When Dunkin’ Benelux went bankrupt, it could have been the end of the story. Instead, it became one of the most remarkable brand revivals in recent years. In this episode of The Partner Marketing Podcast, Matthias talks to Youssef Besali, Chief Marketing Officer of Dunkin’ Benelux, about how his team turned a collapsed company into a thriving, customer-loved brand.
Taking Over Amid Turbulence
Matthias: “Hi Youssef, great to have you on the show today. I'm really looking forward to our talk. Dunkin' has such a recognizable brand, and what's happened with it over the past months has been really fascinating. Can you start by introducing yourself to our listeners, please?”
Youssef: “Yes of course. So, hi Matthias, thank you very much. It's my pleasure to be here. I'm Youssef Basali, currently the Chief Marketing Officer of Dunkin' Benelux. I took on this role actually almost exactly a year ago. I oversee all the marketing activities - we have a pretty small in-house team, and the company structure is really set up as a family. Since we haven't come from the most normal circumstances the past year, my role has been a bit turbulent.”
Youssef describes a company running in crisis mode, where every day brought new priorities and uncertainties. The marketing team was small and tightly knit, functioning almost like a family, and Youssef’s leadership quickly became defined by extreme hands-on involvement.
He recounts that his daily work spanned strategic oversight, weekly cross-functional meetings, operational coordination, and close communications with Inspire Brands, Dunkin’s global parent company. Yet, despite the corporate responsibilities, he remained deeply involved in creative work, product development, and field activities. He emphasizes that the brand’s unusual circumstances demanded this level of immersion. Dunkin’ Benelux was not a “normal” operation; it was a brand fighting to survive.
The Shockwave of Bankruptcy
The bankruptcy was, as Youssef explains, both sudden and chaotic. Internal staff were not all aware of the situation when the news unexpectedly leaked to the media. The early leak triggered an immediate public reaction, and Dunkin’ was suddenly flooded with questions across email, customer service, phone lines, and especially social media.
Customers were shocked and disappointed. Some expressed sadness at potentially losing a brand they loved, while others admitted they were not surprised, referencing long-running frustrations with pricing, product value, and inconsistent communication. Youssef notes that the bankruptcy exposed a divide between loyalists and critics, revealing clear indications of eroding trust.
Diagnosing the Breakdown: A Missing Strategy and Lost Connection to the Consumer
When Youssef stepped into the CMO position, he immediately realized that the company lacked a clear strategic direction. Over the previous two years, the brand had drifted without clarity regarding target customers, value proposition, or marketing approach. It was unclear whom Dunkin’ was trying to reach and how it planned to reach them. The absence of a cohesive vision had left the brand vulnerable.
To rebuild a brand after a bankruptcy, the team needed to analyze every broken element. Youssef explains that the revival required a thorough assessment of customer opinions, operational shortcomings, pricing irregularities, and communication failures. The lack of strategy was, in his view, the most urgent issue, because without it, every other decision risked being reactive rather than constructive.
He emphasizes that a revival must begin with identifying what went wrong and listening to the market with absolute humility. Only then can a structured, actionable plan emerge.
Listening to the Customer: Pricing Frustrations and the Demand for Transparency
Customer feedback quickly revealed that two issues dominated the negative sentiment surrounding the Dunkin’ brand: pricing and transparency.
First, customers repeatedly complained that pricing - particularly for donuts - had become unreasonable. Prices had changed roughly six times within a single year, which created a perception of instability and exploitation. Customers felt the products were overpriced and no longer represented good value. Since Dunkin’s global philosophy centers on value and accessibility, these complaints were deeply problematic.
Second, transparency had broken down. Partners, logistics providers, and customers alike felt left in the dark, particularly after the bankruptcy announcement. Trust had eroded because communication was inconsistent or nonexistent. Dunkin’ had become, in the eyes of many customers, a brand that charged too much, delivered too little, and failed to listen.
The revival began by addressing these foundational issues. Youssef and his team reviewed historical pricing, compared it to current offerings, and recalculated how donut boxes and single-item purchases should be structured. They reduced prices to restore logical value gaps and ensure that bulk purchases felt truly worthwhile. At the same time, they committed to much more transparent, responsive communication across all channels.
Rebuilding Trust Through Communication
Because Dunkin’s target audience consists primarily of Gen Z consumers, social media became the central tool for rebuilding trust. Youssef explains that Gen Z is “chronically online,” meaning they expect brands to respond quickly and visibly.
The team decided to use Instagram and Facebook as their primary communication hubs. These channels allowed them to respond to customer questions in real time, explain policy changes, offer support for refund issues, and demonstrate that a responsive team was now behind the brand. Instagram messages, in particular, became an unofficial customer service platform, creating both a challenge and an opportunity.
During the reopening period in November and December, Dunkin’ launched a series of campaigns designed to reengage customers and restore goodwill. These included Black Friday promotions and an online Advent calendar with daily special offers. Although these campaigns did not yield massive revenue, they were crucial in signaling to customers that Dunkin’ was attentive, active, and committed to providing value. This early phase established the tone of the revival: transparent, proactive, responsive, and customer-centric.
The Shift Toward a Beverage-Led Strategy
Once the immediate crisis had been managed, the next challenge was to redefine Dunkin’s long-term positioning. Youssef explains that globally, Dunkin’ has repositioned itself as a beverage-led brand fueled by food rather than a donut-focused chain. Beverages, he emphasizes, are daily-consumption items. Donuts are not.
To transform Dunkin’ Benelux into a beverage-led brand, the team introduced a more structured approach to product innovation. They created monthly thematic campaigns that aligned in-store visuals, digital assets, and social media content under a unified creative direction.
This shift marked the beginning of a new brand identity—one that reflected global strategy, local expectations, and the realities of consumption patterns.
Viral Breakthroughs and the Power of Product Innovation
March became a pivotal moment for the brand’s revival. Dunkin’ launched the Toasted Marshmallow beverage lineup - branded as “Toasted Marchmallow”- which unexpectedly went viral on Facebook. A single organic post reached one million views almost overnight. This sudden explosion of attention extended beyond local markets and even reached audiences in the United States, prompting inquiries from the global team about demand for products that technically did not exist outside the Benelux region.
This viral moment was followed by another in late March: the launch of the Dubai Donut, which also captured massive online attention. These back-to-back successes revealed a new reality - the combination of product innovation and social media creativity had the potential to give Dunkin’ a disproportionate cultural presence compared to its physical footprint.
Matcha Mania: How One Product Line Became a Social Media and Sales Powerhouse
Between March and May, Dunkin’ performed in-store research, customer interviews, and data analysis to understand product preferences. This research revealed a growing interest in matcha.
In May, the team launched an expanded matcha lineup that included strawberry, mango, and white mocha matcha alongside the original recipe. The strawberry matcha, in particular, captivated Instagram audiences and quickly became the star product.
The sales trajectory was extraordinary. Dunkin’ sold around 1,000 matcha drinks in April. In May, sales jumped to 8,000. June doubled that number to 16,000, and by July, Dunkin’ was selling more than 21,000 matcha drinks per month. On social media, the strawberry shortcake matcha reached roughly 8 million views, and other Dunkin’ markets began requesting the recipe and marketing materials.
In total, the combination of the Dubai Donut, Toasted Marshmallow beverages, and matcha products generated around 65 million organic views, all without paid promotion. This period cemented Dunkin’s position as a storytelling brand with a sharp instinct for aesthetic, platform-specific content.
The Formula Behind Viral Success: Authenticity, Accessibility, and Creative Simplicity
When Matthias asks Youssef to distill the key ingredient behind Dunkin’s social media success, Youssef explains that it was not one factor but a blend of several.
The content needed to be instantly recognizable as Dunkin’, using bold colors, playful energy, and minimal cognitive effort for the viewer. Videos had to be short, visually striking, and engaging within seconds, acknowledging the decreasing attention span of younger audiences. Authenticity played a critical role, especially in the form of genuine interactions with customers through comments and direct messages. This gave customers the sense that real people stood behind the brand.
Timing was another central element. Understanding when different demographic groups were active online allowed the team to schedule posts for maximum reach. Above all, Dunkin’ succeeded by showing up consistently, listening actively, and treating social media not only as a promotional platform but as a dialogue.
Lessons for Brands in Recovery
Reflecting on the broader lessons from the revival, Youssef points out that any successful brand recovery must begin with a deep, unfiltered understanding of the customer. He argues that marketers cannot rely solely on hypothetical personas or static demographic charts. Instead, they must observe customers in stores, during rush hours, in quiet periods, and under different circumstances to understand how people truly experience the brand.
He stresses that openness to criticism is essential. Brands must listen to customer feedback, employee insights, and even competitor observations. Only through this openness can a brand identify which elements of perception align with its strategic ambitions and which must change.
Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of understanding both the physical and digital experience. By combining operational insights with digital behavioral data, Dunkin’ was able to create a holistic revival strategy that delivered tangible results.
Looking Ahead: Savory Expansion and a New Phase of Brand Evolution
Toward the end of the episode, Matthias asks what the future holds for Dunkin’ Benelux. Youssef reveals that the team is working on an exciting collaboration, though he cannot yet share details.
He explains that the next strategic frontier is the expansion into savory products. While customers may not eat donuts every day, they do consume sandwiches, croissants, and toasts regularly. To support its beverage-led strategy, Dunkin’ plans to strengthen its savory food offerings so that it becomes a more complete daily destination rather than an occasional treat brand. This expansion aligns with global trends and provides opportunities to reach customers who love coffee but prefer savory food.
Youssef describes the coming year as “challenging” in the best possible way, as the team aims to outperform the remarkable revival they achieved over the past twelve months. His vision for the next one to five years includes a refined brand perception, stronger beverage identity, and the opening of doors to entirely new customer groups.
Conclusion
This episode paints a vivid picture of a brand that was pushed to the brink but managed to rebuild itself through strategic clarity, customer empathy, and the intelligent use of social media. Under Youssef Besali’s leadership, Dunkin’ Benelux transformed into a digitally savvy, product-innovative, culturally relevant brand with renewed momentum.
Listen to the entire episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, our website, and all other podcast platforms.
About The Partner Marketing Podcast
The podcast brings together thought leaders and professionals from across the globe. In each episode, our host, Matthias, sits down with guests to discuss the evolving world of Partner Marketing and share personal stories.