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Burger King this week will announce new summer menu LTOs that include the returns of the Carolina BBQ Whopper/Chicken and Memphis Pulled Pork sandwiches. But there will be one audacious difference: The menu includes a boneless BK Rib Sandwich that can be seen as an answer to rival McDonald’s popular McRib. Sweet Potato Fries also [...]

Burger King’s sales momentum faltered in Q1 as the introductions of its new Seattle’s Best coffee platform and Bacon Gouda Breakfast Sandwiches plus items such as the Avocado Whopper failed to translate into positive sales growth. For the quarter, Burger King same-store sales declined 3%, with global comp sales down 1.4%. COO Daniel Schwartz, who [...]

Burger King’s Spring Menu for 2013 explodes in literally a dozen directions like fireworks. As BurgerBusiness.com tipped last week, new menu items include a Chipotle Whopper and Donut Holes. But this menu flies all over the board: there are a stuffed beef burger, regular beef burger, turkey and chicken sandwiches plus a chicken wrap. It [...]

With CKE Restaurants’ release today of preliminary results for its fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2013, it’s now possible to estimate 2012 sales for the top burger chains and see how they align. On an earlier post, BurgerBusiness.com estimated that Burger King held the No. 2 spot for domestic sales, slightly eclipsing Wendy’s. Now it’s [...]

The Wendy’s Co. releases its audited 2012 financial results tomorrow (2/28), which no doubt will rekindle debate over whether Wendy’s or Burger King is the bigger brand in the U.S. and Canada. I believe Burger King again has the No. 2 position. But I’m not convinced that it really lost that spot last year. Last [...]

In line with its stated intention to focus more attention on value pricing, Burger King is testing consumer response to a daily-discount program it already has in place in the UK and Canada. The “King Deals” tactic testing in select markets offers a different discounted meal on each weekday as a sort of rapid-fire limited-time-offer [...]

Burger King Worldwide barely had an opportunity to feel good about strong full-year 2012 results that validate last year’s ambitious menu makeover before announcing that it needs to adjust menu/marketing strategies to deal with a slower Q1 2013. In today’s quarterly earnings call with analysts, Burger King executives reported a 3.2% rise in global same-store [...]

Burger King once again has revamped its coffee, this time adopting a “a new, 100% Latin American arabica bean custom blend” from supplier Seattle’s Best, a unit of Starbucks. The new Smooth Roast platform includes brewed coffee, iced coffee and, for the first time, lattés (beginning in March), which moves Burger King a bit closer [...]

Burger King’s latest attempt to get chicken chunks right is at the heart of the Winter Menu it announced on Jan. 2. The all-new (now with “premium white meat”) Chicken Nuggets have a “crispy tempura-style batter” for extra crunch. Arriving with them are new dipping sauces that cover the six basic QSR tastes: Honey Mustard; [...]

This has been a really good year for burgers if by burgers you mean chicken. From Chicken McBites, Popcorn Chicken and Chicken Dippers to the Mozzarella Chicken Supreme, McBistro Chicken, 20-piece McNuggets and shareable Chicken Box, burgers often seemed consigned to a back seat. McDonald’s new Cheddar Bacon Onion was offered with choice of an [...]

Last month, McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson responded to a disappointing earnings report by promising to make “tactical adjustments” to build customer traffic. The test of the Egg White Delight McMuffin reported here last week was one example. Now more are coming clear. ◙  In Northern California, McDonald’s is trying a trio of jazzed up Quarter [...]

[Update: Red Robin is bringing back the Chili Chili Cheeseburger, inviting customers to vote on next revival.] Given an economic environment that McDonald’s Corp. CEO Don Thompson recently called “uncertain and fragile,” chains are trying to minimize the uncertainty by bring back limited-time-offer burgers that customers already have shown they will buy. Chains are going [...]

Burger King Worldwide’s recently released third-quarter results were reasonably strong, with a 1.4% systemwide increase in same-store sales. The U.S./Canada segment did even better, up 1.6%. But Asia/Pacific comps were down 2.2% as a result, the company said, of weak sales in Australia and Korea. This wasn’t the first time this year that Australia, where [...]

Just last week, BurgerBusiness.com reported that “Sources say a new Whopper topped with Wisconsin white Cheddar cheese is coming soon to Burger King’s menu.” Welcome to soon. In line with Burger King’s new strategy of sending out new menu items in waves, like fashion collections, the new Wisconsin White Cheddar Whopper—which also is available in [...]

Burger King Worldwide announced a coffee deal for its Latin America/Caribbean (LAC) division, naming Nestlé Professional the preferred supplier for a new specialty-coffee menu coming to those markets. The deal covers not only Nestlé’s soluble—i.e. instant—coffee but also the company’s coffee equipment. Burger King restaurants in LAC markets will use Nestlé Professional’s Nescafé Milano platform, [...]