βurgerβusiness

“Burger Week” promotions have become marketing staples for a lot of burger joints. Sometimes they’re part of citywide celebrations; often they’re independent, as is the case with the weeklong burger promo upcoming at The Oinkster in Los Angeles. Their  event—the third annual—is so well put together that it merits attention as a case study from [...]

Diners are acutely price-conscious now but their dining preferences may be less strongly determined by promotional or price offers than some operators appear to believe. The NPD Group’s new report, “Defining Value Today: How Consumers Choose to Eat Out,” finds that loyalty keeps many diners returning to their favorite spot no matter what. The study [...]

Whataburger is venturing into retail sales for the first time, announcing that its signature condiments—Fancy Ketchup, Spicy Ketchup and Original Mustard—will be sold exclusively at H-E-B stores in Texas and Mexico this summer. The San Antonio-based chain’s Original Mustard, which dates to its founding in 1950, will be sold in 16-oz. containers with a label [...]

Burgatory came into the 2013 A.1. Burger Brackets an unproven competitor, but after more than 16,000 votes had been cast through six grueling rounds, the Pittsburgh burger bar with two locations but legions of loyal fans was the last brand standing and the 2013 Champion. It bested Ted’s Montana Grill, a brand that had been [...]

When the recession kneecapped the restaurant industry in 2008, chains resorted to heavy dealing to stay afloat. But researcher NPD Group says some deals’ appeal appears to be wearing out. Last year, 23% of restaurant visits involved a deal, a 3% decrease from 2011 and the first time dealing has declined since 2008 (when dealing [...]

This is Australia’s year to get McDonald’s promotions it’s previously been denied, apparently. It’s just finishing its first exposure to that McMarketing chestnut, the Monopoly game-piece promotion. No sooner will consumers find out who won the grand-prize Kia than will McDonald’s kick off one of its other global favorite sales-building tools, the America-themed menu. Sources [...]

1) Where there’s an advantage to be had, take it. There’s no evidence that Burger King served horsemeat to consumers, but the chain did withdraw and dump product from one of its meat suppliers, which has been implicated in the supermarket scandal, British magazine Marketing reported. Right on the heels of BK’s announcement that it [...]

Last August, McDonald’s introduced the Chicken Box in Germany, offering a customizable, mix-and-match pack of Chicken McNuggets, Chicken McBites and Chicken Sticks. This site has since predicted that boxed multi-person meals with burgers would finally come to the U.S. in 2013, and we didn’t have to wait long to see it. Just in time for [...]

After Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays made finding themes for burger-of-the-month specials easy, burger joints return to their normal eclecticism as the new year begins. Grafton Irish Bar & Grill in Chicago tries a new-year theme with its 2013 burger, but others simply get wild and crazy. The usual. 5 Star Burger, multiple Southwest locations [...]

McDonald’s Corp. rebounded quickly from the black eye of October’s first drop in same-same sales in nine years. November comp sales rose 2.4% globally and 2.5% in the U.S., thanks, the company said, to “the ongoing popularity of McDonald’s breakfast along with balance across everyday value offerings, premium menu options including the limited-time Cheddar Bacon [...]

Denny’s is the latest restaurant to relearn the “3 Bs”: Burgers bring business. The family-dining chain says it will make the Build Your Own Burger option a permanent offer as part of a new core menu coming in January 2013. The BYO platform for both burgers and milk shakes was a limited-time promotion that began [...]

[Wisconsin? Well, maybe later. BK has brought back the California Whopper but just in 4 West Coast states. Read details here. It's trying out the King Deals discount program in San Diego. Read here.] Burger King is heading north for the winter. The chain that created the Carolina BBQ Whopper and Texas BBQ Whopper for [...]

Officially, May is National Burger Month, but only because someone we can’t name has so designated it declared so by White Castle in 1992. October, however, has made itself an equally important month for burgers because it’s a great way to celebrate Oktoberfest. Not surprisingly, most of the month’s burger creations are riffs (with varying [...]

The multiculturalism of McDonald’s introduction of McNoodles in Austria is just one example of the chain’s accelerated effort to bring global flavors and excitement to its menus across euro-crisis-depressed Europe. In July, McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson told analysts, “Europe’s Informal Eating Out industry is contracted as austerity measures continue to impact consumer purchasing power and [...]

The inaugural Burger Week Montreal ended at midnight, September 7, when the final votes were tallied. Appropriately, the winner was a burger-specialty restaurant, Burger Bar Crescent, which received 534 votes for its Hangover Burger, a 6-oz. beef patty topped with caramelized onions, bacon, American cheese, truffle oil, fried egg and a mini poutine (fries, cheese [...]