Dunkin' Donuts Fuels National Growth With New Partnerships With Hess Corporation And Sara Lee Corporation

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December 13, 2007 // Franchising.com // CANTON, MA -- Dunkin' Donuts, the world's largest coffee and baked goods chain, today announced new agreements with Hess Corporation and Sara Lee Corporation - Foodservice Division, respectively, that will make it even more convenient for America to enjoy select Dunkin' Donuts menu items throughout the entire day. The new partnerships will also support Dunkin' Donuts' aggressive expansion throughout the United States.

Dunkin' Donuts has signed an agreement with Hess Corporation to offer its high-quality coffee and donuts in a new self-service station in many of Hess' gas-convenience locations throughout the country. Dunkin' Donuts' presence within Hess Stores will roll out starting in January, primarily outside of New England. The new Dunkin' Donuts self-service stations will offer customers coffee, hot chocolate and donuts.

Dunkin' Donuts and Sara Lee Foodservice have partnered to offer self-service coffee stations in locations such as office building break rooms, cafeterias and other venues with large foodservice operations. Dunkin' Donuts will collaborate with Sara Lee Foodservice to identify appropriate locations for the Dunkin' Donuts self-service format.

"Hess and Sara Lee Foodservice are extremely exciting partnerships that we believe will create tremendous value for our company and our franchisees across the country," said Robert Rodriguez, Dunkin' Donuts brand president. "Both agreements will allow us to engage new customers, reinforce our relationship with existing customers and create more opportunities for busy, on-the-go people to keep themselves running with our coffee and baked goods. By reaching more customers in more places more often, we strengthen our brand by generating greater awareness of our menu items and distinguishing ourselves in the marketplace."

"We are thrilled at the opportunity to provide greater value to our customers by partnering with an outstanding brand such as Dunkin' Donuts," said F. Borden Walker, Hess Corporation Executive Vice President and President, Marketing & Refining.

"We are very pleased to expand our successful relationship with Dunkin' Donuts," said Tom Hayes, president, Sara Lee Foodservice. "Bringing the same high-quality, great-tasting coffee available at Dunkin' Donuts locations to new foodservice venues is a great opportunity to expand the reach of both the Sara Lee and Dunkin' Donuts brands."

In recent years, as Dunkin' Donuts has evolved from a regional chain into a national brand, it has established partnerships with other prominent and respected brands, including JetBlue, Aramark and SoBe. In February, Dunkin' Donuts announced a partnership with Procter & Gamble to launch Dunkin' Donuts coffee at retail outlets nationwide.

Dunkin' Donuts is committed to expanding its number of existing U.S. stores, moving into new markets while expanding in its current cities. Within the past year, the company has launched plans or entered into agreements for significant expansion in Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Dallas, Austin and Houston, among others. Dunkin' Donuts' first Las Vegas store set a company opening week sales record, making Las Vegas the site of the most successful new store opening in Dunkin' Donuts' 57-year history.

About Dunkin' Donuts
Founded in 1950, today Dunkin' Donuts is the number one retailer of hot regular coffee-by-the-cup in America, selling 2.7 million cups a day, nearly one billion cups a year. Dunkin' Donuts is also the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world and sells more hot regular coffee, iced coffee, donuts, and bagels than any other quick service restaurant in America. Dunkin' Donuts has more than 7,200 franchised restaurants in 31 countries worldwide. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Dunkin' Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands, Inc. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

About Hess Corporation
Hess Corporation, with headquarters in New York, is a global integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, production, purchase, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the production and sale of refined petroleum products. More information on Hess Corporation is available at www.Hess.com.

About Sara Lee Foodservice
Based in Downers Grove, Ill., Sara Lee Foodservice is a leading supplier of coffee and tea, meat, and bakery solutions, providing value beyond its products to a broad base of foodservice operators throughout North America. The business markets products enjoyed away from home for every day part under such well-known brand names as Douwe Egberts, Superior Coffee and Pickwick beverages; Sara Lee and Chef Pierre bakery products; and Sara Lee, Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, and Hillshire Farm meats.