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 Dunkin' is dropping the donuts — from its name, anyway. 
 
 Doughnuts are still on the menu, but the company is renaming itself "Dunkin'" to reflect its increasing emphasis on coffee and other drinks. 
 
 The change will officially take place in January, when the new name will start appearing on napkins, boxes, and signs at its U.S. stores. The name change will eventually be adopted by international stores. 
 
 Dunkin' has more than 12,500 restaurants globally. 
 
 The 68-year-old chain says its new logo will still have the familiar rounded font and orange-and-pink color scheme that the company has used since 1973. 
 
 Canton, Massachusetts-based Dunkin' says the name change is one of several things it's doing to stay relevant to younger customers. It's also simplifying its menu and adding dedicated mobile ordering lanes. ||||| Dunkin’ Brands will test-drive abbreviated “Dunkin’” signage beginning with a California test location, the company told NRN on Wednesday. 
 
 An upcoming Pasadena, California location is the first to bear the Dunkin’ only branding, but will be the first of multiple locations included in the trial. 
 
 “While we remain the number one retailer of donuts in the country, as part of our efforts to reinforce that Dunkin’ Donuts is a beverage-led brand and coffee leader, we will be testing signage in a few locations that refer to the brand simply as “Dunkin’,” according to a company statement. 
 
 The company does not consider this a departure from current branding. 
 
 “We have been referring to ourselves simply as Dunkin’ in our advertising for more than a decade, ever since we introduced our ‘America Runs on Dunkin’ campaign,” said the spokesperson. 
 
 The trial run on the rebranded name may become part of a larger redesign that is set to roll out during mid-late 2018, and Dunkin’ Brands plans to determine “Dunkin’s” permanence at that time. 
 
 The move reinforces comments made by chairman and CEO Nigel Travis during the company’s second quarter earnings call last week. 
 
 Travis discussed the company’s initiative to streamline menus and design a new store layout so as to boost efficiency and increase its reputation as a “beverage-led, on-the-go brand.” 
 
 The Canton, Massachusetts based Dunkin’ Brands has more than 12,300 Dunkin’ Donuts locations worldwide. 
 
 Contact Dan Orlando at [email protected] 
 
 Follow him on Twitter at @DanAMX
– First WW, now another high-profile name change. Dunkin' Donuts will as of January be known simply as Dunkin', in what NBC News reports is a rebranding designed to reflect its broadened focus on coffee and other beverages and up its appeal to a younger audience. CNN describes it as wanting to be seen as a "beverage-led" company. The logo may be down a word, but the company says it won't otherwise look different: It will still use orange and pink and the rounded font it has had in use since 1973, with the pink part now becoming the apostrophe. And yes, stores will still serve doughnuts.