At McDonald’s on the East Coast, a new line of breakfast baked goods was showcased. The fast-food giant is still making French fries but is expanding its breakfast lineup in its New England restaurants to include baked goods. The move takes aim at a market segment dominated by Dunkin’ Donuts.

The pastries and other products will be made daily in each restaurant as well as at the company’s Albany, N.Y., stores, according to Lou Provenzano, owner of 13 McDonald’s locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Provenzano was part of the team that created the light-breakfast line. “The fact that we bake them on the premises is a unique piece,’’ he says. “We actually bake them--they’re not frozen.’’

He says the line was developed in response to consumer demand. “Customers were asking us for something in the way of a sweet or baked good item we could serve them,’’ Provenzano reports.

Michelle King, a spokesperson for Dunkin’ Brands Inc., declined to speculate on the decision by McDonald’s to roll out its baked goods line on the Canton coffee seller’s home turf. “We focus on our customers, not the competition, and we know that the passion for Dunkin’ Donuts in New England is unmatched thanks to our franchisees,’’ she says.

Source: www.boston.com