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For years, the burger battles reigned. Burger King has the Whopper, and McDonald's has the Big Mac. While the Whopper was one of the most popular burgers in the business for many years, the company now says the sandwich is in need of revival. Now, the fast-food giant plans to focus on reviving the Whopper this year!
2022: The Year of the Whopper
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There's no doubt about it, Burger King has an excellent reason to try and bring back the Whopper. Recently, the company's sales have been mixed at best. They trail their arched rival - McDonald's - in sales by just over 7.5%. How do they plan on doing it? Well, Burger King plans on doing everything from introducing more Whopper coupons and increasing marketing efforts to decreasing the amount of time it takes to make the Whopper and taking it off the value menu.
"We felt it was important to invest behind it and elevate the flagship and iconic product, and make sure that it becomes the centerpiece of our game plan going forward," José Cil, CEO of Restaurant Brands. Restaurant Brands also owns Popeyes, Firehouse Subs, and Tim Horton's. "Expect to see new extensions and innovations around the Whopper." While we know about some of the changes, some still remain a mystery. "Extensions and innovations" certainly sounds like we might have some new Whoppers this year!
Since we are left to wonder about new Whoppers, it might help us to look at international Burger King items...
What Burger King Might Do...
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There has been on new Whopper recently: the Impossible Whopper. So, expect the brand to focus even more marketing on the vegetarian version of its iconic sandwich. We can also take a look around the world at international Whoppers. In Japan, the company offers Teriyaki Whopper, while in Australia they sell a Tropical Whopper, which comes with pineapple. Also, we can probably expect some celebrity Whoppers, as celebrity meals have become all the rage recently.
But one thing's certain: the focus of this year will be on the Whopper. "We'll be focusing on our core, on the Whopper, flame-grilling, having it your way," Tom Curtis, the President of Burger King U.S., explained. "Those are really the things that made us great, and the things that will make us great going forward." We'll see how the fans react to the sudden change in fast-food plans.
Sources: Eat This, The Takeout, The Today Show
