dunkin’ and chief brand officer of parent company Inspire Brands. “[Carpenter] herself is a media channel, so we connected with a whole new segment of teen females. We did a drop code for a free Refresher, so now we have all these new people in our loyalty program.”
